There are times when, due to the unfamiliarity of a company name, a manufactured product or a service rendered, a company could go unnoticed over its 31 years in business. This was the case for me with the Martel Plating Company, whose story will now be told.
Kenneth Ernest Martel was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, on June 8, 1918. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Holyoke. The family first settled at 80 North Bridge Street and, in 1926, was shown at 47 Samosett Street, which was their longtime home.
In 1940, Kenneth Martel worked for the Industrial Chromium Company at 109 Lyman Street. This was a company that plated various metals with chromium to resist rust and corrosion from water. The process was especially useful for industrial machinery and equipment.
Mr. Martel served in the U.S. Army during World War II, enlisting on May 13, 1943. He was discharged on January 15, 1946. In 1948, he lived at 47 Samosett with his spouse, Doris (Donohue) Martel. The city directory listed Mr. Martel as a superintendent of the Industrial Chromium plant. He remained at Industrial Chromium until 1950, during which time he was a printing machine operator.
Mr. Martel started his own plating business in 1950, leasing space near the Gas Works along the river. The address was shown as rear 7 North Bridge Street. The mill building was owned by the Holyoke Water Power Co., which leased space to smaller businesses and start-ups, with Martel Plating Company falling into both categories. Located on the front side of the building was Alcon Waste Company at 7 North Bridge Street.
The business was incorporated as Martel Plating Company, Inc. on December 17, 1956.
Very little information was available about this company during its 30 years of operation. In January 1981, Northeast Utilities (NU) gave Martel Plating notice to vacate the mill building by October 1 of that year. NU indicated that the old mill was too costly to maintain and planned to raze the building.
Martel Plating had invested significant sums in its space to accommodate its business. This included electrical rewiring and the installation of a large liquid-holding tank. The company had assumed that NU, which had previously sent eviction notices but had not followed through, would pay for Martel Plating’s relocation. This was not the case.
Securing and repaying a loan to move the business would not be financially feasible for the company. No further news was discovered relating to the Martel Plating Company. The Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office indicates the corporation was voluntarily dissolved on December 22, 1982. Kenneth Martel, the retired founder of the company, died in 1984.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Valley Advocate, Springfield, Massachusetts; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office, Boston, Massachusetts
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