Newsrooms were rather common throughout the city of Holyoke throughout most of the 20th century. Rohan’s and Woerner’s, both on High Street, quickly come to mind. An assortment of quick-in, quick-out selections was available to the customer, including cigarettes, cigars, magazines, coffee, pastries, candy, newspapers and various other convenience store products. The Ducharme block had two newsrooms at different times during its lifespan: the West Chickie Newsroom and Shorty’s, the latter of which is the subject of this blog entry.
Arthur Joseph Guerin went into business around 1923, operating the Majestic Shoe Shine Parlor at 211 Main Street, adjacent to the Majestic Theater. For many years, the 1896 Holyoke-born-and-raised resident lived nearby at 269 Main Street. He had previously operated a shoe shine shop in a Main Street hotel.
As Mr. Guerin’s son, Bob Guerin, later recalled in conversations, “People tell me that players wouldn’t get on stage at the Majestic (Theater) and the Valley Arena without getting their shoes shined at my father’s store.” Some of the more notable entertainers who stopped in at Shorty’s while performing in Holyoke included Jimmy Stewart, big band leader Benny Goodman, and Bela Lugosi.
In 1933, the business name was changed to Shorty’s News and Shoe Shine, also known as simply Shorty’s, at the same location. He continued to operate the business until selling it to Aldo M. Rigali in 1953. Four years later, the business was transferred to Antonio B. Raymond of South Hadley Falls.
It was during Mr. Raymond’s ownership that he decided to move Shorty’s News Room to the Burham block at 135 Main Street. Edward Janis of Springfield, who worked at the Majestic Theater and for 20 years part-time at Shorty’s, did not think this was a good spot and offered to buy the business. He was successful, having purchased Shorty’s in 1959.
In 1962, he relocated Shorty’s to its original location at 211 Main Street. For the next 17 years, Mr. Janis remained at this location. In the late 1970s, a fire at the Holyoke Radio prompted his move to the corner of Main and Appleton Street in the Ducharme block. The space was a former Army Clothing Store.
Mr. Janas continued to own the business at 193 Main Street until 1981, when he sold it to its final owner, Robert Crowley. By this time, newsrooms were heavily reliant on lottery ticket sales to sustain their operations.
The closure of many mills left the area with fewer employees, and day-to-day foot traffic was insufficient to support the store. Over 10 years, sales had plummeted from $750,000 to about 100,000 in 1991. A series of break-ins during February 1991 had resulted in the installation of 3” steel bars on the windows. Robert Crowley closed Shorty’s in August 1991, leaving a newsroom legacy that spanned 8 decades.
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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