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THE STORY OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS
IN PAINTING AND IN PROSE
CAPTAIN ELIZUR HOLYOKE
SANTE GRAZIANI . ARTHUR RYAN . MINNIE R. DWIGHT WYATT E. HARPER · EDWARD P. BAGG, M.D.
Copyright by HOLYOKE PUBLIC LIBRARY MCMLIV
Printed in U.S. A.
THE STORY OF HOLYOKE
MASSACHUSETTS IN . 1 1 1 PAINTING .AND IN PROSE
MURAL PAINTINGS BY SANTE GRAZIANI attained by the bequest of the late Joseph Allen Skinner to the Holyoke Public Library
INTERPRETIVE ESSAYS
by Arthur Ryan Minnie R. Dwight Wyatt E. Harper Edward P. Bagg, M.D.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD Page 3
I History of Holyoke and Environs 5
1. Pioneers 6
2. Amerinds 8
II The Story of Religion 11
III The Story of Child Health 15
IV The Story of Education 21
V The Story of Athletics . 27
LIST
OF ILLUSTRATIONS
CAPTAIN ELIZUR HOLYOKE Cover Illustration
CAPTAIN ROWLAND THOMAS
Page 4
PIONEERS
6, 7
AMERINDS OF THE PIONEER VALLEY 8
RELIGION 11
CHILD HEALTH 15
THE STORY OF EDUCATION 22
FIRST HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING 26
ATHLETICS
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FOREWORD
In the history of mankind, there are a few activities that although interrelated with geographic, social, economic, political, and other condi- tions, are constantly taking form in one way or another. Included among these activities are such things as the playing of music, telling stories, and the painting of pictures.
Many times pictures have been painted not as separate portable units, but directly on the walls of buildings. For this reason, they are known as murals. They are of the wall and painted with respect for its character.
In prehistoric times men drew pictures on cave walls-some say for magical notions to aid their struggle for survival, others believe the cavemen used pictures to record their trophies. Renaissance artists painted elaborately designed murals on the walls of churches to illustrate Bible texts from the Old and the New Testaments. In our own century, murals of many kinds have been painted for a variety of purposes with different materials and directed to many different sorts of audiences.
My murals in the Holyoke Public Library were painted to commemorate some of the history and activity of men in general and Holyoke in particu- lar. The materials are pigments and casein on canvas which is glued to the wall. The murals were painted for the people of Holyoke, the young and the old, students and teachers alike, and all of the other persons who come to the Library wishing to look at them. It is very likely that they will have different meanings for different people as with other works of art.
The murals would not have been possible without the foresighted gen- erosity of Mr. Joseph A. Skinner. Nor would they have taken their place without the great interest, encouragement, and help of Dr. Edward P. Bagg. I am also grateful to the other members of the Trustees of the Skinner Fund, Miss Marion Hayes, and Mr. William Skinner II, for their good suggestions and frequent trips to New Haven and Worcester to see the designs in progress. Librarian Gilbert C. Rich has also been very helpful in research.
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I will always be indebted to several patient teachers for showing me how to make things and why. At the top of this list must stand the name of Mr. Lewis E. York, under whom I studied. His depth of technical knowl- edge and avoidance of doctrinaire philosophies has allowed me the freedom to paint what and how I wish.
I do not expect all who see my murals to like them. Some will wish they had gone more in this direction-or that. Perhaps others will say they have gone too far in this or that direction! But I am satisfied because I know that most people will consider the Library a more meaningful place than before the murals were painted. And this matters a great deal to me.
SANTE GRAZIANI
Worcester, Massachusetts
b
CAPTAIN ROWLAND THOMAS
THE STORY OF HOLYOKE MASSACHUSETTS IN PAINTING AND IN PROSE
The lobby of the Holyoke Public Library today is an abode of light and color instead of a drab cavern lined with terracotta red, thanks to the bequest of Joseph Allen Skinner who left a fund to the Library for the purchase of works of art. As trustees he named his son William Skinner II, the head of the Department of Art and Archeology at Mt. Holyoke College and the President of the Library.
The trustees decided to apply the income of this fund to the decoration of the lobby because the lack of exhibition space precluded the purchase of paintings and other works of art. After some search, they chose Sante Graziani, a youthful artist who was born in Cleveland, graduated from the Cleveland School of Art and currently held a teaching position on the faculty of the School of Fine Arts at Yale University. Today he directs the Art Museum School at Worcester, Massachusetts. The mural decoration that he had painted for the Springfield Museum of Art convinced the trustees that he was capable of executing a similar commission for Holyoke. Mr. Graziani from the first was interested, and entered into the project with enthusiasm. The trustees have been more than delighted with his spirit and his ability and workmanship. They themselves took pleasure in cooperating by offering suggestions and criticisms whenever they were consulted. The entire effort in itself has been an education for all concerned not only in the history of Holyoke, but also of mural decoration that has reflected human culture from the earliest times.
Directors of the Library believe that something well worthwhile has been accomplished for students of art, history and other branches of human endeavor. Furthermore they are convinced that the Holyoke Public Library has been enriched by these notable wall paintings that should, as time goes on, attract visitors from far and near. Someday when the artist has achieved his ultimate reputation, Holyoke may well be a mecca for the devotees of mural decoration.
The Directors also wish to record herewith their great appreciation of the efforts of the artist and of the authors of the essays that elaborate the history of Holyoke in the various fields that Mr. Graziani has treated alle- gorically with his brush.
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H
PIONEERS EAST WALL MURALS
The east wall of the lobby was divided by the architect James A. Clough into three spaces. The main panel measuring 12' x 8' is flanked by two more that are only 512' wide. There in the center the main theme, water power, is memorialized,-the source that gives life to the industries that made present- day Holyoke possible. The great dam of matched granite blocks that threw a thousand-foot barrier across the "Long River" was finished in January 1900. Even since the painting was put in place it has become historic because of the fact that the stone abutment that is a notable component of the artist's design was replaced in 1952 by the headworks of the splendid new power plant. It exists now only in reproduction. The two previous wooden dams, of course, are not shown. The first was swept "to hell by way of Williman- sett" when the coffer dams were removed back in 1849, but the second and successful structure still stands a rod or two up river.
The figure of George Ewing is given the central position in recognition of his major role in persuading the reluctant farmers of the vicinity to sell their pasture land for building purposes. At his elbow stands Joseph C. Parsons, Holyoke's first papermaker, whose mills helped to win the world-renowned title the "Paper City." Our familiar mountains furnish an attractive back-
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drop, but the artist relied on poetic license to reverse Mt. Holyoke in order to show the unique funicular railway that now stands in a Massachusetts State Reservation, thanks to another gift of our patron, Joseph A. Skinner. Costumes are authentic for the period as is Holyoke's first newspaper, the "Hampden Freeman," in the newsboy's hands. The chart held by the work- man presents the original plan for the city's canal system.
The left-hand panel suggests the cultural aspects of Holyoke. Professor William Churchill Hammond may be identified at the organ console repre- senting, along with the cellist, music both classical and sacred. The students and the Library building in the background emphasize literary resources, while the stuffed figures suggest the workings of the Museum of Natural History. The youth sketching stands for the fine arts.
To the right are shown suggestive details of papermaking, Holyoke's major industry, including machinery and operatives. Regrettably, there was insufficient wall-space to do justice to the many other important indus- tries that have diversified Holyoke's manufacturing so effectually, such as satin weaving, that brought these murals within the realm of possibility, the making of wire, pumps, boilers, woolens, and most recently, of plastics and electrical appliances.
AMERINDS OF THE PIONEER VALLEY WEST WALL MURALS
Early in the 17th century when Captains Rowland Thomas and Elizur Holyoke were exploring the territory hereabouts on opposite sides of the Connecticut River, various tribes of American Indians still came to the Great Falls in search of shad to smoke for winter use and clay for the replenishment of pottery.
The entire west wall of the lobby was cleared of obstructing light fixtures to enable artist Graziani to place thereon a large mural painting re-creating the scenes that must have been commonplace in the familiar surroundings that 20th century Holyokers are wont to call their own.
This splendid mural is painted in a lower key but in perfect harmony. The figures are done without fore-shortening and in greater detail since closer inspection is possible. There is a dignity and self-assurance about these aborigines that gives them life. Obviously they have not been debased by contact with the pale faces and their firewater, nor infuriated by the loss of
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their hunting grounds. Without doubt however, finicky 20th centurians would prefer to stand to windward of them and their campsite.
Algonquin Indians roamed the Atlantic seaboard from the Saguenay river south as far as the Carolinas. Many tribes such as the local Pequots were numbered in this group. They were a people given more to fishing and agricultural pursuits than to war-like activities. From their language English has been enriched by a large number of words such as chipmunk, caribou, caucus, hickory, moose, mugwump and others. The more aggressive Iroquois, known as the Five Nations of central New York formed an inclusion like the yolk in an egg. They too consisted of many tribes, from the Mohawks of the North to the Cherokees in the South and they also have given us a number of words, geographical names like Niagara, Ontario and Erie. But their greatest contribution to the history of mankind was the forerunner of the United Nations. Under the guidance of Hiawatha the Five Nations functioned successfully for two hundred years, longer perhaps than our Sixty Nations may act in unison in the modern era,-who can say?
The Indians of this painting might have been Pequots, Mohegans, Chip- pewas, or Wappingers all of whom were Algonquins from nearby regions, but it is more likely that they would be Nipmucks or fresh-water people known to the colonists as the River Indians. There were a number of divisions of Nipmucks, the Squakheags of Northfield, Pocumtucks further south around Deerfield, the Norwottucks in and about Northampton, and the Tunxis and Woronoaks who lived along the Westfield river. The Quabogs must be con- sidered, too, for they could have come from reaches of the Chicopee river.
The mural was based upon careful research by a number of individuals, for the most part the artist, in order to show authentic features for the reliable information of students young and old who should be interested in details of the earlier life of Pioneer Valley. For example, the dugout that is under construction on the left was used more in local waters than the birch bark canoe commonly associated with Indians. On the right, again, the shelter most often seen in New England was a dome-shaped structure with sheets of bark secured to saplings, in contrast to the conical tepees of the plains, though smoke escaped through a vent in the top in both instances.
The Indian brave with the drawn bow is about to launch an arrow heavenward. He might be aiming at food for supper, but the act also may hold religious significance. It was believed that an arrow shot skyward served as a tribute to the Great Spirit, or perhaps a petition, possibly a bribe.
The artist, relying on poetic license, has painted shad which of course
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run only in May and June, and pumpkins and maize that ripen only in the fall, because both were important sources of food to the Indians. We are indebted to the interest of William S. Fowler, now curator of the Attleboro Museum, for the triangular stone hoe similar to the one that he has in his collection. Beaver, deer, wild turkey and the grouse likewise are included for purposes of demonstration although their timid natures doubtless would prevent their presence in an Indian camp when the savages were in residence. The now extinct passenger pigeons that darken the connecting strip of sky in the center should not be overlooked. They proved, alas, too succulent to the palates of our heedless forebears to survive. They were netted by the thousands for marketing to ultimate extinction.
Students and others who may be interested to read for themselves the details of this primitive Indian culture, will find many books listed in the Library's catalogues.
The most reliable source of the types of canoe and hut were prints from the original copper plates engraved by French and English artists who saw these so-called savages with their own eyes. Unfortunately we have been less successful in tracing contemporary portraits of Captains Thomas and Holyoke for whom our mountains were named. None exists in the collections of Harvard College or the historical societies in Boston, Salem, Springfield or Hartford. These figures however, thanks to the skill of the artist, are lively and convincing. Their crews must have looked much as they were painted,-rough, ready, and raucous.
Edward P. Bagg, M.D. President of the Holyoke Public Library, and Skinner Fund Trustee.
Holyoke, Massachusetts, October 30, 1954.
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RELIGION ARTHUR RYAN
It is a sound basic thought that any American community with a his- tory of growth and progress comparable to Holyoke's must have had the benefit of a great line of leaders in the field of religion. And Holyoke does not provide the exception to prove the rule. It has been blessed in large degree with forceful leadership from the first emergence to independent stand- ing in the later years of the 18th century, when, by Legislative act, a separate parish, known in the records as the Third, or North Parish of West Springfield, but more popularly known as Ireland Parish, was set off to serve the religious needs of what is now the City of Holyoke.
That very first era of the new "parish" produced its great figure, Rev- erend Thomas Rand, who established the First Baptist church and led in the construction of the first church structure devoted wholly to the religious needs of the community. Reverend Mr. Rand was a truly versatile, and
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human, being. A great preacher, a fine teacher, a progressive farmer, an artist of no mean merit, a leader in the community civic efforts, he was an outstanding figure for two generations or more. In an era in which denomina- tional lines were drawn sharply, his church was for a full generation the meeting place for both Baptists and Congregationalists, the latter using the structure one Sunday in every four. That in itself would indicate the broad measure of Rev. Mr. Rand's Christian beliefs.
The first half of the nineteenth century brought the establishment of many Protestant church groups and the records show generally short pas- torates. The building of the dam to harness the great wealth-producing powers of the white waters moving swiftly past the Great Bend in the river brought an influx of settlers. The population more than doubled every decade for three successive decades and the town mushroomed to city size. Then indeed did the need for varied and strong religious leadership provide a challenge that was met in all groups. The 1850's and 1860's saw the organ- ization of church bodies and the building of churches in rapid succession. One might hesitate to attempt to call any roll of the leaders in that and the follow- ing eras lest some that deserve honorable mention might be missed. But here is a mighty nucleus, excluding the present splendid corps of servants of the Lord.
In the older established Protestant organizations, beginning with the first organized body, the First Congregational, there must be mention of the long and strong leadership of Rev. George W. Winch (1888-1907); Rev. Henry O. Hannum (1907-1918) and Rev. Charles N. Thorp (1919-1928). The Second Congregational church, established in 1848, had such tremendous growth that by the end of the century it stood at the top of the list of Congre- gational churches in all New England in membership and enthusiasm. Cer- tainly strong leadership can claim credit for the record there. Where else might one hope to find anything to match the records in terms of length and strength of service, made by Rev. Dr. John L. R. Trask (1867-1882); Rev. Dr. Edward A. Reed (1886-1914); Rev. Dr. Robert Russell Wicks (1914-1928) who became Dean of the Chapel at Princeton University; and Rev. Dr. Albert J. Penner (1939-1949), who went on to the Broadway Taber- nacle in New York City.
Grace Congregational church, established as a down-town mission of the Second Congregational church just about the time Holyoke entered city- hood, and which took on church dignity in the last decade of the past century, contributes to this honor page the figure of Rev. Dr. Edwin B. Robinson, for
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more than half a century a great figure in a far wider field than Holyoke among militant Christian leaders.
The First Baptist church probably has the distinction of sending more of its members into the foreign missionary field than any other church body in the Holyoke community. Seven are so listed. The younger Second Baptist church matched through the years the record for growth and leadership estab- lished by the Second Congregational. The pastorates of Rev. R. J. Adams (1869-1886), Rev. Dr. J. W. T. Boothe (1890-1898) and Rev. Dr. John S. Lyon (1901-1914) were especially fruitful. Dr. Lyon carved for himself a special niche in Holyoke religious and civic service.
St. Paul's Episcopal church, established in the midst of the Civil War, has produced its full share of religious and civic leaders, with Rev. Franklin Knight, pastor for twenty-six years (1911-1937), and still living in retirement, standing forth as a great churchman and a great citizen.
Nor could any roll-call of great church leaders in Holyoke be considered at all adequate that did not carry the name of Rev. August Brunn, of the Evangelical Lutheran church, who became its first pastor in 1888 and con- tinued, great in power and influence, for thirty-four years.
The latest comer to the church ranks in Holyoke-the Catholic-was destined to sweep into the leading position in church membership and building development in two generations. First and longest on the list of outstanding preachers and builders in the history of the Catholic churches locally must be placed the name of Rt. Rev. Msgr. Patrick J. Harkins, who came to Hol- yoke in 1866 as the third Catholic priest assigned to the community and remained as pastor of St. Jerome's for forty-four years. The Holyoke Com- munity is still well sprinkled with monuments to the genius and energy of that amazing soldier of the Lord, who preached a militant gospel and lived it every day in the week.
There have been many to help carry the Harkins torch during the later years of his life and since his death in 1910. On the list of pastors for the Sacred Heart church, first of the offspring of St. Jerome's, the record of Rev. Dr. Patrick B. Phelan, who became its second pastor in 1880 and carried on in that post for thirty-nine years stands out. Holy Rosary, second of the daughters, furnished one of the great figures of the Springfield diocese, Bishop Thomas D. Beaven.
The churches where the French-speaking Americans provide the bulk of the congregations have had the benefit of strong men who directed their destinies for a long time. The Precious Blood church, established in 1869,
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had for its spiritual director for thirty-seven years Rev. Charles Crevier. And the Lady of Perpetual Help church had for its pastor for thirty-four years Rev. Joseph Marchand. Their records for leadership were as strong as their years of service were long.
Holy Cross church, whose Gothic type dome dominates the Highlands section of the community, contributes the name of Rev. Dr. John C. Ivers to any list of great church figures in the community. He was its first pastor and his strong, kindly and scholarly term of service lasted thirty-three years there, to which might well be added nine years more, spent as a curate at St. Jerome's and the Holy Rosary churches.
Long as it is, the list mentioned here does scant justice to the record of accomplishments by the great procession of God-loving men who have served Holyoke so well through the long years. Nor is any effort made here to list and acknowledge the value of the services being done in these days as we move into new ages with new problems capable of solution only by invoking the powers of the spirit to assist the powers of the human mind.
Note: The figures of the mural, of course, are not portraits of individual churchmen. The Calvinistic austerity of the skypilot in the center may suggest Jonathan Edwards, but more probably it is a reflection of the serious concept of spiritual matters that distinguishes modern youth from the generations that were "lost" between wars. They are types of the spiritual leaders of the three principal religious groups in Holyoke. The buildings in the background, however, are authentic and may be identified by reference to contemporary pictures, for example the first Baptist church in the center and St. Jerome's on the left. The details of the paintings have been verified officially by the artist.
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MORTALITY RATE OF HOŁYONE BABIES
C
CHILD HEALTH
MINNIE R. DWIGHT
Perhaps the gayest colors in the over-door panels are to be seen in the painting that memorializes Child Health in Holyoke. The pyramid of chil- dren at play appropriately symbolizes the happiness of well children well served. But the lesson of the central theme is most forcefully depicted in the chart with the scarlet mortality line that falls almost to the vanishing point. A world of happiness is thus indicated since less than twenty children per one thousand die today from all causes in the first year of life, instead of the one hundred fifty and more who succumbed in 1911 when child welfare work as such was organized.
The figure in the white coifed religious habit in the foreground is given prominence, because history reveals the fact that it was Sister Mary of Provi- dence who in 1875 came to Holyoke from Quebec at the request of the Rev. P. J. Harkins to start the first parochial school in Western Massachusetts.
Almost at once she found there were too many orphan children for what was called "The Institute." She turned to Dr. John J. O'Connor, the physi-
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cian whose name became a legend in Holyoke, who later also was chosen mayor of this city. As a result, the handsome property at Ingleside was purchased from the partnership of Chandler & Holman. A building was erected according to plans drawn up by the Sisters of Providence, that still stands as a monument to their vision and faith in spite of the fact that the treasury was empty when the building was finished. Thousands of boys and girls have passed through the nobly conceived institutions of Brightside and Mt. St. Vincent during the past seventy years. Many of them have taken high places in the world of affairs, grounded as they were in the founda- tions of religious life. Today there is building a magnificent modern Bright- side to serve the orphaned children of the entire Springfield Diocese.
The figure of the nun also stands for the devoted work of the Holyoke Day Nursery that cares for the children of Holyoke's working mothers week- days. Food, shelter, play and medical supervision are provided. When sur- veys showed that many mothers went to their work leaving their little ones untended at home, the call for adequate measures to furnish aid for these neglected children-some of them literally bound,-was spear-headed by the Rev. Daniel Tully who as Chaplain at Brightside learned the story. He helped to form St. Agnes Guild in 1916 under the care of the Sisters of Provi- dence. In 1919 the handsome Newton mansion on Chestnut St. with a large play-yard was purchased. There each weekday may be seen the merry groups of youngsters at play under the watchful eye of Sister Mary Anselm. Atop the lovely hill just south of Brightside the National Mother House of the Providence Order stands as a monument to Sister Mary of Providence, and this great Order pledged to the care of childhood, that initiated child welfare work in this Valley.
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