Godek Provision Company

 For much of the 20th century, many Holyoke residents shopped at their neighborhood markets or provisions stores. One of these longtime butcher shops and grocery stores was Godek Provision Company, the subject of today’s story.

Kazimierz Michiel “Casimer” Godek was born in Poland and arrived in the United States in 1909. He initially settled in the Thorndike section of Palmer, Massachusetts. After his marriage in 1911, he moved to 231 Hampden Street in Holyoke. He went into business as a sausage maker with a partner, Wladyslaw “Walter” Nowak, at 11 Union Street in Holyoke. The business, known as Nowak & Godek, operated as a wholesaler, delivering its meats to markets.

The business is shown as relocated to 108 Maple Street, near the corner of Lyman Street, in the 1922 Holyoke City Directory. The partnership continued until about 1927, when Mr. Godek took over the business as a sole proprietor. Kazimierz and his wife, Katarzyna Godek, were well established in their home at 248 Lyman Street, where they lived for over 30 years. Their son, Chester Godek, entered the business in 1933 after completing high school.

Shortly after World War II, the business was shown as Godek Provision Company.

On January 2, 1947, Kazimierz Godek died, and the business was passed to his son Chester Godek. Together with his wife, Mary Godek, the business continued the family’s retail tradition, selling its homemade sausages, kiszka, assorted meats, Polish candies and other items imported from Poland. The store once stocked canned reindeer and wild boar meat.

In 1981, the owners went into semi-retirement, and the business was run by their daughter, Dorothy Godek Rigalis. She continued the tradition of making kielbasa, 250 pounds at a time, smoked over wood rather than gas, and without preservatives or other fillers. Their products were shipped to customers throughout the country. 

On February 8, 1986, the business closed after 75 years when the Godeks retired. Paul Grenier planned to continue running the store as a neighborhood market without the Godeks’ famous kielbasa.

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

Chester and Mary Godek, proprietors

Autron Inc.

 Autron Inc. was formed in 1968 by employees of Eastern Specialties Inc., a manufacturer of spooled paper and tape products. Similar to Eastern Specialties, this was a paper converting company. The business’s initial location was 17 Bond Street, now Nick Cosmos Way. Production was underway in September 1970 in the 14,000-square-foot space. 

The company specializes in manufacturing products geared towards the communications and computer technology sectors. There were approximately 14 workers employed at its inception.

By 1973, the demand for the company’s goods had increased rapidly, and additional space was needed. The company relocated to 38 Winter Street, where it employed 50 workers by 1979. Being located in Holyoke, there was a ready availability of outside technical and mechanical services. The company attributed its early success to the local banking industry, government agencies, the availability of real estate, and Holyoke’s highly skilled workforce.

In 1987, Murebeni America acquired Autron. In 1989, Murebeni America Paper Sales Corp., a branch of Murebeni America, acquired Eastern Specialties Inc. Eastern Specialties and Autron merged in 1991 under the name Autron Inc. It was in this year, while working through the merger at 5 Appleton Street, and dealing with a recession, that 39 of its 100 employees were laid off.

In 1993, Autron participated in the National Retail Federation Convention and Exposition in New York City. The company was there to promote its Security Plus Tape, which was coated with ink visible only under ultraviolet light. The purpose of the product was to reduce theft of items from stores, in which a customer would present a copy of a receipt, claiming to have purchased the product taken off the shelf. This was becoming a major issue for retailers. The hope was that this would spur Autron’s sales, which had been lackluster the two preceding years.

In 1993, Autron employed 65 workers in Holyoke, 40 in Dallas, and about 20 in other office locations. Sales were estimated at about $20 million that year.

In August 2000, Graphics Control of Buffalo, New York, acquired the assets of Autron. There was no additional news forthcoming from the buyer or the seller. The Buffalo News reported that the acquisition of assets would add 25 new jobs at the Buffalo facility. The transaction occurred 6 months before Graphics Controls was to open a new $16 million plant in Buffalo.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Buffalo (New York) News; publication dates and pages are shown.

Eastern Specialties Company (Pt.3 1965-2000)

Eastern Specialties Company, later rebranded ESCO, continued to flourish in the 1960s. In 1968, the company required more space to carry out its production. The building’s owner, Holyoke Water Power Company, had a 5,000-square-foot addition erected. The work was performed by the Edward J. O’Leary Company.

The work also included structural improvements to the existing building. Steel plates were installed on the floor, enabling ESCO to stack 4 1,000-pound rolls on top of one another. This vertical storage facilitated having more paper on hand to produce its products.

In 1970, ESCO employees started another company, Autron, which was later sold to Murebeni Paper Sales Corp. Autron will be further explored with findings revealed in the next installment.

By 1969. ESCO was occupying all four floors of the building and 2 basements. The two prior upper-floor tenants, Gravure Engraving, had previously moved to the Springdale Industrial Park, and Nonotuck Wire relocated to South Hadley Falls.

In 1970 and 1971, the company was awarded over $600,000 in federal government contracts to supply typewriter paper. The contracts were announced by Congressman Sylvio O. Conte and Senator Edward W. Brooke.

In 1974, Eastern Specialties purchased the 4-story, 64,000 square-foot factory building at 2 Appleton Street from J T. Downey Realty Corporation. The building was previously home to Holyoke Wire and Cable Company. The company continued operations at 5 Appleton Street, and the use of the newly acquired building was not discernible. 

In 1981, Richard Nickerson, then company President, was awarded Business Person of the Year by the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. The award was bestowed in recognition of his contributions to the city.

In late September 1989, Eastern Specialties was also sold to Murebeni Paper Sales Corporation, a holding company run by Yoshikazu Nakano of South Hadley. One of the sale’s stipulations was that the 55 employees in Holyoke and 20 in Northfield, Illinois, retain their jobs. The announcement was made by Mr. Nickerson, who was Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Paul Coady, Company President. 

The company was shown as merged with Autron, using the latter as the consolidated company’s name. There were about 100 employees. Due to the 1991 recession, 45% of Autron’s workforce was laid off.

In 2000, the assets of Autron, then owned by Miami Systems of Cincinnati, Ohio, were sold to Graphics Controls of Buffalo, New York. A sampling of the new owner’s products was reviewed from its current website, and reveals some former Eastern Specialties products shown at the end of this presentation.

Citations:

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

Graphic Controls - Data Recording Equipment and Accessories