If you ever wondered about the piped-in music at banks, grocery stores, mills, restaurants, lobbies, elevators and other locations, you’ve come to the right place. This is the story of Holyoke’s Tel-O-Wire Music Company, the installers of such systems in the mid-20th century.
The Tel-O-Wire Music Company was formed around 1946 and operated from an office and studio in Room 710 of the Prew Building at 276 High Street.
Thomas D. Tillack of Hackensack, New Jersey, and Joseph F. Walthier of Ridgewood, New Jersey, were the young minds behind the introduction of the canned music concept to Holyoke businesses. Both were veterans of the Armed Services.
Mr. Walthier selected Holyoke based on a survey taken across New England cities. Those surveyed locally heartily endorsed the concept of music at work, and Holyoke had numerous industrial sites as a ready market.
The music was transmitted from the studio over telephone lines to the telephone office on Maple Street, then to the subscriber. The customer was supplied with an amplifier attached to a microphone, which transmitted music to the installed speakers. The customer had control over turning the music on or off and using the microphone to transmit messages to staff. A variety of music genres were tailored to meet the customer’s wishes. A bank could choose soft music, and industrial establishments could select faster-tempo music.
Holyoke Savings Bank was the business’s first customer. It chose the softer sounds befitting its business. Gleason’s Rathskeller chose dinner music, and Highland Laundry listened to polka or marching music to start the day and tapered it back for the rest of the workday. The music in employee lunchrooms could be adapted to differ from that in customer areas.
The 1946 outdoor December holiday music at City Hall was furnished by Tel-O-Wire Music Company.
In 1948, the company advertised recording devices for conferences, meetings, professional and home use. Also, that year. loud speakers provided outdoor music for the 75th Anniversary of the City of Holyoke. The speakers were placed at City Hall and at the intersection of Cabot and Main Streets.
The television age was in full swing. Tel-O-Wire Sound Company added a TV repair service located at 24 Newton Place. The Sound Company was situated at 39 Railroad Street in 1952.
In 1953, the company advertised a service to convert televisions to allow for UHF stations. The business began selling high-fidelity sound systems for listeners’ enjoyment at home.
The company expanded to a larger premises in 1956, relocating to 37 Railroad Street. The owners indicated that they had set up a room with acoustically perfect sound. The room was formerly the grease pit for the vacated City Tire Service Corporation.
Tel-O-Wire Sound Company sold its television division in March 1956. The television company was owned by Ludlow resident Francis Methot, who had seven years of experience as a sales manager at the sound company. The story of Francis Methot and his Tel-O-Wire Television Company is to be told in the next chapter.
Financial problems resulted in the demise of the Tel-O-Wire Sound Company in late 1957, 11 years after its inception. This was an interesting story, nonetheless, in a little-known industry in Holyoke.
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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