In 1918, White & Wyckoff Manufacturing Company had grown to 507 employees. 305 employees had been there for over a year, and 10% had been there for over 10 years. The average tenure for the entire workforce was 5.5 years.
In May 1918, the company provided space for an emergency hospital or first-aid room staffed by a physician and a nurse. This was modeled after American Thread and National Blank Book.
During World War I, the 9 departments of the company competed to hang the War Stamp Flag, which was given monthly to the department that bought the most stamps in support of the war effort.
In 1919, the company had sales agencies in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Also in that year, the company placed a large sign on the riverbank, just north of the B&M Rail bridge, that read, "Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, Holyoke Welcomes You Home." The company and its employees received citations in gratitude for their contributions to the war effort. 45 employees served during the war, all returned safely, and were restored to their positions in the company.
J. Lewis Wyckoff was instrumental in encouraging Donald Ross, a golf professional, to devote his time to designing golf courses. Mr. Edward E. Babb, who was in the school book business, frequently visited the White & Wyckoff offices. He was also the President of the Boston Athletic Association and occasionally played golf with Mr. Wyckoff at the Mt. Tom Course. After one of the rounds of golf, Mr. Wyckoff struck up a conversation with Mr. Babb about how he wished the course could be improved. Mr. Babb said he knew a man who could help.
At Edward E. Babb's request, Mr. Ross visited Holyoke for a week to provide Mr. Wyckoff with suggestions for improving the Mt. Tom Course. Mr. Wyckoff was impressed and recommended that Mr. Ross pursue golf course design as a career. Mr. Ross needed to wait two years to embark on that career, as he had just signed a two-year contract as a golf professional at an Eastern Massachusetts golf club. Once he completed the contract, he returned to Holyoke and lived in a home that Mr. Wyckoff built for him. For several years, he resided there and pursued his lucrative golf course design work.
In 1920, anticipating future expansion and the need for additional workers, the company established an employment office at 56 Suffolk Street. In June of that year, the company increased its authorized capital stock from $350,000 to $2.5 million to fund future expansion and business needs.
To facilitate the growth of its product line in the West, the company purchased a plant in Davenport, Iowa, in 1928. The plant had sufficient land for further expansion, if needed. Davenport was served by 4 major railroad lines and Mississippi River boat lines for the transport of its goods.
At the 1929 Writing Paper Manufacturers' Association seminar, Edward N. White announced in his speech that letter writing was declining in popularity. Over a 10-year span, the consumption of letter-writing paper decreased from $15m to $10m per annum. The advent of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and airplane contributed to the decline.
Whit $ Wyckoff Mfg. Co. celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1929. The company had expanded several times throughout its history. The company now occupied 170,000 square feet of plant space in its two Holyoke mills and one in Davenport, Iowa. It had the largest printing operation in Holyoke and one of the largest in New England. Other than manufacturing paper, the company's plants were equipped to produce its boxed paper products entirely within its mills.
The company continued to prosper, and more information will be provided in the following chapter.
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