Holyoke Instrument Company

 The period following World War II saw an increase in the number of companies forming in Holyoke. Many were small start-ups; some were founded by owners who had been employed by Holyoke companies that were in decline or had closed. 

After World War II, the Pal Blade Company (Blog, 10-10-2025) was struggling. The large contracts for military cutlery, including knives and bayonets, were declining, thereby reducing product demand. The company employed many skilled craftspersons in various stages of knife production, and many were being laid off.

Some employees left before the company eventually closed in 1951 to form their own businesses. One example was Edge International Incorporated (Blog, 09-19-2025), which was located on Martin Street. Another was the subject of today's topic, the Holyoke Instrument Company.

In November 1946, four former employees of Pal Blade Company established the Holyoke Instrument Company. The four were Paul Busch, Erich Hussels, Karl Boes, and Joseph Guenster. All four hailed from Solingen, near Düsseldorf, Germany, having arrived in Holyoke at different times. Solingen was a noted center of cutlery manufacturing.

The firm's primary product was cuticle nippers, and it produced 1,200 units per month during its first four months of operation at 586R South Street. The company had contracts to supply Cutex and Peggy Sage companies, and employed 10 additional skilled workers. The company hoped to eventually expand into the manufacture of surgical equipment.

1950 was the last year the company appeared in the Price & Lee City Directories. A review of the four principals in the city directories revealed that either they had moved from the area or were employed elsewhere. Erich Hussels returned to the soon-to-be-closed Pal Blade Company.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Below: View of 586R South Street

(Above)

Approx. 586 South Street, Holyoke, Google Maps View 2025 

(Below)

Stonington Paper Tube Company

From a writer on the staff of the New York World-Telegram to a Madison Ave. advertising executive, David Niss decided to make a significant career transition. In 1949, he purchased the Stonington Paper Tube Company of Mystic, Connecticut, an enterprise far removed from his earlier endeavors.

The Stonington Paper Tube Company had been operating in Mystic, Connecticut, for an extended period. To increase accessibility to its customers and reduce freight and transportation costs, Mr. Niss relocated his company to Holyoke in early 1955. The company shipped its products to paper converters in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York.

Stonington Paper Tube Company relocated to the former Parsons Paper division of the American Writing Paper Company mill on Gatehouse Road. The mill area covered approximately 13,000 square feet. Other companies situated in the factory building owned by the Holyoke Water Power Company included the Laminated Papers Company and the A. A. Patch Company, a vulcanizer. 

Stonington was a manufacturer of paperboard. fiber, tubes, cores, and round containers for the paper, plastics, textile, and packaging industries. Toilet tissue rolls, gift wrap cores, mailing containers, and talcum powder boxes were among its products.

In 1958 and 1961, the company was approved for Small Business Administration loans, which were used to acquire updated equipment for its 19-employee business. New tube-winding equipment enabled the company to increase production by 30%.

The company was outgrowing its space. After exhaustive efforts to secure suitable existing or new building space in Holyoke were unsuccessful, the company relocated to Easthampton in 1964. The company purchased the former Hampton Mills building at 45 Ferry Street, thereby doubling its available space to 26,000 square feet.

In mid-1989, Stonington Corp. relocated to a new factory building at 61 Turnpike Industrial Road in Westfield. In 1996, Stonington Corporation was sold to Sonoco Products Company of Greenville, South Carolina.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; The Greenville (South Carolina) News; The Day, New London, Connecticut; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts

Mount St. Vincent Home for Aged Women (1953 - 2021)

The Mount Saint Vincent facility, which has not been used as an orphanage since 1954, was renamed. It was known as the Mount St. Vincent Home for Aged Women, dedicated to caring for elderly women. The facility had been caring for the elderly for some time, concurrently with the orphanage.

The Diocese of Springfield advanced social services and support for those in need, much of this funded by the annual Catholic Charities Appeal.

In 1965 and 1966, the diocese of Springfield announced that a new facility would be built atop Mount St. Vincent. The new care home could accommodate 232 elderly people and would be built to the south and west of the old Mount St. Vincent Home. Henry J. Tessier of Springfield was awarded the contract to design the new building. 

The former Mount St. Vincent Home would be demolished once the new building was completed and residents had been transferred. The plans for the vacant site included a graded terraced park for the residents of the new Mount St. Vincent's Home. 

These plans, advanced in 1965 and 1966 for building a new facility, did not materialize. However, plans to close the facility proceeded, and in April or May 1968, the facility closed permanently. Residents were relocated to other care facilities.

At the time, there were 121 women at the Mount St. Vincent Home and 71 men at the Beaven-Kelly Home for Men. The homes were staffed by the Sisters of Providence. 

On May 30, 1968, Edward Sacks, the noted Holyoke Auctioneer and Hampden County Deputy Sheriff, conducted an auction of the many contents of the former Mount St. Vincent's Home. The auction was initially planned for two days, but was extended to three. More than 400 people attended the auction's opening day. The building was to be demolished shortly after the auction concluded.

On May 7, 1970, the diocese of Springfield announced plans to build the new Mount St. Vincent Home. The plans harkened back to the 1965 and 1966 plans as designed by architect Henry J. Tessier, except for a smaller version. The home, priced at $2.1 million, would accommodate more than 120 people. The plan to construct a terraced park for residents at the former Mount St. Vincent site remained intact.

The structure would have three stories facing the main entrance to the west and four stories at the rear, facing the river. The frontage would extend 264 feet. The crest of the hill would be lowered 16 feet as part of the construction.

The building would be one of three to support the elderly population. The renovated Beaven-Kelly Home for Men accommodated 50 residents, and St. Luke's Home for Women in Springfield would house 90 women once the elevators were installed.

The new Mount St. Vincent Home was dedicated on October 22, 1972. Mount St. Vincent Care Center continued until the facility was sold in February 2021. At the time of transition, the census at Mount St. Vincent was 56 residents. As of 2026, the skilled nursing facility is known as Mission Care of Holyoke, a long-term care residence for specific medical needs.

Mount St. Vincent served the area's orphaned children and elderly population in need for 140 years at Ingleside, and nearly 150 years when its early roots in South Hadley are included. 

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

Assessors' Office, Holyoke, Massachusetts

The photo was taken to the south.

The 1972 Mount St. Vincent site is outlined in blue.

                                                        (Continued below)