USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 11
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senting the United States Tires, he does a large garage business, giving a more com- plete and attentive service than is to be ob- tained in most places. His employees are unusually well trained, their education for their work being a matter of very special concern to Mr. Yoerg, and they take pride in looking after the interests of transients as well as those of local people.
Mr. Yoerg has, as a matter of fact, inter- ested himself in a variety of phases of the automobile industry. He is a director of the Tri-County Automobile Club, of Holyoke. He belongs to the Holyoke Automotive and Maintenance Association, serving as its president, in this city. He also belongs to the Mount Tom Golf Club, the Reciprocity Club, Holyoke Lodge, No. 902, of the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church. In spare time he enjoys outdoor life, being par- ticularly fond of golf.
On November 17, 1907, at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, South Hadley Falls, William Paul Yoerg married Mary G. Dugan, daughter of John and Mary (Fitzgerald) Dugan. She was born in Ware, Massachusetts, and was graduated from Ware High School. She belongs to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, of South Hadley Falls, and is active in the Women's Club, of Holyoke. She is deeply interested in Holyoke affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Yoerg are the parents of a daughter, Gertrude W. Yoerg, who is a graduate of Holyoke High School and Connecticut College for Women.
Mr. Yoerg's election as mayor of Holyoke gives promise of an administration of dis- tinction in this city, as he is bringing into his new work the same business-like quali- ties that have always characterized his com- mercial career. His ambitions for the city are, as his own personal ambitions have al- ways been, of a high order.
EDITH E. BALDWIN, M. D .- One of the most widely known and highly esteemed women physicians of Hampden County is Dr. Edith E. Baldwin, who for over two decades has been conducting a large and lu- crative practice in the city of Springfield and has achieved wide recognition as one of the foremost pediatricians of this section of the State. She is highly regarded by her professional colleagues and is prominently identified with many of the leading medical institutions here.
Dr. Baldwin, a native of the city of Springfield, received a general education in the public schools of this community and after completing her studies determined to pursue a medical career. At this time she matriculated at the Women's Medical Col- lege of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was awarded her degree of Doctor of Medicine from this institution in the class of 1913. Finishing her training she served a period of interneship at the Women's College Hos- pital and in 1914 returned to Springfield to embark on a medical career that has been outstanding for its distinction and success. Her medical activities have been of a gen- eral nature, though in recent years she has devoted much time to the subject of pedi- atrics and through her accomplishments in this field has become one of the outstanding authorities on children's diseases in this part of the State. She is visiting physician at the Springfield Isolation Hospital and the Wes- son Maternity Hospital. Professionally she is a member of the Hampden County Medi- cal Society, the American Medical Associa- tion and the Women's Medical Society of Springfield and the Eastern Hampden Medi- cal Association. She is also visiting physi- cian for the Children's County Aid and has contributed a number of articles and mono- graphs for publication in several of the lead- ing medical journals.
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Professional burdens have compelled her to confine her social activities to a limited number of organizations, among them the Loyal Ladies of the Royal Arcanum and the National Women's Organization.
Dr. Baldwin is the daughter of Howard M., and Fannie E. (Wenrick) Baldwin, the former a native of Springfield, the latter of Maryland.
ROBERT KEEP SQUIER-A progres- sive and influential business man, Robert Keep Squier is a scion of families long and honorably identified with Monson life and history. His own life has been lived here and he has contributed importantly to its better development in civic and commercial prosperity. Because of its interest to the student of the annals of this section of Mas- sachusetts, the genealogy of the Squiers and the outline of the history of a business that was started more than a half century ago, may appropriately have a place in this work.
The first of the Squier family in America was Thomas, who came, probably, in Gov- ernor Winthrop's fleet to Boston, and re- moved to Charlestown, in 1632. Philip Squier of later Newburyport record is be- lieved to have been the father of Philip Squier who went from Boxford. Massachu- setts, to Ashford, Connecticut, in 1714, where he inarried, in 1715, Elizabeth Fuller. Their son John, born May 24, 1727, married Melissa Scott in 1751, and the family moved to Monson in 1777 and settled near what became known as Moulton Hill. Their son Solomon, born in Ashford, Connecticut, April 20, 1776, married Sarah Moulton, of Monson. She was born in 1768 and died in 1851. Solomon Squier died December 17, 1834. They were the parents of fifteen chil- dren. Their son Arba (or Arbey), was the great-grandfather of Robert Keep Squier of this review. He was born February 7, 1799, and lived near the town line between
Monson and Wales. He married Ruby Moulton, who was born April 18, 1802, and died January 28, 1875, daughter of Jesse and Polly (King) Moulton. Arba Squier died January 19, 1870. Their children were : Solomon, born December 20, 1820; Wesley, born November 29, 1831, died July 22, 1859, at Greenport, Long Island; Horace, born November 22, 1833, died in Monson in 1920; Sarah, born December 18, 1835, died in 1838; Arba, born May 4, 1838, of whom further ; LaRoy, born December 22, 1839, died in 1918.
Arba Squier, son of Arba and Ruby (Moulton) Squier, learned the trade of car- penter and later was engaged as a contractor and builder in Monson. He helped in the laying out of some of the streets and built a number of houses. In 1884 he established a lumber business under the name of the A. Squier Lumber Yard. Later he was joined by his son, Wesley A., who succeeded him in his business interests. Arba Squier died September 17, 1888. He married Mary A. . Ramsdell, a native of Maine, born February 27, 1834, and died March 19, 1912. Her par- ents were John Lewis and Elizabeth Rams- dell. Their children were: Wilbur, born July 31, 1862, died in infancy ; Lizzie A., born September 18, 1863, died in infancy ; Wesley A., of whom further; Albert L., born April 10, 1867; Nellie F., born April 10, 1869.
Wesley A. Squier, son of Arba and Mary A. (Ramsdell) Squier, was born January 25, 1865, in Monson and spent his entire life in the town. For a period he served as libra- rian, as a telegraph operator and also was employed in the post office. Subsequently he became associated with his father's lum- ber business and the firm name became Squier and Company. For a time he also was with O. C. McCray in the coal business but after three years purchased Mr. Mc- Cray's interest and conducted a combined
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lumber, coal and grain business, in which his mother retained a share, until his death April 22, 1908. He had been a town auditor ; was a trustee of the Monson Savings Bank; a member of Day Spring Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Monson Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious affiliations were with the Con- gregational Church. He married (first) Jennie E. Keep of Monson, born February 18, 1864, daughter of Deacon Edward P. and Mary Keep. Mrs. Squier died August 20, 1902. Children: Robert Keep, of this review; Ruby May, wife of George R. Os- borne, head of the Osborne Hardware Com- pany, of Holyoke. Wesley A. Squier mar- ried (second) Adelaide Dobson of Asheville, North Carolina, and one daughter, Ruth W., was born to them. Ruth W. Squier is super- intendent of nurses at Dallas Hospital, Dallas, Texas.
Robert Keep Squier, son of Wesley A. and Jennie E. (Keep) Squier, was born in Monson, December 30, 1891. He attended the local school where he received his pre- liminary education. He was graduated from Monson Academy with the class of 1911, and went to Boston where he studied at the Bryant and Stratton Business College, from which he was graduated a year later. Upon his return to Monson he entered Squier and Company, then owned by his grandmother's and his father's estates. In 1915 Mr. Squier purchased the interests of all the heirs, be- coming sole owner. Successful from the first, he gradually increased the lines han- dled by the company and has added other lines including builder's supplies and fuel oils. In 1923 he entered the automobile field as the agent for a well-known company, and erected "Squier's Garage" on Main Street. He secured the Chrysler agency in 1924, which is the oldest agency for that corpora- tion in western Massachusetts. Constantly on the alert for new opportunities, Mr.
Squier also sells radios and electric refrigera- tors of famous makes.
Mr. Squier is vice-president of the Mon- son National Bank, and is a member of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Fraternally he is affiliated with Day Spring Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Hampden Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. Over a period of four years he was a member of the Monson Road Commission ; for six years he served as chief of the Fire Depart- ment, and for three years was a member of the Monson Water Board, during two years of which time he was chairman of the body.
On March 27, 1915, Robert Keep Squier married Charlotte N. Nash, of Millbridge, Maine, and they are the parents of three children : I. Mary Nash, graduate of the Monson High School, 1932, who. at the age of sixteen years matriculated at Mt. Hol- yoke College as a member of the class of 1936. 2. Robert Keep, Jr., who died Sep- tember 9, 1933, at the age of fourteen years. 3. Sarah Elizabeth, member of the class of 1935, Monson High School, and now attends Northampton School for Girls.
The Forest Lake Dairy Company is one of the largest and most modern establish- ments of its type in the northeastern part of Hampden County. Situated on the shores of Forest Lake in the town of Palmer, this establishment was organized in 1927 for the purpose of manufacturing ice cream and acting as a retail outlet for the milk and cream produced in this section. Prior to that time the plant had been under the management of several different agencies. Originally erected in 1912, it was operated as an ice cream manufacturing plant by A. D. Moore who later sold the property to Paul Bridgman, the title of the firm changing to the Bridgman Ice Cream Com- pany.
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In 1927, after the plant had been closed for a period, Herbert W. Bishop, Louis Die- goli and Paul Heine, Jr., acquired title to it and organized the Forest Lake Dairy Com- pany. Mr. Bishop was named president, Mr. Diegoli, treasurer, and Mr. Heine, sec- retary. With the establishment of this cor- poration the sale of milk was added to the manufacture of ice cream and under the pro- gressive and able leadership of the man- agement their trading territory was ex- tended to cover a radius of over twenty-five miles serving many of the leading centers of this section. All the milk sold is pur- chased from producers in this vicinity and much of the success enjoyed can be traced directly to the high quality policy this firm has pursued throughout its existence.
Two years after this concern was formed Mr. Diegoli sold his interest to the present partners, and since that time Mr. Heine has occupied the post of secretary-treasurer. The fact that this organization has weathered one of the most severe economic depressions this country has ever known is a distinct tribute to its founders.
HERBERT W. BISHOP-As president of the Forest Lake Dairy Company Herbert W. Bishop is recognized as one of the fore- most dairy authorities in this section of Hampden County. Throughout his active career he has devoted his energies to the dairy business, a factor that has eminently equipped him for the important and respon- sible position he occupies so successfully today. In conjunction with his business ac- tivities Mr. Bishop has also taken a keen and active interest in the affairs of Palmer and today is prominently identified with many of the leading social and civic organi- zations of this community.
Herbert W. Bishop was born at Newark, Delaware, son of William H. and Clara (Walker) Bishop. His father, who was a
professor of agriculture for many years, was graduated from the Massachusetts Agricul- tural College with the class of 1882. Later he taught agriculture at the Delaware State College and the National Farm School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
It was in the latter community that Her- bert W. Bishop received a general educa- tion. He completed his high school studies in 1911 and then attended Worcester Acad- emy, where he studied for one year. At the expiration of this period he matriculated at the Massachusetts Agricultural College and was graduated from this institution in 1916. During his collegiate career he was elected a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi Frater- nity.
After finishing his academic training he secured a position with the Supplee-Wills- Jones Milk Company of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, a large corporation which is now part of the National Dairy Company. After two years with this concern, he was ap- pointed manager of several of their shipping stations in New York State and Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Bishop remained with the afore- mentioned organization for six years and then went to Somerville, Massachusetts, where he became associated with J. M. Ha- ger and Son, milk dealers and ice cream manufacturers. This experience, coupled with his earlier training, enabled him to or- ganize the Forest Lake Dairy Company, which he heads today as president and is reviewed elsewhere in this issue. As one of the leading dairymen of this section he is affiliated with the New England Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers where he is a member of the board of directors.
Though he has centered the major portion of his energies on business pursuits he has not neglected the social and civic activities of this community. He is secretary of the Palmer Rotary Club and a member of the Palmer Chamber of Commerce. In his fra-
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ternal association he belongs to the Thomas Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Palmer Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Bishop worships at the Congregational Church here and is a member of the Federated Church Club.
On July 11, 1918, in the city of Doyles- town, Pennsylvania, Mr. Bishop married Joyce W. Booth of Mayville, New York, and they are the parents of four children: Bea- trice Sidney, Mariam Joyce, Robert Booth, and Barbara Lillian. The family reside at No. 45 Squier Street, Palmer, in a home pur- chased by Mr. Bishop during 1935.
PAUL HEINE, JR .- In the post of sec- retary-treasurer of the Forest Lake Dairy Company Paul Heine, Jr., is continuing a personal and business association that has been maintained for more than seventeen years. Shortly after receiving his discharge from the United States Army in 1918, he met Herbert W. Bishop in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and began a friendship that has existed since. They both were employed by the same concern. Mr. Heine came to Massachusetts one year after Mr. Bishop and in 1927, when the Forest Lake Dairy Company was formed, Mr. Heine became a partner, assuming the post of secretary which he was later to supplement by taking over the treasurer's office also. Through the work he has accomplished he has become a potent factor in the success of this firm.
Mr. Heine was born in New York City in 1897, son of Paul and Rose (Viulle) Heine. He was reared on Staten Island, New York, and received a general education in the pub- lic schools of that place, completing his high school course in 1915. At that time he en- tered the agricultural department of Corneil University and remained for three years, at the end of which time he enlisted in the United States Army, becoming a member of
the Fourth Officers Training School at Camp Meade, Maryland. Later he was trans- ferred to Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, Geor- gia, and received a commission of lieutenant in August, 1918. When peace was declared he was serving in this capacity at Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was honorably discharged from the service in December, 1918.
For a time he worked in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and later, in 1921, joined the Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Company of Phil- adelphia, engaging in field work with this organization in Huntingdon. It was during this period that he formed an acquaintance- ship with Herbert W. Bishop, now president of the Forest Lake Dairy Company, with whom he has since been associated. After working for the Philadelphia milk company for two years he came to Somerville, Mas- sachusetts, and joined the firm of J. M. Ha- ger and Son, ice cream manufacturers and milk dealers, with whom he was to work until 1927, when he became one of the or- ganizers of the Forest Lake Dairy Com- pany, the history of which is reviewed else- where in this issue. He was named secretary of the firm and in 1929 assumed the post of treasurer. Since that time he has acted in this dual capacity.
In his social and civic activities Mr. Heine is a member of the Palmer Rotary Club, the Palmer Chamber of Commerce and frater- nizes with the Thomas Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons as well as the Palmer Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Heine belongs to the Merrill L. Simonds Post, No. 130, of the American Legion, and worships at the Methodist Church.
On May 21, 1921, in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Heine married Julia A. Sharbaugh of that city and they were the parents of four children : I. June S. 2. Helen
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M. 3. Paul R., who died at the age of four years. 4. Paula. The family resides at No. 8 Holbrook Street, a property purchased by Mr. Heine in 1935.
THE HON. GEORGE F. LEARY, Jus- tice of the Superior Court, was for many years a member of the firm of Leary, Cum- mnings & Leary at Springfield, one of the city's well-known and successful law firms. He was born August 24, 1886, at Scitico, in the town of Enfield, Connecticut, son of the late Francis P. and Catherine P. (Whiton) Leary, both natives of Connecticut. His father served as station agent at Hazard- ville, in that State, for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and was also a member of the Board of Education of the town of Enfield for more than twenty years, and for several years chairman of the board. Francis P. Leary died August 3, 1934. The mother of Judge Leary is a resident of Scitico.
George F. Leary received his early educa- tion in his native town. After graduation from Enfield High School, in 1903, he be- came a student at Amherst College, where he was graduated in 1909. In 1912 he was graduated from Boston University Law School, Boston, and was admitted to the bar of this Commonwealth. He began the prac- tice of law in Springfield, and in 1914 be- came a member of the newly organized firm of Leary, Cummings & Leary, comprised of the late Daniel E. Leary, a well-known trial lawyer, and George D. Cummings. For many years he was chiefly engaged in the practice of the trial cases. From 1930 to 1932 he served as city solicitor of Spring- field.
On December 26, 1934. Governor Joseph B. Ely appointed him to the bench of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. Judge Leary is a member of the Hampden County Bar Association. the Massachusetts Bar As-
sociation and the American Bar Association. He also is a member of the University Club of Boston and the Delta Tau Delta Frater- nity, the Springfield Country Club, and be- longs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Judge Leary was married, on October 18, 1916, to Catherine C. Keating, of Pittsfield. Three children were born to them: I. Bar- bara. 2. George Whiton. 3. Robert Keat- ing. The Leary residence is at No. 16 Eton Street.
MERRILL LOUIS WELCKER-Pro- fessional and public life have furnished Mer- rill Louis Welcker, of Holyoke, many oppor- tunities for service to his fellow-citizens, and he has responded generously to every call for assistance.
Mr. Welcker was born in South Hadley, April 10, 1875, son of Peter and Mary Jane (Cooper) Welcker and grandson of Conrad Welcker, a native of Germany and an iron worker until his death, which occurred in New York City. Peter Welcker, father of M. L. Welcker, was also born in Germany, his birth date having been February 2, 1838, and he died in South Hadley. He was thir- teen years of age when he came to America with his parents. They first settled in New York City, where he attended the public schools. Going to the West as a young man, he became an expert with firearms, so that, when the Civil War flared forth, in 1861, he became one of Colonel Berdan's sharp- shooters at the age of twenty-three years. Throughout the war he served in the Fed- eral forces. Though shot and wounded, he recovered from his injury, but not without many years of suffering. He was twenty- seven years old when, the war ended, he and his family removed from New York City to South Hadley, Massachusetts, where he became a cigar manufacturer and so con- tinued for the rest of his active life. He
George H. Play.
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was a Republican and a Congregationalist. His wife was born in England on April 10, 1843, and died August 23, 1910, in South Hadley.
Their son, Merrill Louis Welcker, at- tended the public schools of his birthplace and was graduated in 1895 from Holyoke High School. In 1899 he took his degree of Bachelor of Laws at Boston University Law School, and in 1899 was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. He settled then in Hol- yoke and took up a general practice of his profession. Like his father before him, he aligned himself with the Republican party organization, and gradually he came to take a more and more significant part in local politics and public affairs. For ten or twelve years he was moderator of the town of South Hadley. In 1905 and 1906 he was a selectman in the same community. For eleven years, from 1900 to 1911, he was town counsel for South Hadley. He was appointed, on February 21, 1923, a special justice of the District Court in Holyoke, and so con- tinues today. He is a member of the Mas- sachusetts State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, as well as of the Hampden County Bar Association.
Having many social, civic and fraternal affiliations, Mr. Welcker is a member of Whiting Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, and he is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, in which he is a Past Grand Chancellor of Massachusetts and Supreme Representative from Massa- chusetts in the Supreme Lodge. For five years, from 1927 to 1931, inclusive, he was a member of the Supreme Tribunal, and for one of those years was Chief of the Tribunal. Mr. Welcker is a director of the Holyoke Public Library and a leader in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the Congregational Church.
His own favorite diversion (and, inciden- tally, that of his children) is swimming, though he admits that he knew very little about this sport before he was fifty years of age.
On March 8, 1911, Merrill Louis Welcker married, in South Hadley, Alice Helen Ful- ler, a native of Burlington, Vermont, daugh- ter of William H. and Margaret (Scott) Fuller, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Welcker is a graduate of the high school at Claremont, New Hampshire, and of Westfield Normal School, Westfield, Massachusetts. She taught in South Hadley before her marriage. She is a member of the First Congregational Church of Holyoke, a member of the Women's Club, and a leader in such patriotic organizations as the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution and the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She is a direct descendant of Samuel Fuller, who, with his brother, Edward Fuller, came to America in the historic "Mayflower" in 1620. Mr. and Mrs. Welcker have three children, two sons and a daughter: 1. Merrill Louis Welcker, Jr., born April 10, 1914, graduated from Holyoke High School, attended Nor- wich University for two years, and is now a senior at Massachusetts State College. 2. William Fuller Welcker, born January 17, 1917, graduated from Holyoke High School, and now a freshman at Massachusetts State College. 3. Cynthia Louise Welcker, born June 22, 1919, a junior at Holyoke High School.
HARRY LEWIS ROBERTS, M. D .- When Harry Lewis Roberts, M. D., became a member of the medical fraternity of Hampden County, it was with an experience matured in Nova Scotia, although he is a native of New England and received both his formal and professional education in Massachusetts. He was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, October 18, 1896, one of the
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