USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 12
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But by October, 1883, another group was formed to take over the defunct light company's plant and its old name of New Haven Electric Light Company. Among the six stock subscribers was the persistent grocer, H. P. Frost, and James English, a man whose guiding principles and direction were to establish the company firmly. His association with the company continued for over fifty years during which time he served as secretary, treasurer, and later as president and then chairman of the board of directors. English brought new
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Steel Point's capacity to over sixty-five thousand kilowatts. The same year, English Station was completed in New Haven, and in three years its capacity built up to over sixty thousand kilowatts. Also in 1929, a new service building was opened on East Main Street, Bridgeport.
It was during the 1920s that electricity for household uses other than lighting made great strides. Refrigeration, water heating, cook- ing, and radio were some of these uses for which appliances were developed, United Illuminating Company was now supplying over one hundred and twenty thousand customers-homes, businesses and in- dustry-in 1930. Until the 1940s and 1950, it was the company's greatest period of growth, a period during which sound financing and planning found electricity ready for all users wherever and whenever it was needed. As the system of distributing electricity and the use of electricity by customers in metropolitan Bridgeport and New Haven grew, so did the problems of maintaining a dependable and reliable supply of electricity. With two power plants, one each in Bridgeport and New Haven, a method was needed whereby power could be routed from one plant and area to another. Thus, in 1941, a transmission line system was constructed from New Haven to Bridgeport, along the New Haven railroad right-of-way, making power available any- where in the system. This sixty-nine-thousand-volt transmission line was also linked to the Connecticut Light and Power Company system in Devon, enabling United Illuminating Company and Connecticut Light and Power to exchange power for more economical operation.
Through the years the benefits of increased use, more efficient power plants, distribution systems and modernized operations have resulted in savings and lower rates passed along to the customer. A street light in the 188os cost over four hundred dollars a year to operate, compared with today's cost of one hundred dollars for the best type of street light. During the period from 1936 to 1946 there were five reductions of rates for residential consumers; and during the 1950s, United Illuminating Company customers are paying less for each kilowatt hour of electricity than they did twenty years ago, before World War II. Use has increased with the constant develop- ment and acceptance of new appliances. In 1958, United Illuminating customers used fifteen times as much electricity as they did forty years ago. A total of one and a half billion kilowatt-hours of power were used, compared to one hundred million in 1918, at the peak production year of World War I. To keep pace with this growth, the company has a total of sixty-nine substations to distribute electricity, which is now produced at three power plants with a total capacity of
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four hundred and twenty thousand kilowatts. It has invested over one hundred and twenty-seven million dollars in plant and equipment and buildings. Its modernized and mechanized accounting and billing sys- tem saves thousands of man-hours yearly. Recently the company began decentralizing its service forces, and new facilities have been con- structed in Hamden, East Haven, Fairfield, Milford, and another is slated for the future in Trumbull. Other departments have been ex- panded, such as engineering, sales, accounting for more efficient opera- tion and better service to the one hundred and ninety-two thousand customers and fourteen communities it serves. A pioneering step in the electric utility industry was reached when the company's new Bridgeport Harbor Station power plant was opened in 1957. It marked the first generating unit built under a statewide capacity coordinating plan with power interchange features which should result in further efficiencies in operation and power production.
To meet future growth of electrical use, construction was started early in 1959 on a second unit at Bridgeport Harbor Station. When completed by mid-1961, the new unit will add 160,000 kilowatts to the company's total production capacity.
Anticipating the need of still another generating station in New Haven within five years, the company and The Connecticut Light and Power Company jointly purchased in 1958 a 93-acre tract on the east side of New Haven Harbor. The property, offering an ideal deep water site, was purchased from the Connecticut Coke Company. The new power plant will be built on a section of the harbor frontage that will not interfere with the operations of the Coke Company which leased the remainder of the tract for several years.
THE VERPLEX COMPANY
Since its founding in 1923, The Verplex Company of Essex has been under the management of members of one family in successive generations : its founder, Julius Schneller, his wife Mrs. Helen Schnel- ler, and their son, Richard F., who is now its president. It opened its first plant at Bound Brook, New Jersey, the same year, and there began the manufacture of reproductions of oil paintings by an emboss- ing process called "Verplexing." In 1925 it added parchment lamp shades to its line of products, and within a few years these had become the concern's major product.
In 1935 The Verplex Company moved its factory to Essex, Con- necticut. Early in 1942 all civilian type products were discontinued and the factory was converted to war work. During World War II The
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Verplex Company worked chiefly for the Medical Corps and the Chem- ical Warfare Department, and was awarded the Army-Navy "E" for its production of the M-69 jellied incendiary bomb.
However, within forty-eight hours after V-J Day, The Verplex Company was again shipping lampshades. At the present time the company manufactures a complete line of replacement shades, produc- ed at its factories in Essex, and at Pasadena, California. In addition to its products in the lampshade field, this concern operates a wire division which manufactures household wire goods and point-of-sale display merchandisers.
The founder, Julius Schneller, was born at Budapest, Hungary on March 14, 1884. Although he died in 1945, he will long be remem- bered in the industry for his tireless efforts on behalf of any and all worthy movements for trade-wide improvement of conditions, ethics, and regulations. He took part in the affairs of the Lamp and Shade Manufacturers Association, frequently holding office in its national and local groups, and giving freely of his time to serve on committees, which dealt with the government, with labor, and with representatives of the buying groups. Julius Schneller left his mark on the industry, and did more than his part to further the standing of the trade in which he was engaged.
On his death in 1945, Mrs. Schneller assumed the presidency, and it was under her capable guidance that The Verplex Company completed one of the fastest reconversion jobs in the state of Con- necticut at the war's end. She was succeeded in 1951 by the couple's son, Richard F. Schneller, who is its president today. Mrs. Schneller, the former Helen Efros, now makes her home in Springfield, Mas- sachusetts.
Born in New York City on March 21, 1922, Richard F. Schneller attended Yale University, where he graduated in 1943 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. Immediately after- wards he entered the United States Navy. Commissioned a lieutenant, he served in the Pacific, and remained in uniform until 1945.
Following his return from wartime naval service, he joined The Verplex Company in the capacity of vice president. He has been pres- ident since 1951, and under his capable direction the firm has consid- erably expanded its volume of manufacturing and trade in the lamp shade, household goods, and display merchandiser fields, with plants on both coasts.
Mr. Schneller is currently serving as treasurer of School Dis- trict No. 4. He formerly served as president of the Saybrook Rotary
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Club, and has been a member of the Essex Rotary Club in recent years, having also served that organization as president. In 1956 he was named to the board of trustees of the University of Connecticut. He is a past president of the Middlesex County Manufacturers Associa- tion.
On March 3, 1946, at Hartford, Richard F. Schneller married Nancy Suisman, daughter of Samuel and Helen (Katz) Suisman. Mrs. Schneller is a graduate of Bancroft School in Worcester, Mas- sachusetts, and of Goucher College in Baltimore. The couple have three children : 1. Deborah, born June II, 1947 at Hartford. 2. Juliet, born in that city on May 1, 1949. 3. Marie, born April 17, 1953, also at Hartford. The children are students at the Essex Elementary School. The family are members of the Jewish Community Center of lower Middleburg County.
WATERBURY ROLLING MILLS, INC.
Now past the half-century mark of its existence, Waterbury Rolling Mills, Inc., has become a major industry and an important unit in the economic prosperity of its city. It was in April, 1906, that several young men with experience in the rolling industry grouped their forces to form a new organization. They were A. H. Wells, R. D. Somers, of whom there is more in the biographical section of this history, Fred B. Beardsley, Frank P. Welton, and Abel Ken- worthy. "We made a pretty good team, president and board chairman Somers recalled in recent years, "because each had plenty of experience in his particular job." Mr. Somers himself had been superintendent of the rolling mill at Benedict and Burnham, a predecessor of Amer- ican Brass Company. Mr. Welton also worked for that organization as superintendent of casting. Mr. Beardsley, who is the subject of a biography in this work, had also had brass industry experience. Mr. Kenworthy was the older man of the team, a retired master mechanic who supplied another aspect of the technical know-how.
A plant was soon built, and operations were begun on April 7, 1907, with Mr. Somers as factory superintendent, Mr. Welton as superintendent of casting, and Mr. Kenworthy as master mechanic. Mr. Somers brought with him valuable knowledge of the production of prosphorus bronze, which he had first cast about 1894 while with Benedict and Burnham. This became one of the products which the new plant manufactured in increasing quantities. Another product was nickel, or German silver. Various special copper base alloys, in sheet and strip form, also came from its factory. The men who were directly
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connected with plant management also held offices in the corporation which was set up. Mr. Wells was president, Mr. Somers vice president, Mr. Beardsley secretary, and Mr. Welton treasurer. Mr. Somers is the only survivor of this original group. During many of his years with the firm, he held office as president, and recently resigned from the post of chairman of the board.
The original plant, located at what was once known as "Brown's Meadows," had as its basic equipment three pairs of rolls, driven by a steam engine of five hundred horsepower, two wood-fired muffles, and twenty coal-fired pit fires. The factory building itself was a steei- framed wooden structure measuring sixty-four by one hundred and fifty feet exclusive of the casting shop. Operations began with a payroll of fifty workers.
Mr. Somers' recollections help recall the conditions of operation in the early days. Interviewed for an article in American Metal Market, he commented on the way tolerances were stated in the early orders. A typical order might read: "About 500 lbs. of Nickel Silver Alloy A, about 3 inches wide and about 1/s" "thick." This will sound rather archaic to a metal production man familiar with today's de- mands, with tolerances specified in ten thousandths of an inch not uncommon.
The company established itself at an early date as a reliable producer of "custom-process" metal. In the words of Mr. Somers, "When a customer would order a particular alloy for a use for which it was not quite suited, we would 'doctor' up the mixture a bit to give him exactly the properties he needed." Customers came to rely on this thorough knowledge possessed by the men who ran Waterbury Rolling Mills, and this fact helped build the company's prosperity. It has continued as a specialist in custom-processing nickel silver and phos- phorus bronze, and in this phase of metals production has long been a nationally recognized leader.
At the time of World War I, the company supplied material for shells, fuses, canteens, surgical instruments, and other items needed in the war effort. Mr. Somers developed a new copper-nickel-zinc alloy named Somers-Cupro. Its properties made it advantageous for bullet jackets. The government recognized his contribution, awarding him a citation and a flag. When this country became involved in World War II. the plant's production of alloys was once again quickly adapted to defense requirements. After the war the company under- took an expansion program, which put special emphasis on top quality as well as on achieving a prominent place in the metals market. New
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annealing and rolling equipment was installed which gave closer gage control, a better finish, and superior workability. In contrast with the tolerance requirements which Mr. Somers quoted as typical of the early days, this factor is now controlled within thousandths of an inch by up-to-date electronic equipment. As this is written, Waterbury Rolling Mills is adding a new four-high mill to its equipment.
The managerial roster of the company is now headed by Gordon W. Somers, of whom there is more in the biographical section of this history, president, and Frederick B. Beardsley, Jr., secretary and treasurer. Both are sons of founders, and are carrying on the tradi- tions which have brought the firm its present status in industry.
THE WEIMANN BROS. MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The Weimann Bros. Manufacturing Company, located on Roose- velt Drive in Derby, Connecticut, was organized in 1917 by Ferdinand Weimann. It has continued since that time under the management of successive generations of this family. A son of the founder, Robert Paul Weimann, is its president; and a grandson, William Dazze Weimann, is vice president and treasurer; another grandson, R. P. Weimann, Jr., is vice president and secretary. Originally associated with Ferdinand Weimann when he organized the firm were his five sons : Ferdinand, Robert, Alfred, William and Gustave. They started out as toolmakers, and the company still engages in toolmaking to some extent, but now produces metal stampings and does similar con- tract manufacturing. It has a payroll of about forty employees.
Robert Paul Weimann, president of the company, was born in Germany on February 8, 1888. He was seven years old when the family came to this country in 1895; received his education here; and joined his father and brothers in founding The Weimann Bros. Man- ufacturing Company in 1917. The only one of the founders still active in management, he has held his present office since 1955. Robert Paul Weimann married Anne Penders of Ansonia. They are the parents of Robert Paul, Jr.
Robert Paul Weimann, Jr., now a vice president and secretary of the company, was born in Shelton, Connecticut, on March 4, 1925. He received his early education in the public schools of Ansonia and Shelton, graduated from Yale in the "war class," 1945 W, and in 1949 completed his courses at Yale Law School, taking the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He holds the rank of captain in the Reserve Corps. Robert P. Weimann, Jr., was married in January, 1951, to
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Alice Galer Ward. Their children: 1. Robert Paul, 3rd, who was born on August 14, 1955. 2. Galer Anne, born December 28, 1956.
The elder William D. Weimann, who served as secretary and treasurer of the company until his death, was a younger son of the founder, Ferdinand Weimann, and was born in 1900 at Torrington, Connecticut-five years after the family had arrived in this country. He attended local public schools, and was only seventeen years old when he joined his father and brothers in founding The Weimann Bros. Manufacturing Company. He assumed duties as secretary and treasurer, and held office until his death, which occurred at Shelton in 1949. His wife was the former Miss Esther Algren, who was born in New York City in 1899. She survives him and makes her home in Shelton. This couple were the parents of a son, William Dazze.
William Dazze Weimann was born on July 23, 1925, at Shelton. After attending Shelton schools, he entered Dean Academy at Frank- lin, Massachusetts, completed his preparatory studies there, and en- tered wartime naval service before going ahead with his advanced studies. In the United States Navy for three years, he came out as a petty officer, first class. He then resumed his education, and in 1951 graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He has since been active in the management of the company, as vice president and treasurer. On September 16, 1950, William Dazze Weimann married Dorothy Eybel, and they are the parents of two daughters: 1. Janet, who was born on May 18, 1954. 2. Karin, born March 5, 1958.
WINCHESTER ARMS
Oliver F. Winchester was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1810. When he was fourteen, he was apprenticed to a house carpenter in Boston and continued with him for six years. He bought the remain- ing year of his apprenticeship and established his own business as a contractor in Baltimore, Maryland. The first year he contracted to build a church, which gave him a good start for future operations. He continued as a builder until 1837, at which time he opened a men's store in Baltimore. His success in this venture was moderate and he continued along for eleven years. During this period he invented a perfect fitting dress shirt, which he patented in 1847.
In the same year he sold his business in Baltimore and formed a partnership with another haberdasher, J. M. Davies of New York. Together they established a factory and residence in New Haven.
In 1855 Mr. Winchester became interested in the manufacture of
O.J. Winchester
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firearms and invested in the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, which had been formed to take over the assets of Smith & Wesson of Norwich. Although the firearms the company manufactured had a practical type of action, the ammunition was faulty and within a year the company was in financial difficulty.
Mr. Winchester was much too interested in his new firearms venture to give up. In 1856, to salvage a part of his investment, he formed the New Haven Arms Company of which he was president. During the first four years of its existence the Company continued to manufacture the Volcanic type of firearm. Then in 1860, as a result of the efforts of B. Tyler Henry, plant superintendent, a new rifle was patented. This rifle became known as the Henry rifle and was manufactured throughout the Civil War. Due to the use of a metallic cartridge, it attained a measure of success. There are interesting tales told of this gun. It is said that during the Civil War the Con- federates referred to the Henry as the "Damn Yankee rifle that is loaded on Sunday and fired all week." In 1866 an improvement was made on the Henry in the form of a loading gate in the side of the receiver. Due to this improvement the New Haven Arms Company was enlarged and reorganized as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Under that name the first Winchester rifle was manufac- tured.
Two of the stockholders of the new organization were Wheeler and Wilson, sewing machine manufacturers in Bridgeport. As a re- sult of their influence, manufacturing operations were moved to that city.
The Model '66, the first Winchester, came along just as the West was being developed and demand for the gun increased. Consequently, Mr. Winchester, who was then lieutenant governor of the state, pur- chased a plot of ground on the outskirts of New Haven, building a new and larger factory in 1870. This plant may still be seen on the north side of Winchester Avenue along the railroad track. The plant was equipped to produce 200 rifles a day and New Haven was aghast at the incredible folly of anyone thinking that a production of 200 guns a day could be sold. It was freely said that Mr. Winchester had entirely lost his reason and should be confined to an insane asylum; that the plant would not run more than three or four days a year and would be shut down the remaining time. However, in 1873 a new model was introduced, the Model '73. This model had a tremendous influence in the winning of the West. Model 1873 carbines were so popular that it was a common saying that "many a Western baby cut
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his first teeth on the saddle ring of a Winchester Model '73 carbine." The same model was used by Buffalo Bill (Colonel W. F. Cody) on the Western Plains and in exhibition work for nearly half a century. It was also the rifle referred to in the phrase "Crack-crack-crack went the Winchester, and fifteen Indians bit the dust," often quoted in the famous dime novels of the 188os and 1890s.
The Model '73 was successful from its introduction and played an important part in the early establishment of Winchester prestige and reputation for high quality firearms and ammunition. With its .44 caliber center fire cartridge it proved, for the first time, that a repeating rifle could be made powerful enough to set a firearm pre- cedent.
In the following years other popular rifles and shotguns were made. These included : the Models 1886, 1890, 1894, 1895, 1912, etc. Meanwhile, Winchester had not only become famous for its firearms but for its ammunition as well.
In the 188os the Company made an agreement with John Brown- ing of Ogden, Utah, to purchase any models of firearms that he might invent. Browning became known as the world's most famous inventor of firearms. As a result of this agreement Winchester firearms put on the market until 1900 were Browning inventions. Most famous of these is the Model 1894 introduced in that year and still in produc- tion.
As the popularity of the Winchester arms and ammunition in- creased, some of the other manufacturers of repeating firearms fell by the wayside and were bought out by Winchester. These included the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company, Adirondack Arms Company, Whitney Arms Company, and the Burgess Firearms Company. From 1888 to 1896 Winchester owned a half interest in the Remington Arms Company.
During World War I, Winchester produced a tremendous amount of arms and ammunition for the United States and her allies. Many new buildings were constructed and manufacturing facilities greatly expanded to fill these contracts. The Armistice found Winchester with a vast amount of manufacturing equipment and few orders to utilize it. To solve this problem the company went into the manufacture of tools sporting goods, cutlery, skates, batteries, and flashlights, all bearing the Winchester trademark. To market these new products, dealer agencies and Winchester retail stores were established through- out the country.
The high hopes for this diversification never materialized. By
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1931, the company was in serious financial difficulty which was not resolved until its purchase by the Western Cartridge Company of East Alton, Illinois, in 1932, for about eight million dollars. The Western Cartridge Company was controlled by Franklin W. Olin and under his management a new era developed.
Once more the concentration was on Winchester firearms. Several of the older models were discontinued; some were improved and placed on the market under new model numbers; new models were developed; a long range program for future development was adopted. Now known as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Division of Western Cartridge Company, the operation continued under this name until late 1944 when the Olin interests adopted the name Olin Industries, Inc. Thereafter, the New Haven plants were known as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Division of Olin Indus- tries, Inc.
In World War II, Winchester was once more engaged in all- out effort. In this connection its gun engineers and designers performed one of the most outstanding feats of arms development in the entire history of firearms, producing in 13 days, the sample of the U. S. Carbine M-I on which the first orders for that weapon were based. During the war years, Winchester made 818,059 of these carbines, along with 513,582 U. S. Garand rifles and over three billion shells and cartridges. It was the only commercial firm to make the Garand.
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