The year was 1913; the Naumkeag Clothing store, which had operated for 22 years, was renamed A. T. Gallup Inc. (or A. T. Gallup Company). It maintained its business location at 293-297 High Street, which was built in 1905. This chapter will take us through the next 12 years of the company's business growth and civic activities.
The A. T. Gallup Co. made excellent use of its double wall of display windows, which stretched the entire first floor on both High and Suffolk Streets. The High Street side of the store also had larger second-floor display windows. On occasions, such as the downtown merchants' "Style Show Week", the settings resembled outdoor scenes, with fresh, colorful flowers and picket fences serving as a backdrop for the clothing showcase.
During the mid-1910s, the company was more prominent in its civic and social advocacy. Several retailers, including A. T. Gallup, supported the women's suffrage movement by allowing postings on their outdoor boxes. Mr. Gallup was elected Treasurer of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. The company sponsored ads advocating volunteerism and donations for the Red Cross during World War I. Mr. Gallup served on the building committee for a new Holyoke Boys' Club. The store became one of several drop-off points for donations to the Salvation Army, which also supported the war effort. The A. T. Gallup Store was the second retailer in the city to have 100% participation bond purchases for the Liberty Loan drive.
There was an interesting side note, also related to wartime. In 1917, Augustus T. Gallup purchased a 70-acre farm along the Connecticut River in South Hadley. The former H. W. Green farm, which included a large farmhouse and two barns, was located across the river and opposite the Holyoke Canoe Club and between the farms owned by Frank Metcalf and Joseph Skinner.
Mr. Gallup did not know what he would initially want to do with the farm, but was considering ways he could support the war effort and the United States' allies by supplying food products. By March 1918, he had close to 100 pigs, and soon he would have many multiples of that number. He decided his best support would be in feeding the people of Holyoke, so meat distributors could focus on selling their products directly to soldiers on the battle lines.
In 1920, Mr. Gallup purchased both the retail building where A. T. Gallup Inc. conducted business, as well as the neighboring Russell block at 289-291 High Street. This provided Mr. Gallup with 75 feet of retail frontage. Business associates and friends were congratulatory on Mr Gallup's acquisition of property on what was called "Holyoke's Most Valuable Corner."
Mr. Gallup was a driving force behind the creation of an association of clothing dealers in Holyoke. The organization would meet to address specific issues related to the retail clothing trade and hold meetings to benefit individual businesses and its collective membership.
In April 1924, Mr. Gallup made his second major store acquisition, purchasing the 36-year-old Miegs & Company Department Store at Main and Fairfield streets in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This intersection was called "the seventh busiest corner in New England." He planned to retain the management and sales force. Mr. Gallup was back to owning two stores after selling the Meriden store several years earlier.
The story continues in the next chapter, with a potential real estate transaction that would affect the business and trigger the relocation of the Holyoke store.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Views of Holyoke and Northampton, Copyright 1905, L. H. Nelson Company, Portland, Maine
Facebook, Growing Up in Holyoke, Massachusetts
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