The paper-making and paper-processing industries remained solid contributors to Holyoke’s employment base during the 1930s. One of the companies that formed and established a niche in the industry was the Paper Service Company, and its story will now be told.
Reginald Franklin Kinley was born in Vershire, Vermont, on June 17, 1902. His parents, John J. Kinley and Minnie (Lloye) Kinley, who had previously emigrated from Canada, relocated to Holyoke and were shown as living at 34 Glen St. in 1906. R. Franklin Kinley was educated in the Holyoke school system through his years at Holyoke High School. The family moved to 74 Brown Ave. around 1907, per Holyoke City Directories.
The 1920 U.S. Federal Census indicated that Reginald Kinley was employed as a Building Materials Commercial Trader and resided on Brown Avenue with his spouse, Ruth (Davis) Kinley.
In 1937, the lure of self-employment led Mr. Kinley to form his own business, the Paper Service Company. The business was initially situated in a 2,000 square-foot space at 76 Ely Street. This was the former location of the New York-New England Paper Company. The company had 3 workers, Reginald and Ruth Kinley and 1 ruling machine operator.
The business operated by ruling and printing advertising novelties and desk diaries. As the business grew beyond its space, the company relocated to the Holyoke Water Power Co.’s (HWPCo) Carpenter Shop at 102 Cabot Street, between the First and Second Level Canals in 1943. By 1951, the company had 20,000 square feet of floor space and employed 19 workers.
In 1951, Reginald Kinley formed a partnership with his brother, Harold, one year his elder, at the Cabot Street mill. In 1954, the company incorporated using its long-held business name, becoming Paper Service Co. Inc.
In June 1954, Joseph Allan, formerly the head accountant at Crocker McElwain, joined the newly incorporated business. He would subsequently be elected Treasurer of the corporation.
Further growth necessitated expansion in 1956. The company had an opportunity to lease 30,000 square feet of floor space in the Beebe-Holbrook industrial complex at 380 Dwight Street, owned by HWPCo. HWPCo renovated the space to meet Paper Service’s needs. The new space was readied in February, 1956. The company employed 60 workers at the time.
In 1964, the company took on additional investors to infuse the business with working capital. Messrs. Kinley and Allan continued to have a controlling interest at the time. In November of that year, Reginald Franklin Kinley retired.
By 1968, the company was leasing 63,000 square feet of space in the Beebe-Holbrook Industrial Complex, where it had previously consolidated operations. More production space was needed. Richard E. Chandler was President and Director at the time. The company expanded its product line to include tablets and notebooks used by college and high school students, office and secretarial workers, and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and NASA.
The company became the first industrial tenant of the William Aubin mill complex when it leased 18,000 square feet of floor space, which was the entire first floor of Mill No. 2. William Aubin, a commercial developer from Amherst, had acquired the former Whiting mill in 1967. Paper Service purchased additional equipment for its second location and anticipated increasing its current 90-person workforce by 10-20%.
Within 4 years, there was talk of the plant closing. In January 1970, the company was acquired by International Industries of Beverly Hills, California, thereby becoming a subsidiary. The Paper Service Company was producing art and school supplies for college campus stores.
In November 1971, the business was once again sold to a new corporation, Holyoke Converters Inc., owned by Jerry Larivee. The new company had its financial struggles and shut down on March 3, 1972. Its assets were sold at a public auction.
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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