The Perfect Safety Paper Company was a paper-converting factory at 102-104 Winter Street. Its eye-catching name caught my attention, and I wanted to learn more about the nature of this concern.
The Perfect Safety Company was started in Franklin, Ohio, in 1894 by Joseph B. Weis, a University of Illinois chemistry graduate. He formed the Safety Paper Company to use his patented method for protecting checks and documents from fraudulent changes.
The company moved to Holyoke in 1908. The American Writing Paper Company owned the majority of the company's stock. The company initially operated in American Writing Paper's Mt. Tom Paper division facility.
The business manufactured safety paper for bank checks, railroad tickets, U.S. postal money orders, cashier's checks, and other negotiable instruments. The process involved chemically treating the pulp in the paper-making process and then adding a coating to the finished paper's surface, making the instrument difficult to forge. It acquired its paper from the nearby Riverside division of American Writing Paper Corporation.
In 1911, a wooden manufacturing building was erected at 102-104 Winter Street, known as the Baker lot. In the early 1900s, Michael H. Baker was the proprietor of the Holyoke Lead Pipe Company. In August 1920, the concern purchased the neighboring Springfield Brewing Company property for $10,000 to have in the event of expansion.
By 1922, the company was so well-stocked with orders that it did not bid on large government paper contracts, a change from prior years.
In May 1923, the company received a permit to build a one-story brick addition onto its building for $15,000.
Safety Paper Company's lifeblood was its earnings from government contracts, often competing against larger companies. The volume of work was significant, but the profit margins were low, based on the competitive bidding process.
The City of Holyoke ordered its checks from Safety Paper Company in 1944, replacing a cheaper grade of paper it had used. It did not contain the protective chemical to deter check altering.
Mr. Weis continued working well into his late 70s. He also was very civic-minded, having given of his time and knowledge to the Holyoke School Committee and other civic organizations, including the Y.M.C.A and Holyoke Public Library. He founded the Home Information Center.
He was a former president of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and, in 1940, was the first recipient of the Distinguished Service-to-Holyoke Award.
The business continued briefly in Holyoke after Mr. Weis's death in late September 1948. On July 1, 1949, the Holyoke plant was closed. It was absorbed by its parent company and relocated to Nutley, New Jersey.
The plant was sold and occupied in the 1950s by New England Steel Supply Company. William F. Sullivan Steel Company operated there in the 1960s and 1970s. The property was sold to Riverside Development in 1980 and to Laminated Papers Inc. shortly thereafter in 1981. The buildings at 102-104 Winter Street were razed to accommodate the expansion of Laminated Papers Inc.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican); publication dates and pages are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Chicopee & Springfield, Massachusetts, City Directories.
History of Massachusetts Industries, Orra L. Stone, 1930, p. 613
1911 Richards Standard Atlas of the City of Holyoke
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