It was 1925, and Augustus T. Gallup and his sons, Prentiss and Burton, continued to build upon their successes over the past 33 years. A. T. Gallup continued to reside part-time at 247 Oak Street, as he devoted his time managing the Miegs Department Store in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
In 1926, the Miegs Department Store received a familiar neighbor across the street from its location when Albert Steiger expanded its holdings with the purchase of the D. M. Read Department Store. This was one of Bridgeport's leading retailers.
Advertisements began appearing in the Holyoke Transcript in 1926 seeking tenants in the 289-291 in the Russell Brothers Block, which A. T. Gallup had purchased in 1920.
In April 1927, Schnee & Schnee, a prominent real estate company, leased the entire 289-291 building and planned to remove the Russell Butter Company and introduce a chain store on the ground floor. I mention this lease as this was a significant factor in A. T. Gallup's future at its 293-297 High Street location. This story will be developed later in this chronology.
1927 marked the 33rd anniversary of A. T. Gallup's service to residents of Holyoke and the surrounding communities. Service to the community extended beyond its customer base. Whenever possible, Mr. Gallup sought to support the manufacturers in Holyoke. Mr. Gallup believed in the high quality of their output. Silks from the Skinner Mill and rayons and celenese from Farr Alpaca Company were sewn by wholesalers into clothing available for sale at A. T. Gallup and Miegs' stores.
On October 13, 1931, a destructive fire struck the A. T. Gallup store. The entire stock of clothing had to be removed per fire regulations, so no fire sale was allowed. The family awarded the $7,500 reconstruction contract to the Casper Ranger Construction Company.
On December 3, 1931, the Gallup family attended the grand reopening of the store and later that day returned to Bridgeport, Connecticut. A significant change to the store was the establishment of a large boys' department in the basement, accessible via a wide staircase upon entering.
In 1934, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company purchased the entirety of A. T. Gallup's holdings, including 289-291 High Street, the Russell Brothers Block, and the clothing store's location from 293-297 High Street. Metropolitan planned to reduce the height of the 289-291 location to conform to A. T. Gallup's two floors. Lynch Brothers were awarded the $26,000 contract, and the work was completed in 1935.
In 1936, the Gallups celebrated 46 years of retail clothing service at the same location. This included two years at the Currier & Company in the early 1890s. A. T. Gallup Company also signed a three-year lease extension that year.
1937 marked the return of Augustus T. Gallup to manage the Holyoke store on a full-time basis. He had been residing in Connecticut, managing his Miegs Department Store in Bridgeport, since 1925.
A significant change was on the horizon for Holyoke's A. T. Gallup Company, which will be explored in the following chapter.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Opening Photo Credit: Facebook, Growing Up in Holyoke, Massachusetts
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