Every so often, I will encounter the name of an individual who served the public in a small business, and it will capture my interest. This was the case with August Gander, a tailor who operated on High Street.
The Price & Lee City Directories indicate the number of tailors in Holyoke for the years identified:
1893 - 7
1903 - 15
1923 - 31
1945 - 25
In the mid- to late 2010s, I saw a photo taken at some point in the 1940s of the Tuttle Building, located at the southwest corner of High and Essex Streets. Prominently displayed inside the second-floor window was an approximate 8 by 18-inch placard, showing August K. Gander Tailor.
August Gander was born in Silesia, Germany, on March 24, 1862. He immigrated to the United States with his wife and son and settled in Holyoke in 1888. One of his first recollections was the mountains of snow deposited by a record-breaking blizzard.
He learned his craft in Germany under a strict apprenticeship system. Upon his arrival in the U.S., he worked for two tailors: Max A Marsh on Main Street and Jacob Hirt on High Street.
In 1897, he ventured out independently, first operating a shop on High Street between Cabot and Essex Streets, which also housed Brown's Produce. In 1904, he moved to the Tuttle Block at the corner of Essex and High Street.
He married the former Hulda Blondine Mueller in 1887. They resided at 298 Elm Street, where they raised their seven children for many years. The couple marked their 60th anniversary in 1947.
Mr. Gander was active with the Holyoke Turn Verein on South Bridge Street. He was a special events floor director and a singer on other occasions. At the 72nd anniversary of the Turn Verein held in 1943, August Gander was presented a gold pin, signifying his 50 years as a club member. He was also a member of the Teutonia Lodge of the Sons of Hermann.
As a tailor, he made suits and clothing for some who became prominent at a national and state level. At age 80, he continued to work full-time, arriving at his shop at 7:30 each morning, and his work became more cleaning and pressing clothes. To the latter, he used a fifteen-pound iron to perform his trade.
He continued to work until he was 87 and retired in December 1949, several months after his wife died. He had been engaged as a tailor for 62 years in the United States and had seen eight landlords during his 52 years in the Tuttle Block.
On good weather days, at age 90, he would walk from his apartment on Elm Street, near Sargeant Street, to City Hall and back home. August Gander died in 1957 at the age of 95.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts, Holyoke Public Library.
Google Maps, 910 Hampden Street, Nov. 2020
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