Holyoke Die Cut Card Company was a family-owned business that stood the test of time over its 60-plus years of operating in Holyoke. This entry will explore its early beginnings under its previous name, the Holyoke Sales Company.
Marcien Eugene Whitcomb was born on June 13, 1889, in Keene, New Hampshire. His family moved to Holyoke when he was under 5. In 1893, the family was shown in the City Directory as residing at 141 Walnut Street, and from 1894 into the 1920s at 162 Walnut Street.
Before venturing out with his own business, Mr. Whitcomb worked for approximately 20 years at Chemical Paper Company and the American Writing Paper Company as a salesperson.
Mr. Whitcomb founded the Holyoke Sales Company in 1931. There are also reports indicating the business formation occurred in 1929. The plant started out in two rooms in the Rackliffe Building at 9 Suffolk Street, Room 30. The space was small, with approximately 700 square feet, and the company had about 10 employees. The company produces die-cut cardboard cards for businesses.
By 1935, the company relocated to the Feinstein Building at the northeast corner of Race and Appleton Street. This was the home of the American Braiding Company, and, as of this writing, is more commonly known as the Cubit Building. In 1944, the company was forced to move because the building's owners had the opportunity to lease three floors to Pressed Products Company.
In January 1945, the company relocated to the fourth floor of 541 Main Street, owned by the Borowsky family. This was in the former American Thread Company mill building. The company now had about 8,000 square feet of factory space to operate in. Half of the company's employees were veterans who served during World War II.
Two of Marciene Whitcomb's sons were now integral parts of the business. Marcine R. and James R. Whitcomb, both of South Hadley, were learning the company under their father's mentoring.
By 1946, the company was making cardboard punch-out Bingo Cards for the Veterans Hospital in Leeds, Massachusetts, along with suspender insert cards, ribbon, thread, elastic spools and discs, cards for holding indoor clothes lines, clothespins, and shirt and collar boards. The company also made corrugated cardboard platforms for larger electrical appliances. Retail apparel and other stores purchased the cardboard for merchandise holders.
The company attempted to acquire its raw materials locally. American Writing Paper Company supplied the paperboard, and other local concerns supplied plywood and corrugated cardboard. The company had the capacity to engrave and inscribe the paperboard, as trademarks were often necessary. The company also designed and produced its own dies.
Some of its products were sold west to Cleveland, Ohio, and south to Greenville, South Carolina. General Electric Company and Westinghouse were customers purchasing packaging for light bulbs and major electrical appliances.
The next chapter explores the company's further growth and a business name change.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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