Dora (Hollup) Gordon

 This is the story of a woman inspired by the pursuit of education while raising five children and managing the Gordon House, an inn located at 80 Hamilton Street in Holyoke.

Dora Hollup was born in Holyoke in 1884. Until the age of 12, she attended the Hamilton Street School, like many youngsters of her age. This changed due to family circumstances. There were sixteen children in the household, and she was the oldest. Dora's mother had significant health problems and needed assistance managing the household. Dora dropped out of school and cared for her mother and siblings over the next 20 years. 

It was also during this time that Dora Hollup, then 19 years old, married Abraham Z. Gordon in 1904. She continued being of assistance to her mother and younger siblings while also attending to her own children. She also managed the Gordon House, an inn her husband owned at 80 Hamilton Street, and where he family resided. She rarely regretted her action in helping out her family in deference to her own education.

In 1925, Dora was 41 years old. Her son Samuel was attending M.I.T., and another son, Isadore, was soon to attend Cornell. She took on 36 boarders to assist in paying for their education. She still had three pre-teen school-aged children at home, the youngest of whom was five years old. The education of her children was paramount, as was her desire to return and complete her own education. 

In September 1925, she returned to school and was placed in the sixth grade. Her teachers were very understanding, and the concern of being ridiculed by fellow students diminished, as they enjoyed each other's company.

She completed her sixth-grade education in one month and, by the end of that school year, completed her seventh- and eighth-grade education at Morgan Junior High School. As her sons, Sidney and Maurice, were in the junior high school at the same time, she was able to assist with their homework when needed.

Dora and her children would return home from school at lunchtime to prepare the evening meal. After school closed at 3:30 P.M., she would spend her waking time studying at a table she had set up next to her bed.

In June 1927, Dora graduated from Morgan Jr. High School and was ready to further her education at Holyoke High School. One of her goals was to pursue writing after completing her education.

The skepticism of her younger children vanished, and they were supportive of their mother's academic pursuits.

Dora Gordon graduated from Holyoke High School in 1930. She completed seven years of education in five years. In high school, she pursued challenging college preparatory courses, including French, Latin, and Geometry. She felt that her quest for education, pursued concurrently with her younger children, created a stronger and more joyful bond with them. 

Dora Gordon was now forty-five years old, and her plans were in focus. She had set her vision on attending college. In 1931, she relocated to New York and attended Columbia University for two years, where she majored in journalism.

Dora Gordon penned a novel titled Cathy O'Hara in the mid-1950s. She passed away on October 22, 1957. Her book was published posthumously in January 1958. The Gordon family established an annual cash award at Holyoke High School presented to a senior who formerly attended Morgan School, "for meritorious accomplishments beyond the requirements of the curriculum."

Dora Gordon was a caretaker, mother, inn-keeper, and businesswoman with an ambitious thirst for her own and her family's education. As she was quoted as saying about her plans after high school, "College? Why not? This is a fast-moving world we are living in today and we can't afford to sit back and let everything pass by."...(It) seemed a hard thing to do, but I did it. I don't want to stop now. After I have had a year's rest, I'm planning on going to college." 

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.

Holyoke Public Library History Room, Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

                                                                      (continued)

80 & 77 Hamilton Street~ Part 4- Hotel Nassau & Nassau Inn

 In 1941, the Gordon House was renamed the Hotel Nassau. No account was found as to what prompted the name change for this now sixty-year-old rooming house at 80 Hamilton Street. Abraham Z. and Dora Gordon continued to own the business.

Interestingly, the Holyoke Savings Bank had foreclosed on the mortgage dated March 5, 1888, which was still in the name of John M and Wallie Yoerg. The successful bidders at the June 12, 1940, auction were William and Edythe Radner, who, eight days later, conveyed the real estate to Abraham Z. and Dora Gordon, along with Isadore, Sidney, Maurice, and Victoria Gordon.

Researching the Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts, revealed that there were no deed transfers from the time the Yoergs acquired the 80 Hamilton Street real estate on July 27, 1874, to the foreclosure deed of June 12, 1940, a period of almost 66 years. Several businesspeople were identified as operating this rooming house during this period, although they did not own the real estate.

In the 1940s, the ads revealed that several rooms of the hotel had been remodeled. Accommodations included running water, sinks, showers, maid service, and message delivery service. 

On October 22, 1953, Dora Gordon, a 35-year businesswoman and co-owner of Gordon House, which was later renamed Hotel Nassau, passed away. 

On October 22, 1959, fire struck the hotel, causing considerable damage. There were no casualties in the blaze; however, the third and fourth floors of the building received heavy damage. 

By this time, sons Sidney and Maurice Gordon were active in this business and formed the Nassau Realty Trust. The fire-damaged building was repaired for $7,000. Their longer-range plan was to build a two-story inn across the street at 77 Hamilton Street, where a four-story tenement building stood.

On January 23, 1963, the Nassau Realty Trust closed on the purchase of this building and an adjoining parcel to the rear of the building. The 14-unit apartment building with a store on street level was torn down shortly after to make way for the new Nassau Inn. Charles Paradis of Ludlow was selected as the building contractor. A loan for $94,500 was secured from Mechanics Savings Bank, later renamed Community Savings Bank.

An invitation-only party was held on April 5, 1964, to showcase the newly completed Nassau Inn. The new inn featured 10 rooms and suites. Each had a bath or shower, an efficiency kitchen, and was modernly decorated. There was a 1,000 square-foot basement room, called the Cellarium, where business meetings or conferences could be held. The space could also be used for lounging and recreation. There was a kitchen area in this room.

In March 1968, Abraham Z. Gordon passed away, approximately 50 years after co-founding the Gordon House and later the Hotel Nassau with his wife, Dora Gordon. 

The Nassau Motor Inn continued in business until the mid-1970s, when financial issues made it no longer tenable. On November 19, 1975, Nassau Realty Corporation turned the building over to the bank for disposition. 

In March 1976, Community Savings Bank sold the property, along with the 80 Hamilton Street real estate and a parcel on 405-407 Main Street, to the Council of Pentecostal Christian Churches Inc., which converted the building into the Emmanuel Bible Seminary. The church itself was located a short distance away at Cabot and Race Street, having been purchased from the Grace United Church two years prior.

The old Hotel Nassau building, located at 80 Hamilton Street, was razed in October 1981.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily- Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.

Holyoke Public Library History Room, online Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1915 and 1949

Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts

                                                    Nassau Inn 1964 to 1975

Hotel Nassau Fire October 22, 1959

April 4, 1964 - Sidney and Maurice Gordon in front of the new Nassau Inn

Holyoke, Massachusetts, Assessors' Office Photo of the former Nassau Inn 

The Hotel Nassau is shown in the background.