The Germania Mills proved to be a formidable manufacturer and efficient business operation, weathering the volatility in the woolen and worsted market in its initial 25 years. Although there were several strikes and industry downturns, the company continued to move ahead.
The 1890s brought more challenges to the company. For the corporation's fiscal year ending in 1890, its debts were $387,104, with liquid assets of $128,557. Prices in the woolen and worsted market were at a low point.
In early 1893, Hermann Stursberg Jr., who was the superintendent of the plant, left his position. He was succeeded by William Mauer, whose distinguished career with Germania Mills extended into the 1930s.
In September 1894, the workers held a strike seeking a 20% pay increase. Employees' pays were cut 20% earlier that year due to a downturn in prices for woolen products. On October 2, 1894, the company officials proposed a 10% pay increase, which was rejected. The following week, the company sent eviction notices to the strikers who resided in the Germania Block housing on Park Street (now Bonin Field and storage units, between Jackson & South Canal Sts.). On October 26, 1894, the strikers accepted the company's proposal and returned to work.
There was an increase in the number of orders for goods upon the workers' return to work. However, in 1896, the economic downturn returned to the industry, and a three-day workweek was instituted. The slowdown continued through 1897, and there were fears of a plant closure.
In 1898, orders increased, and the woolen mills in Holyoke were operating full-time. This included Springfield Blanket Co., Connor Bros., Beebe, Webber Co., Chadwick Plush Co., and Germania Mills.
Germania Mills took the opportunity to bid and purchase at a Boston auction 8,000 bales of wool for future work.
In 1901, August Stursberg died. He was the brother of Hermann Stursberg and an agent for the mill until returning to Germany in 1879. The 1880 Census shows he, his wife, three daughters, and son residing in House # 42 on South Street. He served Holyoke on the first Board of Aldermen in 1874. The mayor at the time was W. B. C. Pearsons. He returned to the Board for a year in 1878 when the mayor was William Whiting.
In 1904, Hermann N. Stursberg Sr., founder, President, and major investor in Germania Mills, died in Baden Baden, Germany. He was a long-time resident of New York City and would visit Holyoke for two weeks at a time, and reside at the Hotel Hamilton. Mr. Stursberg's sons, William, Julius, and Herman Jr., were also active in the business, with William and Julius moving the company forward into the 20th century. William Stursberg was the corporate Treasurer at the time of his father's passing.
With the deaths of incorporators Hermann and August Stursberg, a forty-year chapter ends and a new one begins.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Boston (Massachusetts) Globe; Boston (Massachusetts) Evening Transcript; Berkshire (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Eagle; Evening Herald (Fall River, Massachusetts); publication dates and pages are shown.
Holyoke - Chicopee A Perspective, Ella Merkel Dicarlo, Publisher Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1982
History of Massachusetts Industries, Orra L. Stone, Chapter XXVII-Holyoke, 1930
Ancestry.com (paid subscription), Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
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