Today’s story takes us to both Maple and High Streets, the locations of Del Padre Supply Co. of Holyoke and, later, the Del Padre Music Shop. The story becomes synonymous with Louis Luke Del Padre, founder and owner of what grew to be 11 outlets, including Holyoke, Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Providence and Greenfield, among others.
Louis L. Del Padre was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, on August 19, 1912. He was raised and educated there. After serving in the army in the European, African and Middle Eastern theaters, he went to work for Philco as its representative in Western Massachusetts. During 1947 and 1948, he was the home appliance sales manager for Albert Steiger Co. For about one year, he was the district merchandiser for Bendix Aviation Corporation’s radio and television division.
Mr. Del Padre established the Del Padre Supply Company in Springfield at 246-250 Chestnut Street in 1949. The business was wholesale only, selling solely to authorized radio and television dealers.
At the time the Holyoke store opened in August 1955, Louis Del Padre owned three other satellite stores in Pittsfield, Worcester and Providence. Del Padre Supply Company of Holyoke opened at 462 High Street on the east side of the street, between Essex and Cabot Streets.
He became a trailblazer in marketing, especially using television to personally convey his advertising messages. He was a music aficionado with an extensive library of symphonic and operatic recordings. In the late 1950s, he was a regular presenter at events where he would speak on high-fidelity and stereophonic sound and provide demonstrations.
An opportunity to expand into retail occurred in early March, 1960, when the Kathleen Smith Music Shop at 267-269 Maple Street, near the Strand Theater, became a division of Del Padre. The store was expanded from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, with a sound room to help customers make buying decisions.
The store was redesigned and offered records, tapes, stereo equipment and supplies, organs and pianos. After concluding this two-part Del Padre series, the history of the Kathleen Smith Music Shop will be told.
Also, in 1960, Mr. Del Padre purchased the J.G. Heidner & Son Music Shop, which had been in Holyoke for 82 years. Raymond F. Heidner would take a position with Del Padre, managing the piano and organ department.
The new store sponsored a stereo hour of music daily on WHYN-AM 560 and FM 93.1 from 9 P.M. to 10 P.M. Customers could rent pianos and organs for as little as $8 per month or purchase them at a discount.
In August 1961, following Kathleen Smith’s death, the business reorganized and was renamed Del Padre, Inc. The shop became a ticket outlet for local area performances. Artists, such as Victor Borge, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet, were touring the area at the time. The store added appliances, including refrigerators, washers, dryers and vacuum cleaners, to its inventory.
The store was growing, and in the final chapter, the story shifts to High Street, marking a major change of location.
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
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, MACRIS, Boston, Massachusetts
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