After several years of operating at 541 Main Street, the owners of Holyoke DieCut Card Company made a major property acquisition to expand their mill space.
An opportunity arose in which the principals of Holyoke Die Cut Card Company could own their own plant. The 493 Dwight Street mill of the former Prentiss Wire Company, along with two smaller ancillary buildings, was listed for sale by H. K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh concern was the parent company of Riverside-Alloy Metal Division, which was discontinuing its Holyoke operation.
In March 1964, M. J. Realty Company, whose three principal officers were the owners of Holyoke Die Cut Card, purchased the buildings for $35,000. The buildings contained over 77,000 square feet of factory space, substantially larger than the leased Main Street location. The main building, where the business would operate, had 40,000 square feet of space. It was estimated that it would take about three months to commence plant operations at the new location.
The officers of Holyoke Die Cut Card were James R. Whitcomb, President, M. R. Whitcomb, Vice-President, and Delevan E. Whitcomb, Clerk, all residents of South Hadley.
In June 1964, the two smaller buildings were sold to E. Roger Lussier of Holyoke, who planned to lease the space to prospective tenants. The sales price was $15,000.
The company continued to produce small packaging cartons and blister-back cardboard backing cards, especially needed in the growing retail self-service stores. Examples include rubber bands, pens, and other stationery items in blister-pack containers hung from a display hook. In the 1970s, 50% of its business was packaging miniature bulbs used in cars, flashlights, radios, and appliances.
Once the cardboard stock was received, the company's letterpress machine or photo-offset printer would print the pertinent labels on it. Then it moves to the cutting machine, where cardboard scraps are discarded so the final package can be glued to form the container, ready for packing and shipping.
By the late 1970s, Marcine R. Whitcomb retired, leaving James and Delevan to operate the business. James Whitcomb's sons, James II and Dana, became the third generation to join the firm. The company relied on its long-time reliable purchasing agents to secure new customers and maintain existing ones.
James R. Whitcomb retired in 1981, leaving Delevan as the sole remaining brother to operate the business with James II and Dana Whitcomb.
In 1983, the company made energy-saving improvements to cut costs and improve energy efficiency. Weather-stripping and caulking the numerous windows and doors, and installing a system to capture heat generated by production for heating the space, cost $30,000 and were expected to save $16,000 annually in energy costs.
From 1996 to 1998, all three brothers had died. Dana Whitcomb was then listed as the President, Treasurer, and Clerk of the corporation according to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's records. An auction was held on April 15, 2001, to sell the corporation's assets. The building at 439 Dwight Street was sold by Dana Whitcomb on November 19, 2001.
The business operated for 70-plus years in three generations of the Whitcomb family, a testament to the family's industriousness, business acumen, and entrepreneurial spirit. This was quite a success story.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
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