Late 1945 marked a new generation of ownership of A.T. Gallup Inc., as Prentiss Gallup arrived from southern Connecticut to manage the Holyoke shop. His brother, Burton Gallup, remained in Connecticut to run the Miegs & Company of Bridgeport, which the Gallups also owned.
Prentiss Gallup soon purchased a family residence at 1125 Northampton Street. The residence was purchased from Sidney L. & Louise D. Willson, who had owned the home since May 1936, when they purchased it from the Ranger estate. The Willsons had named the estate La Loma. Sidney L. Willson was the President of the American Writing Paper Company. The house was built in 1919 by Joseph F. Ranger for his family.
Within a year of Prentiss Gallup's arrival, he embarked on a plan to renovate and expand the store. The upper two floors occupied by tenants would be eliminated. The second floor of the four-story building, which was presently occupied by several offices, would be converted to retail space for menswear. 16 residential apartment dwellers and 7 business tenants would need to find new accommodations. The work would take several months to complete, and the expectation was that the store would reopen in 1947.
The basement would be converted to children's clothing and men's workwear; the ground floor dedicated to men's furnishings and the show department; and the second floor to suits.
William and John Gallup, sons of Prentiss Gallup, became the third generation of family to work in the store in the mid and late 1940s.
In 1950, Sansone Engineering, owned by Nicholas Sansone of 101 Hillside Ave., installed an air conditioning system throughout the store. Mr. Sansone would then install similar systems in Alger's Funeral Home on Chestnut Street and Kelley's Lobster House at Appleton and Race streets.
What struck me throughout this storyline was the longevity of some of the store employees. George A. Coderre was a 35-year tailor, Romeo P. Lacombe, a store salesman, worked at Gallup's for over 46 years and 49 years in all in the retail clothing trade. He started at the age of 16. Patrick A. Coughlin, another salesman, spent 52 years at A. T. Gallup and was present for all 104 semi-annual inventories conducted during his career.
In 1955, John G. Gallup left his employment for a successful career spent at Strathmore Paper, and in 1961, William C. Gallup moved on to Holyoke's American Pad and Paper Company's purchasing department. Although Mr. Gallup had four sons, the remaining two were not interested in joining the family business.
In 1959, Prentiss Gallup's brother, Burton Gallup, who managed the Miegs Department Store in Bridgeport, died.
In 1963, the Gallups sold their home on Northampton Street and moved to 37 Dartmouth Street. Their new residence was once home to Donald Mackinosh. It was constructed by Sam Hoyt, builder of many of Highland Park's homes.
On Wednesday, September 24, 1969, a newspaper advertisement announced that the store would close by year's end. A half-price sale of all of its remaining stock continued into late December. The Gallups indicated they wanted to retire, and their children were all successful in their careers, so there was no family succession plan.
On December 30, 1969, the building was sold to the neighboring People's Savings Bank, which planned an expansion to Suffolk Street. The Numkeag, which was later renamed the A.T. Gallup Company, ended more than 75 years of service to the residents of Holyoke and surrounding communities. The store building was razed in June 1970 to make way for the expanded People's Savings Bank headquarters, which stands as of this post.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
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