Growing up in Holyoke, reading the Transcript or seeing signage were all ways to become familiar with business names. However, knowing a name and discerning the nature of the business are not always readily apparent. I was completely off-track with this one, thinking it had more to do with trash hauling. Not so, and here's the story of Alcon Waste Company.
It was the post-World War II era in 1947, when brothers Alfred D. and Mischa D. Borowsky formed a new paper mill supplies business called Alcon Waste Inc. Alfred was associated with Borowsky Co. Inc., a paper mill supplies company located at 549 Main Street. Mischa was also associated with the business and had enlisted in the service in 1943. Prior to his enlistment, he was employed as an auditor for the Goodrest Trading Corporation of Springfield.
Alcon Waste Company was first located at 362 Dwight Street. The paper mill supplies included the sale of cotton cuttings and cotton waste used in the paper-making industry.
In 1951, the business was shown at 7 Bridge Street. A 1952 news article reported that the company was located at the Holyoke Gas & Electric Hadley Mills building on Canal Street. The company had 12,000 square feet of floor space. After reviewing Registry of Deeds entries, it appears all holdings were situated in the gas works area on Hadley Mills Rd., off 7 North Bridge Street.
An opportunity to expand to a larger space arose in 1952, after the Holyoke Worsted Company moved to Kennebunk, Maine. Alcon Waste Company purchased the one-story building, which then provided about double its previous space. The company address was 7 North Bridge Street. The company added to its space in 1959 by acquiring additional property "off North Bridge Street." A current-day photo is shown below, and the Alcon Waste sign remains affixed to the building.
On December 30, 1958, the company incorporated as Alcon Waste Inc. The corporate address was later shown as 26 Hadley Mills Road.
In 1968, Holyoke Gas & Electric sold two additional parcels, which had once been part of the gas works that moved to Mueller Rd., to Alcon Waste, further expanding its holdings. Further acquisitions occurred in 1982.
The company continued to operate until about 2001, and all of Alcon's real estate holdings were subsequently sold in a single transaction in 2003. The corporation was dissolved on February 25, 2004.
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
Google Maps, 2026
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