USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 71
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FRED W. ENZENBACHER-Holding prominent places among the industrial lead- ers and industrial concerns of Springfield, are Fred W. Enzenbacher and the company of which he is the co-founder and the presi- dent, The National Bronze Company. He was, during the early years of his career, connected with the United States Reclama- tion Bureau, but in September, 1925, organ- ized and established, with Joseph W. Buck- ley, the aforesaid corporation. Since the death of Mr. Buckley, in 1930, Mr. Enzen- bacher has been the head of the company and its directing force.
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The National Bronze Company specializes in non-ferrous metal castings, or mainly those in the aluminum or bronze category. It was started in the old Harley Plant but after a year the business had increased to such an extent it was necessary to build a modern foundry and plant on Shaw's Lane near Page Boulevard. This plant comprises about 12,000 square feet of floor space. At the outset the company was equipped to smelt about one thousand pounds per day. This shortly was increased to two tons, and when they moved into the new plant the output was four tons per day. Not long after entering their present plant, the Na- tional Bronze Company began melting from nine to ten tons daily. Their equipment is modern throughout and the success of the business lias been due to the extremely fine quality of the work produced by the con- cern. The company was the first to install, and is now the only jobber which own a Barrett Method of Melting "Cupola" capa- ble of melting five hundred pounds of metal in from ten to twelve minutes. About fifty men are employed.
Mr. Enzenbacher was born September 4, 1892, in Chicago, Illinois, and was edu- cated in the local grammar and high schools. Business has occupied the larger part of his time, but he is well known for his fine public spirit and a keen interest in all that makes for the best interests of the community, its progress, government and citizens. He attends St. Mary's Catholic Church in Long- meadow. Among his recreations are fish- ing, hunting and golf.
On October 9, 1915, Fred W. Enzenbacher married Cecilia Groble, of Chicago, Illinois, and they have a daughter, Jean, a student in high school.
JOHN S. HENDERSON-Since April I, 1924. John S. Henderson has served as chief of police of the village of Longmeadow.
Under his guidance the department has grown and flourished, and it is the depart- ment's boast that it is the only one in the United States consisting solely of patrol- men who are sharpshooters. Mr. Henderson is justly proud of this and other achieve- ments of the force.
Mr. Henderson was born April 1, 1879, at Montague, Massachusetts, son of John S. Henderson, Sr., a native Scotchman, and Jennie (MacLean) Henderson, born in Prince Edward's Island, both of whom are now deceased.
Longmeadow's present chief of police was only a few months of age when his parents removed to Greenfield, where he was reared. There he attended the public schools, after- ward spending five years as an apprentice to the silversmith's trade. After learning all the details of this trade, he determined not to take it up as his life's work. There- upon he was employed for two and one-half years by the Fitchburg Railroad, subse- quently entering upon a career as chef and then as grocer. While acting as a grocer, Mr. Henderson also was engaged on a part- time basis as a police officer in Long- meadow. In 1920 this community decided to establish a regular police department, and a few months later he became a patrolman in the newly created department. His ap- pointment as chief came on April I, 1924, and since that date he has continued to serve his community in this capacity. The department has grown, in the years in which he has directed it, from a two-man force to one employing eight patrolmen.
Along with his other activities, Mr. Hen- derson is a member of the New England Police Chiefs' Association. Politically he is a Republican with regard to national affairs and policies, but locally he follows an inde- pendent course, supporting the man whom he regards as the best candidate for each
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office. In spare time he enjoys outdoor life and the quieter recreations, notably fishing.
John S. Henderson married, on August 18, 1909, Jennie Ramsey. They became the parents of three children : I. Frank L., who is a graduate of Longmeadow's graded and high schools and is now employed by the Hood Milk Company ; he married Olga Wil- son, of Florence, Massachusetts, and they became the parents of a son, Wilson Hen- derson. 2. Earl D., a graduate of the local grade and high schools, now manager of a First National grocery store in Long- meadow; he served for fifteen months dur- ing the World War as a member of the United States Army Motor Transport Corps; he married Lillian Adams, of Hol- yoke, and they became the parents of one daughter, Vera Henderson. 3. Dorothy R., a graduate of Longmeadow grade and high schools, as well as of the Nursing School at Springfield Hospital; she became the wife of Robert Muldoon, who is an employee of the Hood Milk Company.
REV. JAMES GORDON GILKEY, A. B., A. M., B. D., D. D., LL. D .- As pastor of the South Congregational Church in the city of Springfield since 1917, authority and educator in Biblical literature, prominent author of religious works and leader in so- cial and civic affairs, the Rev. James Gordon Gilkey is regarded as one of the most influ- ential forces in this community. His accom- plishments have been recognized by several large universities and as a resident of Springfield he is identified with a number of leading clubs and societies.
Dr. Gilkey was born in Watertown, Mas- sachusetts, September 28, 1889, the son of James Henry and Mary Lottie (Johnson) Gilkey. He secured a general education in the public schools of Watertown, and, after completing this part of his studies, matricu-
lated at Harvard University from which he was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts de- gree in 1912, and a year later was awarded a Master's degree. He went to Europe in 1912 and studied at the University of Berlin and Marburg University, both in Germany. Upon his return to this country Dr. Gilkey entered Union Theological Seminary, receiv- ing the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1916. Ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church that same year, on July 1, 1916, he became assistant pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he remained for about a year. In 1917 Dr. Gilkey came to Springfield as minister of the South Congregational Church, a post he has occupied since with outstanding distinc- tion and success.
As an authority on Biblical literature Dr. Gilkey has been sought by some of the lead- ing educational institutions of learning in the East. It is estimated today that he is a speaker and lecturer at over forty schools and colleges in this section, among them the International Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation College of Springfield, where he has been professor of religion since 1930, and serves as a member of the board of trustees. Prior to this time he also acted as professor of Biblical literature at Amherst College, serving in this capacity from 1923 to 1930, and again in the spring of 1936.
As an author he has written the following nine books dealing with religious subjects : "A Faith for the New Generation"; "Secrets of Effective Living"; "The Certainty of God"; "Solving Life's Everyday Problems"; "Meeting the Challenge of Modern Doubt"; "Managing One's Self"; "What Can We Be- lieve?"; "You Can Master Life"; and "Get- ting Help from Religion." Dr. Gilkey is also an accomplished 'cellist, and has been a leader in musical activities throughout his . residence in this city. For eight years he
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was president of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. It is interesting to note at this juncture that it was his musical ability which made it possible for him to earn his way through college.
Dr. Gilkey is a member of a number of the leading organizations in this vicinity, including the Harvard Club of the Con- necticut Valley, the Century Club, The Club, and the Springfield Rotary Club, which he serves as minister. His important achieve- ments have been honored by Colgate Uni- versity, which in 1925 bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity ; Colby College, which honored him in the same way in 1933; the University of Vermont which also named him a Doctor of Divinity in 1935, and the American International College of Springfield which gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1935. Dr. Gil- key finds his main hobby in taking moving pictures, a diversion he has enjoyed in many parts of the world.
On June 7, 1916, in Cambridge, Dr. Gilkey married Calma Wright Howe, of that com- munity, and they are the parents of three children : I. James Gordon, Jr., now attend- ing Harvard College. 2. Margaret H., who is a student at Wellesley College. 3. Edith B., who is studying at the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.
CHARLES R. CLASON -- Outstanding in his professional attainments, a man who has assumed a place of leadership in social and civic affairs, Charles R. Clason, attor- ney, occupies a prominent place in the life of Springfield where for well over a decade he has enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. As a lawyer he is highly esteemed by his colleagues and through his contributions to the welfare of this community he has won the approbation of the public-at-large.
Charles R. Clason was born September 3, 1890, in Gardiner, Maine, son of Oliver and Lizzie (Trott) Clason, both natives of his birthplace, where his mother still resides. His father, who died in 1930, was very prom- inent in the affairs of his surroundings. For three terms he was mayor of Gardiner, was a member of the Governor's Council and while in the State Senate presided over that body as president. He was widely known through his fraternal affiliations being a member of the Masonic Order, in which he held the thirty-second degree and belonged to the Kora Temple Shrine, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Clason received a general education in the public schools of his native com- munity and after completing his studies here in 1907 matriculated at Bates College from which he was graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1911. Deciding at this time to pursue a legal career, he entered the Georgetown University Law School, receiv- ing the degree of Bachelor of Laws from this institution in 1914, and was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia that same year. Shortly thereafter he went to England and enrolled in Oxford University from which, in 1917, he was graduated in jurisprudence. Returning to this country he became associated with his father in Gardiner, Maine, initiating a legal career that was to be noteworthy for its distinction and success. Within a year Mr. Clason went to Boston, where he became associated with the law firm of Gaston, Snow, Saltonstall and Hunt, remaining until 1918, when he enlisted in the United States Army. A mem- ber of the Coast Artillery, he was stationed at Fort Monroe and Camp Eustis, Virginia. He entered the service as a private and at the time of his honorable discharge had been promoted to a sergeant major. When the
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Armistice was declared he was in the officers ade. Returning to this country he took up training camp at Fort Monroe.
Mr. Clason first came to the city of Springfield in the spring of 1919 and estab- lished himself in practice. Later he formed a partnership and became a member of the firm of Simpson, Clason and Callahan, which still exists. The unusual ability he displayed as an attorney won him wide recognition from the outset of his career here. He be- came assistant district attorney of the west- ern district, filling this office from 1922 to 1926. Because of his accomplishments in the aforementioned position he was elected district attorney in the fall of 1926 and filled this office with distinction and success from 1927 to 1930 inclusive.
Politically Mr. Clason is a member of the Republican party and has been active in the affairs of that organization in Massachu- setts. In 1934 he was a candidate for Con- gress. In his professional affiliations Mr. Clason is a member of the Hampden County Bar Association. Social affiliations include the University Club, the Rotary Club, and he fraternizes with the Samuel Osgood Lodge of the Masonic Order. He is a mem- ber of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church and serves as a trustee for this institution.
On August 4, 1928, Mr. Clason married Emma M. Pattillo of Truro, Nova Scotia.
RAY POTTER DUNNING-During the years of a busy life Ray Potter Dunning has enjoyed a long and varied career in the pro- fessional world. Trained as a mechanical engineer and chemist he followed these pur- suits until 1926, at which time he became a member of the Massachusetts State Bar and initiated a practice that has become distin- guished for its success. During the early part of his career his work took him to vari- ous sections of this country and Mexico, where he witnessed part of the revolution that plagued that land for more than a dec-
the study of law only to have the World War interrupt his efforts. He enlisted and served in the chemical branch of the United States Navy. After the conflict he returned, secured his legal degree and began to prac- tice in his native city of Springfield. Throughout his residence here he has taken a keen and active interest in the social, civic and business life of this community and is prominently identified with many of its lead- ing organizations.
Mr. Dunning was born in Springfield, De- cember 12, 1888, son of James G. and Sarah L. (Potter) Dunning. His father, who was a graduate of the Boston University Law School and died in 1923, practiced in this city throughout his life. He was a native of Bath, Maine, while his wife came from Arrowsic in the same State.
Mr. Dunning received a general education in the public schools of his native com- munity and after graduating from high school here, matriculated at Harvard Col- lege from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1911. He then entered the Harvard Graduate School of Applied Science and was awarded a degree of Mechanical Engineer.
Upon completing his academic training he became associated with the American Smelt- ing and Refining Company at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and remained until he was dis- patched to Monterey, Mexico, as chemist and assayer of the plant at that point. The revolution broke out during his stay here and in 1913 the company closed its plant and Mr. Dunning returned to the United States, settling in Boston where he became resident engineer for Stone and Webster. He main- tained this connection for about two years and then took up the study of law in his father's office in Springfield. His activities in this work were to be interrupted, how- ever, with the entrance of the United States
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into the World War. He had taken an ex- amination for a commission in the navy, but enlisted in the army and had become a mem- ber of the field artillery at Plattsburg, New York, when he received notice that he had received a navy commission. He was dis- charged from the artillery and entered the navy as an ensign, later being promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. He became a member of the War Industries Board, representing the navy in regard to high explosives and raw materials, also be- ing in charge of securing these commodities. As a member of this body he was stationed in Washington, District of Columbia. In 1919 he received an honorable discharge from the service and shortly thereafter joined the Barrett Company of New York City as sales manager of their chemical products division. He remained with this organization until 1924, when he decided to return to Springfield and complete his edu- cation in law. Two years later he was ad- mitted to the Massachusetts State Bar and has since been enjoying a large and lucra- tive practice. Professionally he is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar Association. He has been very active in civic affairs and is now (1936) president and a director of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and between 1928 and 1929 was United States Commissioner. Socially Mr. Dunning is a member of the Suffield Country Club, the University Club and fraternizes with the Masonic Order, where he is Past Master of the Samuel Osgood Lodge, belongs to the Morning Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and the Springfield Commandery, Knights Templar, and is a member and a director of the Kiwanis Club.
On April 9, 1921, Mr. Dunning married Mildred W. Lewis of Cranford, New Jersey, and they are the parents of one daughter : Sally Jane, born April 9, 1924.
THEODORE S. BACON, M. D .- Dr. Theodore S. Bacon has been in active prac- tice in the medical profession in the city of Springfield for the past thirty-six years. He is affiliated with the leading professional or- ganizations of this vicinity and has been a member of the staffs of Springfield and other hospitals. Apart from this work he is active in social and civic affairs and has been par- ticularly interested in fraternal affairs.
Dr. Bacon was born in Natick, May 9, 1872, son of Josiah Spaulding and Leora A. (French) Bacon, both natives of this Com- monwealth. His father served in the United States Customs Service in Boston, residing in Natick, where the family had lived for many years. The Bacons trace their Amer- ican ancestry to representatives bearing that name who came to this country from Eng- land early in the seventeenth century and settled in Dedham.
Dr. Bacon received a general education in the public schools of his native community, later attended private schools in the city of Boston and after completing these studies was graduated from Massachusetts State College and Boston University, from which he received a degree of Bachelor of Science in 1894. He then entered the Harvard Medi- cal School, receiving in 1898 his degree of Doctor of Medicine from this institution. After serving an interneship at the Boston City Hospital, in 1900 he came to Spring- field where he established himself in gen- eral practice. He is a member of the Spring- field Medical Association, the Springfield Medical Club, the Springfield Academy of Medicine, the Massachusetts Medical Soci- ety, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
In a civic capacity he is chairman of the board of trustees of the Belchertown State School, and socially is a member of the
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Springfield Rotary Club. He fraternizes field (since 1921 the District Court of Spring- with the Masonic Order where he holds a thirty-second degree and belongs to the Springfield Commandery and Melha Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On July 20, 1904, Dr. Bacon married Mabel A. Rice of South Deerfield, and they are the parents of two children : I. Dorothy, a graduate of Wellesley College, married Thomas A. Taylor and resides in Montclair, New Jersey. 2. Theodore S., Jr., a student (1936) at Deerfield Academy.
HON. WALLACE ROGERS HEADY -- For more than twenty years, the Hon. Wal- lace Rogers Heady has served as judge of the District Court of Springfield. His pro- fessional career has centered in this city since he first began the practice, and in point of service he is today one of the oldest mem- bers of the Hampden County bar.
Judge Heady was born near Canaan, Con- necticut, in 1863 or 1864 (having no exact record of the year or place of his birth). He is a son of Chauncey Heady, a jewelry sales- man, who represented his firm on the road, and Elvira (Rogers) Heady. He was edu- cated in Connecticut schools, completing the high school course at Unionville (Farming- ton) in 1882, and in 1882-83 was a student in Yale Law School. From 1883 to 1890 he taught school and for the last three years of this period was principal of a graded school in a large Connecticut manufacturing town. Meanwhile, he continued to read law in preparation for his chosen career, finishing his studies at Hartford, Connecti- cut, in 1888-89. In the latter year he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and in 1890 removed to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was also admitted to practice. He opened an office in this city and was engaged in his duties at the bar until he was ap- pointed judge of the Police Court of Spring-
field). Judge Heady assumed that office on January 31, 1914, and has served on the bench without interruption during the inter- vening years. Three special justices assist in the administration of the very large vol- ume of cases which come annually to the criminal and civil sides of the Springfield District Court. Jurisdiction of the court in criminal cases extends far into the field of felonies, and on the civil side is unlimited as to the amount involved. It is the court of first recourse in all ordinary dealings of the citizen with the law, and during the many years in which he has presided over its sessions Judge Heady has rendered an important service to the city.
On May 4, 1893, at Hartford, Connecticut, Judge Heady married Sarah Cecelia Mc- Manus, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Smith) McManus. They are the parents of five children, three sons and two daugh- ters.
RICHARD HERMAN DIETZ-For more than half a century Richard Herman Dietz was a resident of Holyoke, devoting practically his entire active career to the bakery business in this city. He operated the Dietz bakery at No. 440 High Street, which constituted one of a number of such establishments controlled by himself and his sons.
Mr. Dietz was born on June 16, 1863, in Saxony, Germany, a son of Herman and Christliebe (Zösch) Dietz. His father, who was born in Crimmitzschau, Saxony, and died at Holyoke in 1896, was a weaver all his life. He worked in but two plants throughout his career, one in his native land and the other the Germania Mills in Hol- yoke. Herman Dietz was a Republican in politics and was reared in the Lutheran faith. His wife, Christliebe (Zösch) Dietz, was also born in Crimmitzschau, Saxony,
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and died at Holyoke in 1885 at the age of fifty-two.
After receiving his education from the public schools of Saxony Mr. Dietz learned the trade of baker in his native land. He was eighteen years old when he came to Holyoke with his parents on December 12, 1881. In this city he obtained his first em- ployment as a weaver in the silk mill of William Skinner and Sons, but in Septem- ber, 1883, he opened a bakery in South Hol- yoke and returned to his original trade. Here he conducted his shop successfully for a period of seventeen years, but when busi- ness moved uptown about the beginning of the present century, he purchased the four stores, one story high, at his last location and moved his bakery to No. 440 High Street. In 1913, to keep pace with the de- velopment of the city, he built a modern bakery on Commercial Street, which he sold in 1925 to the Continental Baking Company. A few years later he and his son, Walter H. Dietz, purchased the Dolly Madison Bakery in Springfield, which was subsequently merged with the Hathaway Bakeries, of which Walter H. Dietz is president and general manager. This company operates eighteen bakery plants extending from New York to Milwaukee. Meanwhile, in March, 1930, another son, Edwin O. Dietz, pur- chased the retail bakery at No. 440 High Street, which his father had established and previously sold to the Continental Bakery Company. This enterprise operated as the Dietz Bakery with Richard Herman Dietz as manager.
While he devoted his active attention to its management, Mr. Dietz was also a stock- holder in the Hathaway Bakeries and owned an orchard of one thousand trees in Hol- yoke, which furnished him diversion from his interests in the bakery business. His long career in this city made him a well-
known figure in its life and aside from his business connections he participated in other community enterprises and move- ments. Mr. Dietz served for one year (1894) as a member of the City Board of Aldermen and was subsequently park com- missioner for an equal period. He was a Democrat in politics and always gave his support to the principles of his party. In addition, he was a charter member of Hol- yoke Lodge, No. 902, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, a member of the Ha- rugari Society of Holyoke and the Turn Verein Vorwaerts. In religious faith he was a Lutheran. His death occurred December 8, 1935.
On July 6, 1887, Richard Herman Dietz married Bertha Glesmann, daughter of Frank Glesmann, who was born in Ger- many, on January 17, 1864, educated there and came to Holyoke with her parents in 1882. She was an active member of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Dietz died in Hol- yoke on January 25, 1931. There are seven children of this marriage, five sons and two daughters : I. Walter H., president and gen- eral manager of the Hathaway Bakers, Inc., now a resident of Newton, Massachusetts. He married Mildred Brooks of Holyoke and they have three sons: Walter, Brooks, and Jack. 2. Herman R., manager of the Dolly Madison Bakery in Springfield. He mar- ried Ethel Roberts of Holyoke and they have four children : Janet, Marilyn, Dorothy, and Herman. 3. Rudolph A., a member of the firm of E. P. Atmus and Company of Boston. He is married and has one son, Rudolph A., Jr. 4. Edwin O., proprietor of the Dietz Bakery of Holyoke and manager of the Hathaway Bakeries branch in Staten Island, New York. He is married and has two daughters, Helen and Bertha. 5. Rich- ard Herman, Jr., superintendent of the cake department of the Hathaway Bakeries plant
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