Carl Robert Wilhelm was the long-time Master Mechanic of the Germania Mills. Besides his expertise with machinery and equipment, he was also an accomplished amateur photographer. He made glass plate negatives and prints of many subjects, including cityscapes, factories, other businesses, and people. The following photographs were sourced from http://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org and are intended for viewers' enjoyment and learning more about the Germania Mills.
By way of background, Carl Robert Wilhelm was born on March 2, 1857, and was a native of Saxony, Germany. He arrived in the United States in August 1884. He worked for a short period in the Munn & Bausch Machine Shop before embarking on a fifty-one-year career with Germania Mills, and then worked for its successor, the Livingston Worsted Mill. For a short period, he also partnered in a bottling company, Wilhelm and Dehrich's, and then a tavern for several years before rejoining the Germania Mills.
In 1933, he was a Master Mechanic at Germania Mills and continued in this capacity when the company reorganized as the Livingston Worsted Mills.
In 1934, he was recognized for his 50 years of service. It was noted in a news article that he had taken only a half-day off in those 50 years. He worked seven days a week for 50 years without regret. His travels to Boston and New York were all work-related. He enjoyed being around machinery in the woolen mill.
With his fascination with the workings of machinery, he had an open invitation to visit the Holyoke Transcript to view its equipment and operation. However, as this would mean leaving the Germania or Livingston Mills, he couldn't pull himself away.
He remained on the job during the flood of 1936 when he was 75 years old. He moved boxes and wool from the cellar to the first floor and was prepared to move them again to an upper floor out of harm's way from the waters. After so many years with Germania and Livingston, he likened his job to being a captain of a ship.
He celebrated his 83rd birthday on March 2, 1940, and continued his daily work routine. Shortly thereafter, on April 11, 1940, C. Robert Wilhelm, a gifted Master Mechanic and photographer, died. His legacy lives in perpetuity with his remarkable glass plate prints.
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Boston (Massachusetts) Evening Transcript; publication dates and pages are shown.
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