USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > Years of Meriden 150: published in connection with the observance of the city's sesquicentennial, June 17-23, 1956 > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
Since the war, the company has concentrated on the manufac- ture of industrial filters and automotive electrical equipment. It has 400 employees.
In 1951 an addition to the plant was constructed at a cost of $470,000 to provide 42,600 square feet. Completely modern in design, the new building is considered a model example of manu- facturing facilities. In 1955, the Cuno output was valued at $5,400,000.
Alfred Kroll is manufacturing manager.
The officers of the corporation are Murray McConnel, presi- dent; Roy Scott, executive vice president; Carlton H. Winslow, vice president and secretary; Philip Ricciardi, treasurer; Alvin C. Bruel, Jr., assistant secretary; Lois Z. Fagan, assistant secretary; D. Warren Brooks, assistant treasurer.
THE NAPIER COMPANY
The origin of the Napier Company may be traced back to the firm of Whitney & Rice, founded in 1875 in North Attleboro, Mass., which made massive gilt watch chains for men. The company was purchased by E. A. Bliss and his business associate Mr. Carpenter, who retired not long afterward. The E. A. Bliss Company, with Mr. Bliss as its active head, was incorporated on
179
LOCAL INDUSTRY SINCE 1900
July 27, 1882 in Massachusetts. The company made a varied line of jewelry and giftwares. In 1890, it moved to Meriden to occupy a plant at the north end which had previously been one of the first ornamental glassware producing factories in the country. The firm then became incorporated in Connecticut.
In 1893 the manufacture of sterling silver giftwares was begun. The company claims to be the first concern in Meriden to manu- facture sterling silver merchandise.
Mr. Bliss made his first trip to Europe in 1897 to study European fashions and to purchase materials. Since that time, executives and members of the designing staff have crossed the ocean frequently for the same reasons. Mr. Bliss died in 1911, and his son, William E. Bliss, became the active head of the company.
In December 1914, James H. Napier became associated with the company as general manager and director. Under his leadership a program was instituted which resulted in new manufacturing methods with the addition of new machinery, and a line of products which rapidly gained entry into the world of fashion jewelry and giftwares.
During World War I, the company was one of the first in Meriden to convert to the manufacture of war materials, making bayonet scabbards, gas masks, gas mask parts, trench mirrors and vane braces.
Mr. Napier was elected president and general manager in 1920, and the company's name was changed to the Napier-Bliss Company. In 1922, the present name, the Napier Company, was adopted.
In March 1928, the company purchased the land and buildings on Cambridge Street which it had been occupying since 1890. Many changes were made, both exterior and interior, and addi- tional land surrounding the building was purchased and land- scaped attractively in 1929.
Early in World War II, the company again turned to the manufacture of war materials. A new method of making bronze and silver-clad bushings was developed, saving large quantities of critical materials. Navy flying-boat landing frames were produced from hard tempered aluminum, together with radar tuning devices, radar instrument panels and many other essentials for the war effort.
The plant was completely renovated in 1945, and a large
180
Chamberlain Heights, one of several public housing projects
<
=======
A typical private development of modern homes
View from East Peak
Castle Craig
Mirror Lake, Hubbard Park
---
.....
- -
West Peak radio stations
-
Merimere Reservoir
-
Meriden Lions Club Pool, Hubbard Park
Meriden Municipal Golf Course
Tennis Instruction, Washington Park
Brookside Park
Baldwin's Beach
--
-
John Barry School Addition
-
-
Meriden High School
LOCAL INDUSTRY SINCE 1900
addition to house the plating room was constructed. Much new machinery and equipment were purchased and installed. The company today occupies over 40,000 square feet of floor space and employs between 350 and 500 persons, depending upon seasonal conditions. Its ivy-covered walls give it the appearance of a building on some college campus. The property, including 14 acres, is known as Napier Park. In 1955 the company received the American Nurserymen's "Plant America" award for its effective landscaping.
The Napier Company is the largest privately owned producer of fashion jewelry in the United States. It sells its products directly to retail stores, and maintains branch offices in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Napier jewelry was shown at the opening in Rome of the summer 1956 collection of gowns for the Fontana sisters. It was the first time that American-designed jewelry had been featured by a European couturier. In addition to jewelry, the company produces sterling silver, silverplated and gold-plated giftwares, including such varied gifts as bar accessories, smokers' accessories, and many other items.
THE CONNECTICUT TELEPHONE AND ELECTRIC CORPORATION
The Connecticut Telephone and Electric Corporation, now under new ownership and management, is an industry which has been established here for 62 years. It was formed in 1894 as a partner- ship between Ernest C. Wilcox and Burton L. Lawton for the purpose of manufacturing telephone instruments.
Originally, the business was conducted at the old Malleable Iron plant. Part of the present site on Britannia Street was purchased in 1903, and in that year the present name of the company was adopted. Later, the firm entered the automobile ignition field and, in 1913, became the largest manufacturer of automobile ignition systems in the world.
The company designed and manufactured portable antennae field sets for the War Department at a time when radio was still in its infancy. In 1920, it was cited by the War Department for service rendered during World War I.
In World War II, its services were also extensive in the pre- cision manufacture of equipment used by the armed services, especially in the field of communications. Company and
181
LOCAL INDUSTRY SINCE 1900
employees were honored by the government for their war contributions.
The plant occupies a group of thoroughly modernized factory buildings on Britannia Street, which have grown from the original small factory.
In February 1956 the company was reorganized under the control of local interests. Its present officers are C. A. Schultz, president; H. B. Randall, vice president; H. N. Westhaver, vice president; J. E. Whisler, vice president; W. M. Schultz, treasurer; R. A. Schultz, assistant treasurer; C. W. Schultz, secretary. Randall, Westhaver and Whisler have been associated with the company for many years as executives.
The Schultz group owns the Silver City Glass Company, the Silver City Crystal Company and Radio Station WMMW in Meriden.
PRATT & WHITNEY AIRCRAFT DIVISION
The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation is an acknowledged world leader in the design, development, and production of gas-turbine engines for aircraft. The Meriden branch is a leased facility occupying the former plant of Manning, Bowman & Co. at Pratt and Miller Streets. It was established here in 1951, and is used as an inspection center for parts, rough and finished, which go into P&WA engines.
The branch is under the direction of A. Lawrence Riker, chief inspector, branch plants, and head of the Meriden facility.
About 900 are employed here. The total of Meriden residents employed in all P&WA plants was 1,137 in March 1956.
There are 29 subcontractors or suppliers in Meriden from whom the division buys parts or supplies.
Manning, Bowman & Co., one of the old companies no longer in the local industrial picture, was established in 1859 by Thaddeus Manning in Cromwell. The plant was moved to Middletown at the close of the Civil War, and the business was brought to Meriden in 1872. Its field was the fabrication of quality metal products and the manufacture of electrical appliances. For many years the business prospered, and the plant was enlarged to cover two city blocks. Its later history was a story of decline under severe competitive conditions which finally forced the dissolution of the industry here.
182
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
World War II
BY 1941, the spreading conflagration in Europe had made it apparent that it was only a question of time before the United States would be starting counterblazes against aggression. Meriden industries had been engaged in some phases of defense production for at least two years. Early in 1940, military units from this city had been summoned into training. On February 24, 1940, the National Guard companies were inducted into service, and entrained for Florida early in March. The 118th Medical Regi- ment Band accompanied the other guardsmen.
The total registration for the first draft was 4,815 on October 16, 1940, and on October 29 the first drawing was held. The second draft, for those who had become 21 during the interim, was on July 17, 1941.
Organization of the city's defense effort proceeded rapidly after the appointment by Mayor Francis R. Danaher of a Defense Council, consisting of Captain John R. Feegel, chairman; Police Chief Michael B. Carroll, Fire Chief John F. Moroney, Harry S. Hanson, Boy Scout executive, Robert S. Kidder, John Holman, John N. Brusie, and Charles A. Newton, executive secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. Units for local defense were formed, and Spencer H. Miller became Chief Warden, with many com- mittees under him serving in the various phases of the work. The city was divided into four zones, and many block wardens were enlisted in each zone. The volunteers were indoctrinated, through courses given in the City Hall auditorium, in what to do in case of attack.
But these foretastes of war conditions had hardly prepared the city for the shocking news which broke on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. War on Japan was declared the following day. The formal declaration of war on Germany and Italy was recorded December 11. Rumania declared war on this country on December 12, and Bulgaria on December 13. But the United States took no action on these two declarations until June 5, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked
183
WORLD WAR II
for counterdeclarations, and Congress immediately complied.
The State Guard was called out for guard duty at defense plants on December 12, 1941, but was recalled after two weeks.
The whole country was aroused by the Pearl Harbor attack, and war sentiment was at fever heat. But the mood was even more grim than at the start of World War I, and there was much less of parading, but plenty of stern effort here.
On February 16, 1942, all males between 20 and 44 years old, and not already registered, were required to register, and 2,711 living here responded to the call. The list of numbers assigned was posted March 12, and the drawing was held in Washington on March 17. Number 441 was the first number drawn in District 13A. It was held by Stanley Zuckerman. The first number drawn in District 13B was held by the Rev. James J. O'Conner, who had been transferred, shortly before, to a church in Washington, D. C.
The fourth registration, for men from 45 to 65 years old, was held in April 1942. The registration for those from 18 to 20 years old followed on June 30.
Meriden had its first trial blackout on March 3, 1942. On March 18, the shortage of gasoline resulted in the rationing regulations effective during the remainder of the war period. Rationing of tires followed. Registration days for sugar and gasoline rationing were held in May at the schoolhouses, and coupon books were issued. The gasoline coupons were in different classes, and the allowances granted were measured according to the type of use of the car.
The war years that followed were well recorded in a unique journal sent out by the Meriden Center of the United Service Organizations to Meriden men and women in the service of their country. Written and compiled by Arthur L. Barber, general secretary of the Y.M.C.A., it was entitled News From Home. Its publication and distribution, under the same name and auspices, have continued since the war. In a format of only four typewritten pages, News From Home gives a condensed version of interesting and important news of Meriden from month to month. This first issue appeared in November 1943. It reported: "The fellow in his twenties who looks healthy feels as if he ought to be carrying a sign explaining that his liver and one kidney are missing - or something to that effect."
Scores of volunteers helped in the preparation and mailing of
184
WORLD WAR II
this newsy sheet. In 1944 the Bradley Home staff took over the complete job.
The city rapidly became inured to war demands. Nearly every aspect of life had changed. The need for war workers in Meriden industry could not be supplied entirely by local residents, and thousands came here from other states. Most of them were snapped up immediately by eager employment managers. Housing to care for them became a paramount necessity. A survey was taken of boarding accommodations. The Gale Terrace temporary housing development was erected, and part of it was filled up at once by 60 Jamaicans brought here to ease the labor shortage. Later the number rose to about 250. One man advertised offering a war bond to anyone who would find him an apartment for rent.
Campaign followed campaign in rapid succession. Quotas were topped here in war loan drives, and Meriden more than once led all Connecticut cities in per capita sales of war bonds.
The city took good care of servicemen from other cities as well as the local servicemen who came home on leave. They were welcomed at the railroad station, provided with free over- night accommodations at the Y.M.C.A., given passes to theaters, dances, and bowling alleys.
There was no slacking in the almost universal war effort here. Hardly a day went by without the announcement of some new campaign. The agencies in the Community Fund were especially active, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised to meet their expanding needs. The USO had been added to the group, and its appeal was oversubscribed, along with the appeals of other organizations, including the Red Cross, which functioned for the benefit of the war effort.
The smooth integration of Meriden's response to the demands of war led to the most signal honor ever bestowed upon this city. After a careful examination of the claims of other cities, the Federal War Manpower Commission designated Meriden as "The Nation's Ideal War Community." This story broke on the first pages of newspapers across the country, and drew national attention to the manner in which the local war assignment had been carried out.
There was a story behind the story. The Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer motion picture company had collaborated with the War Manpower Commission to produce a morale-building motion
185
WORLD WAR II
picture entitled "Main Street Today." It was the second picture of this type produced by the company. Seeking for the proper community in which to hold the world premiere, the producers consulted War Manpower Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, and the choice fell on Meriden because it best met the standards which had been set up.
At that time, early in 1944, 80 manufacturing companies here were supplying the sinews of war on an enormous scale. Almost complete conversion to war production had been achieved. Wallingford and Southington in this area had more than 50 other plants engaged in war output. The local population had increased from about 40,000 at the beginning of the war to more than 46,000. The roll of war workers could muster at least 20,000, 54 per cent of whom were women. More than 5,000 Meriden men and women were serving in the various branches of the armed forces. At the same time, the home front was manned by nearly the entire resident population. Even those who had retired from employment years previously had found niches for usefulness.
There were other factors, too, which weighed in the selection of Meriden for this honor. One of the most important was the prevailing harmony in interracial and industrial relationships. More than 60 per cent of the people here were either foreign born or born of foreign or mixed parentage. These racial stocks had mingled without friction.
All Meriden plants except the International Silver Company, which had a special war set-up of its own, functioned through a labor-management committee. This committee operated to find transportation for war workers through car pools, to help in war bond drives, to work out traffic plans with the city, and to help solve numerous other problems. Interruptions of war pro- duction because of disputes over hours, wages, or working conditions were practically unknown. The committee promptly ironed out the troubles which arose. Most plants were working three shifts, and the average wage rates of Meriden and Walling- ford combined were among the highest in the nation. Absenteeism was also non-existent.
This city was the perfect setting for what the War Manpower Commission had in mind, and Meriden responded to the news of its honor by preparing an elaborate program for the official celebration. A committee of community leaders was formed. All
186
WORLD WAR II
local groups were represented. The churches played an especially important part, for Sunday, March 19, was designated as Civic Sunday, with non-sectarian worship in the City Hall at 7:30 p.m.
On Monday, March 20, Meriden gave its official reception for the Hon. Paul McNutt and the party which he had brought with him from Washington. Arriving at 5 p.m., he and the group were escorted on a series of plant inspections. This was followed by a dinner in the new cafeteria of the New Departure Division of General Motors. The entire proceeds from the sale of tickets to this affair went to the Meriden Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The New Departure plant was next inspected, and the party attended an exhibit of war products in the Y.M.C.A. Then, at 10:30 p.m., came the presentation of a program at the Loew-Poli Palace Theater. Again the Red Cross benefited by the proceeds.
Mr. McNutt spoke in the theater, and his message was broadcast to the country over the red network. Captain Glenn Miller's band furnished the music for the program. Hollywood stars Luise Rainer and Jimmie Durante made personal appearances.
Governor Raymond E. Baldwin represented the State of Con- necticut on this occasion.
The Meriden Record and the Meriden Journal published special editions in connection with the event, and reported the pro- ceedings in many columns of space, and the principal wire services carried liberal accounts to all parts of the country.
The official citation, embossed on a plaque presented to Mayor Francis R. Danaher, acting on behalf of the city, read:
"A Commendation to the City of Meriden for its outstanding achievements in the complete Mobilization of Manpower and every Home Front Resource to effectively speed the War Effort.
Paul V. McNutt
Chairman the Manpower Commission."
While all this was happening at home, Meriden men and women away from home were scattered all over the globe. The lessons of war training had long since been translated into combat experience for many. The war was being fought on many fronts: in the European theater, on isolated islands of the Pacific, in the Philippines, in the Far North, over the cold reaches of the Atlantic, around the British Isles, in North Africa, at the "soft under-belly" of Europe, and was creeping up to the shores of
187
WORLD WAR II
Japan. Meriden soldiers, sailors, marines were engaged in practi- cally all the phases of this unprecedented struggle, and were giving a good account of themselves. But the mounting casualty lists were bringing sorrow to many a Meriden home, and steeling the resolve of the city at large to pour all of its resources into the war effort.
The news of the invasion of Western Europe on D-Day was received here with prayer, not jubilation. Invasion services were held in all the churches. Work ceased in the factories while men and women at the bench bowed their heads and prayed.
Again the city went over the top in the Fifth War Loan drive in 1944, when $10,355,766 was subscribed in Meriden, $755,760 above the quota.
A second hurricane, somewhat less severe than the disastrous hurricane of 1938, hit here in September 1944, causing the loss of nearly 500 of the city's trees, putting more than 1,000 telephones out of business, causing a failure of electric power in many parts of the city.
This happened while the hurricane overseas was at its height.
Meriden servicemen were meeting in such far-off places as New Delhi, India, Italy, England, France, the Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, on shipboard in the Pacific, in North Africa - and writing home of these and other war experiences. On the lighter side, a beard-raising contest promoted by the Y.M.C.A. produced some startling photographs of Meridenites who were barely recognizable behind their facial foliage.
The city in 1944 was already planning for its postwar development, and especially to welcome and care for the needs of returning members of the armed forces. Mayor Danaher appointed a Veterans' Service Commission for advisory purposes consisting of Joseph Bogucki, William Dibble, Harold Holmes, C. I. Packer, Fred Slagle, William J. Wilcox and Arthur L. Barber.
News From Home was being sent at this time to a considerable number of German and Japanese prisoners-of-war.
Early in 1945, the city exceeded its $8 million quota in the Sixth War Loan by $400,000. Calls for blood found ready response, and many on the home front gave until they were nearly "bled white."
The Meriden U.S.O. report in February showed that nearly
188
WORLD WAR II
5,000 free showers had been provided by the Y.M.C.A. for servicemen, 1,500 of whom had been provided with lodgings, and that 37,000 news letters had been sent out during 1944.
A municipal youth canteen, the "Tally-Ho" was opened in the basement of the Welfare Building on Liberty Street.
In April 1945, the official records showed that 5,242 had left Meriden for war service.
Meanwhile, plans for postwar Meriden were progressing step- by-step. An architect was engaged to plan a $1,500,000 high school - a plan later abandoned when the Board of Education decided to proceed first with the building of elementary schools before attempting the secondary schools phase of school con- struction. The old Rogers Block, long an eyesore in the center of the city, was removed. South Colony Street was widened at this point, and the loop system of traffic regulation was placed in effect. An option was obtained by the city to purchase a portion of the Lyon & Billard property for the purpose of widening Hanover Street, but the proposal was held in abeyance, and eventually the check given by the city was voided with the consent of the principals.
In the spring of 1945, victory was in sight, at least on the continent of Europe. The German armies began surrendering on May 4, and unconditional surrender was signed May 7 at Rheims headquarters and in Berlin. This news found Meriden still in a sober mood. Not a factory decreased operations. In fact, attendance on the job averaged even higher than usual. There were prayer services in every church on the evening of V-E Day, and a U.S.O. community prayer and song service in Crown Street Square.
At this time, Meriden was leading the state in the Seventh War Loan campaign. It had raised $600,000 to increase the size of the Meriden Hospital with a new addition.
News that brought rejoicing was the release of a large number of Meriden men from German prison camps.
It was a tense summer here, as well as in all other parts of the country. The invasion of Okinawa on April 1 had been followed by 83 days of fighting. The first atomic bomb ever used in war was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, and complete victory over Japan was achieved with the surrender on August 14. The formal surrender on board the U.S.S. Missouri took place
189
WORLD WAR II
September 2, Far Eastern time - V-J Day.
A reminder of the sacrifices which war had meant was afforded by the dedication on July 17 of a memorial in Hubbard Park to Major Donald T. Robison, formerly park superintendent, who had given his life in the combat in the Pacific. On July 4, he was posthumously awarded the nation's third highest honor, the Legion of Merit. The memorial consisted of an inscribed boulder.
In common with most of the country, Meriden had two peace celebrations, the first premature on August 12, touched off by a wire-service dispatch which beat the formal announcement. Bells started ringing wildly, and a scene of wild jubilation began in the streets, lasting for about an hour before the dispatch was cor- rected. Two days later, following the official announcement, 10,000 persons jammed the downtown section. The occasion was unmarred by vandalism, but the crowds cut loose with songs and cheers. On August 15, a peace parade was held, and many took part in a block dance in Crown Street Square, to music from the Record's amplifier with borrowed records. The band engaged had failed to appear.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.