When I think of a lasting name for a Holyoke business that continues to operate today, the Lizotte family comes to mind. This may be one of Holyoke's longest-running retail and service operations still in business as of this writing in 2026. The story begins with the Holyoke City Glass Company.
Archille (Archie) Tosusaint Lizotte was born in Winooski, Vermont, on February 13, 1883, to Alfred and Adeline (Lacaillade) Lizotte. In the early 1900s, he relocated to Chicopee, where he was employed as an automobile mechanic. He married the former Alma Belle-Isle in Chicopee on August 2, 1902. The family remained living in that city until purchasing a residence at 2 Brown Avenue in Holyoke on September 22, 1928.
Archie Lizotte opened the Holyoke City Glass Company in 1923. His shop was identified at several addresses, including 533 High Street and 146 Cabot Street, both at the corner of High and Cabot Streets.
The company advertised sales and services including plate glass windows, automobile windshields and door glass, mirrors, furniture tops, glass shelves, art shelves, resilvering and repairs.
The glass shop performed both residential and commercial work, including homes, apartments, factories, business buildings and garages. In 1941, the company advertised installation of shatterproof glass for automobiles.
In 1944, Louis Philip Lizotte opened a glass shop at 388 Race Street, a topic which will soon be explored in Part 3 of this series. Archie Lizotte's daughter, Marie-Theresa (Lizotte) Bigelow and her husband, Lionel T. Bigelow, became the proprietors of Holyoke City Glass Company when Archie Lizotte retired in 1944.
The Bigelows owned shops in Northampton, as well as the 525 High Street business in Holyoke. The couple continued to operate in Holyoke until 1972. When an April 1973 fire caused great destruction to this and neighboring buildings, the business space was identified as that of the former Holyoke City Glass Company. Following the fire, there were no further details concerning this business.
There is more to the Lizottes story, which will be told in parts 2 and 3 to follow.
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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