John Moskal was born in Grodzeski, Poland in 1888. When he was 14 years old, his family immigrated to the United States. The family briefly settled in Baltimore and moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked in the iron mills as a teenager until 1907.
His first trip to visit his brother in Holyoke was impressionable. He enjoyed New England's people and the beauty of the land and decided to move there.
He found work at Lyman Mills and worked there for a short time. In 1911, at age 23, he opened a meat and provisions market at 156 High Street in the Orrell Block at the corner of Hampden. He partnered with Joseph Lizak for two years in this venture. However, the partnership dissolved in 1913. Mr. Moskal ended up purchasing the block for $33,000 from Andrew Dubiel on December 13, 1915.
John Moskal became a United States citizen in 1913.
Mr. Moskal moved to a store at 78 Hampden Street in 1916, where he made Polish meats and assorted cold cuts.
On April 26, 1919, he purchased real estate at 113-115 Hampden Street between Maple and High Streets to open a grocery store. The property, shown in the lower red box on the map below, was purchased from Joshua Hartnett of West Springfield.
In 1925, he sold a half interest in the Hampden St. property to Wojciech Grabiec. A wooden building behind his store was razed to build and expand the sausage plant. A permit was granted in 1926. The grand opening of the new sausage plant was celebrated on March 12, 1927.
In 1929, Mr. Moskal began to open additional stores called the Globe Market in South Hadley, Granby, and Northampton. More stores were added in Westfield, Amherst, South Deerfield, Springfield, Hatfield, and Florence. A second Holyoke store was opened at 135 Main St., which brought the total to ten stores owned. He had a fleet of six trucks for wholesale deliveries and employed 60.
On June 4, 1937, Mr. Moskal acquired the three corner buildings at the intersection of Hampden and Maple, numbered 121-125-127, shown on the upper red box on the map below. The property was purchased from Ralph W., John R., and Edson R. Lyman.
The September 11, 1937, Holyoke Transcript, shared below, includes a history of the three buildings. This was the site of Holyoke's first dance hall and the Corcoran Lyceum of Higher Thought and Forensic Accomplishment.
Mr. Moskal removed the dilapidated yet historic buildings from 113 to 127 Hampden Street and built a new grocery store and sausage plant. The new store featured his popular meats and was a self-service grocery store. This would be the home of Holyoke Provisions for the rest of its existence and remains standing today.
A 1948 advertisement stated that the famous Nick's Nest hot dogs were a product of the Holyoke Provision Company.
Edward Moskal, the son of John Moskal, continued to operate the business after his father's death in 1971.
On June 11, 1975, a formal announcement that the store would be closing was made. Retirement Sale advertisements appeared in the Holyoke Transcript on June 11 and again on June 18, 1975. Soon after, the store closed, ending the almost 65-year-run of "The Complete Food Market."
In 1977, Beefland, a food market, occupied the space. However, this business had a short existence.
A Google search indicated that the Department of Development Services is currently an occupant of a building.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Courtesy: Holyoke Public Library History Room; Price & Lee Holyoke City Directories,
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
City of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Assessors' Office
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