There have been several accounts in this blog about toy and game manufacturers and retailers that operated in Holyoke. One more will now be added to the list: the story of the Denis Crib Company.
The business was originally formed as the Denis Company, founded by Robert B. Denis in August 1952. For a short time, the company operated in space provided by the Merrick Lumber Company at 107 Appleton Street. The company was formed to produce metal and wooden toys.
In March 1953, three family-owned manufacturing businesses consolidated at 90 Sargeant Street, the factory of the former Holyoke Heater Company. These included R.B. Denis Company, Inc., which manufactured plumbing supplies and hangers; Denis Automotive Company, which produced auto parts; and the aforementioned Denis Company. The first two identified businesses had moved from Springfield. Robert B. Denis was associated with all 3 companies, and his father, Albert Denis, managed the automotive business.
On March 1, 1954, the Denis Company was reorganized as the Denis Crib Company. The newly formed company’s officers were Robert B. Denis, President and research and sales manager, Louis N. Kostin, Treasurer and production manager and Irving Kostin, Clerk.
The company produced dollbeds, cribs, cradles and bassinets and had close to one year’s orders to fill. The company employed 13 workers and anticipated adding 26 more within 30 days. The plant would be running two and possibly three shifts. At the time, most of the company’s raw materials were imported from Finland.
By the end of 1954, the company was producing 3,500 cribs weekly; 80% were toys; the remainder were full-size baby and juvenile cribs.
This innovative company manufactured the toy cribs as replicas of the full-size version. The item could be assembled in 10 minutes using predrilled holes and a handful of screws. The products were manufactured with hardwoods, such as beech, maple and birch, materials sourced from the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire and Canada.
The company developed a rocker crib with a built-in music box and a crib bunk bed with a small ladder. With 4 million children born annually in the United States, the company felt there was a great market for its products.
In May 1959, the Denis Crib Company reported that it was producing 280,000 units annually, representing nearly $1 million in sales revenue. Over 8 years, sales increased by 800%. The company was so busy that it used outside manufacturers to connect some of the crib and playpen parts. There were 50 production workers in Holyoke, and at times, this number reached 75.
The company had a showroom at 200 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and outlets located in Brooklyn, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Kansas City, Missouri and Oakland, California. In 1960, its New York City showroom was expanded.
In 1962, Louis N. and Irving Kostin moved their company, American Pre-School Inc., which manufactured educational toys and games, from North Carolina. The company was founded in 1960 and would be a division of the Denis Crib Company. The business planned to employ 40 workers and operate at 12 Crescent Street in the former American Tissue Company’s building.
By 1964, the Denis Crib Company’s operations had also relocated to the 100,000-square-foot site at 12 Crescent Street. In 1965, Hugh Wolfert joined the enterprise and a new corporation, the Denis Toy Company Inc., was formed. The new company forged ahead for another year and a half, but financial problems led to the closure of the business and the sale of its assets in January 1967.
An attempt was made to restart the business as Denis Playthings, Inc., at 12 Crescent Street; however, it was unsuccessful, and the business closed in 1971.
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
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