Technological advances positively impacted the office supply business in the 1950s and beyond. The age of big-box office supply companies and internet shopping had not emerged, so it was the smaller, in-city shops that carried products for local businesses and individuals. The Holyoke City Directory lists 8 wholesale and retail shops, of which only a handful served retail customers. This edition focuses on one of the earliest in this retail sector, the Bennett Office Supplies Company.
Clifford Bennett was born in Holyoke in 1923 and was a 1942 graduate of Holyoke High School. He proceeded to American International College, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He was a veteran of World War II, having served with the U.S. Army Air Corp. in China, Burma and India.
After the war ended, he was employed in sales with the New York Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Philip Hano Company.
On April 3, 1957, Mr. Bennett opened the Bennett Office Supplies store at 1439 Dwight Street, near the corner of Ivy Street. The new venture serviced industrial, business and office customers in the Holyoke area. The company offered weekly financing options for typewriters and desks, and later added a photocopy service in addition to selling copy machines.
In November 1958, the business relocated to the Winship building at 320 Appleton Street at the southeast corner of Chestnut Street. In 1961, the business incorporated as Bennett & Dykes Inc. John T. Dykes, also a graduate of Holyoke High School and a Chicopee resident, was President of the new Corporation, while Mr. Bennett was Treasurer. Mr. Dykes was employed for 8 years by Forbes & Snyder, the longtime Holyoke office supply retailer.
On January 17, 1962, Bennett & Dykes moved to 110 Appleton Street, opposite the Merrick Lumber Company. During 1962, the business became a franchised dealer and service outlet for Remington-Rand typewriters, adding machines and calculators. The company had 6 employees at the time.
In June 1964, the business, which had since relocated to 208 Appleton Street, was sold to Earl T. Lyons. By profession, Mr. Lyons was an accountant who formerly worked for 8 years at A. A. Equipment Company and 3 years at Technifax, both in Holyoke. Bennett Office-Supply Inc. continued to operate until 1968, when Mr. Lyons accepted employment at Marcus Printing in Holyoke. At the time, the business operated in the Highland building at 911 Hampden Street.
Clifford Bennett changed his career path in 1964 and has served the elderly for 43 years. He earned a Master's Degree from UMass and a PhD from Walden University. He wrote two books, the second at age 84, titled "Senior Power: Your Last Chance to Avoid Languishing in a Nursing Home Bed." He was the Superintendent of the Holyoke Municipal Home for 13 years and, later, of nursing homes in Massachusetts, West Virginia and Maine.
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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