USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 23
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Mr. Andrew married Christina B. King, daughter of William G. and Charlotte King, at North Adams, on June 25, 1912. His favorite sport is golf.
MICHAEL ANTHONY MIGLIORE-One of the younger businessmen of Springfield whose success has been widely noted is Michael Anthony Migliore, a native of New York City who turned his early experience as a salesman to account in the field of life insurance, in which he has become a leader in the Western Massachusetts area.
Born in the city of New York, New York State, on March 22, 1909, Michael Anthony is a son of the late Anthony Charles Migliore, a native of Italy, who died in New York City on October 24, 1926. Anthony Charles Migliore was a skilled designer of furniture. His son attended public elementary schools in New York City and took academic courses at the
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Stuyvesant High School there, and later attended Columbia University in the same city. His business career began in 1927, when he became a salesman for the Sterling Piano Company. Two years later, in 1929, he was made sales manager of this company's New Jersey Division. A year later he joined the Malloy Piano Company in the capacity of divisional manager.
It was in the following year, 1930, that Mr. Migliore came to Springfield and entered the life insurance business as an agent of the Prudential Life Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey. Six months later he was transferred to New York City. In Decem- ber, 1932, he returned to Springfield and became as- sociated as an agent with the Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company. Two months later he was pro- moted to the position of assistant superintendent, which he continued to hold until 1940, when he was assigned to Framingham, as assistant district super- intendent. Returning to the post of assistant superin- tendent at Springfield in January, 1942, he was ap- pointed acting superintendent of the Springfield dis- trict in 1945, and in February, 1946, was promoted to the office of superintendent of that district. Thus Mr. Migliore is deeply experienced in all phases of the insurance business and, moreover, with the spe- cial conditions in the Western Massachusetts territory. He is an influential member of the Life Insurance Managers Association, and is also active in the Spring- field Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Migliore is of the Roman Catholic religion and is a communicant of the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In politics he is known as an in- dependent voter.
In 1938 Michael Anthony Migliore married at Thompsonville, Connecticut, Marion Griffin, a daugh- ter of the late Martin J. Griffin, an automobile dealer who died in 1929, and of his wife Josephine (Ouel- lette) Griffin, who survives him and lives in Spring- field. Mrs. Migliore, who was born on May 28, 1919, is a graduate of the Westfield High School. The Migliores are the parents of three children: I. Marion M., who was born on September 24, 1938, and is now a student in public school. 2. Susan Mary, born on February 2, 1944. 3. William Owen, born also on February 2, 1944.
FRANK J. BRADY, co-partner with his wife, Ruth L. Brady in Brady Cleaners & Dyers, a modern cleaning and dyeing plant of Pittsfield, is also a di- rector of the Cleansing Plants Owners of Massachu- setts, Incorporated, in which he takes an active in- terest, having indeed been largely instrumental in the organizing of this progressive trade association.
Frank J. Brady was born June 4, 1905, in Man- chester, England, and came to the United States with his parents when still an infant. At the age of eight he had the great misfortune of losing both his parents and from then on was brought up by his uncles and aunts. His education, which had been begun in the elementary schools of Cohoes, New York, where his parents had settled, was continued at Sharon, Penn- sylvania. He first came to Pittsfield in 1916 at the age of ten and continued his education in the Pittsfield public schools while at the same time working for his uncle, who owned the Maplewood Cleaning & Dyeing Company of Pittsfield. In course of time he
left Pittsfield and traveled about the country, working in various cities and at various occupations. In 1931, with the benefit of much experience and travel to his credit, he returned to work again in the Maple- wood Cleaning & Dyeing Company. Eventually, in March, 1935, six months after his marriage, he estab- lished his own business, in partnership with his wife, and together they have built it up into the busy and thriving concern it now is. Believing as he does that modern business requires cooperation among members of the same trade, who are faced with the same problems, Mr. Brady gave considerable time and effort to the promotion of the idea of forming the Cleansing Plants Owners of Massachusetts, In- corporated, and he serves this organization as a mem- ber of the board of directors. He is also a director of the baseball club of the Pittsfield Electric Company, a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of the Cham- ber of Commerce and the Berkshire Hills Conference.
Mr. Brady married in Pittsfield on September 19, 1934, Ruth L. Tompkins of White Plains, New York, the daughter of George B. and Grace M. (Atkins) Tompkins. Ruth L. (Tompkins) Brady is a direct descendant of Daniel D. Tompkins, who was Governor of New York State and Vice President of the United States during the administration of President James Monroe. Mrs. Brady has been extremely active in building up the business of Brady Cleaners & Dyers, in which she is a co-partner.
HUGO SIMON ROCCA-As owner of one of the leading small automobile repair businesses in Spring- field, Hugo Simon Rocca is establishing himself as one of the progressive citizens of this city.
Mr. Rocca was born March 6, 1917, at Summers, Connecticut, son of Simon and Ida (Gradia) Rocca. His father, a native of Italy, is associated with the city of Springfield as a forester, is a Republican, and a member of the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church. Ida Gradia is the daughter of Primative Gradia, also a native of Italy, a retired farmer who came to this country as a young married man with his wife and children, settled first in New York City, later mi- grating to Springfield. At one time he was asso- ciated with the Huyler Chocolate factory in New York. Recently he gave thirty acres of land to the city of Springfield to be used for public parks.
Hugo Simon Rocca received his preliminary edu- cation in the public schools of Springfield and was graduated from Technical High School in 1934. Following this he took special night courses for six months studying the printing business with the F. K. Williams Company, of Springfield. Then he became affiliated with the Westerly Auto Body Company at Westerly, Rhode Island, a connection which lasted for seven or eight months. He returned to Springfield and continued to be associated with different shops there at the same time specializing in aluminum weld- ing at the Westinghouse Electric Company's plant. At the time of World War II he organized the Auto Body Company and became sole owner of the en- terprise. He started his business in a one-car garage on Walnut Street; a year later he moved to larger quarters at 289 Mill Street. The Mill Street Auto Body Company, doing complete auto painting and radiator work in addition to fender and body work, has grown
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Carl J. Roberto
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too large for the present building, and Mr. Rocca is now constructing an extension to the shop to meet the ever increasing number of orders for new work.
Mr. Rocca is a Republican in political preference. In religious faith he is a Catholic, and he attends the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church, belonging to the Holy Name Society. For diversion he enjoys fishing and the construction of model railroad trains. In the basement of his home he possesses an elaborate set of trains.
On August 23, 1940, Hugo Simon Rocca married Genevieve' Albano, daughter of Anthony and Frances Albano. Her father is a former shoemaker who is now associated with the A. J. Hoppe Tool Works, of Springfield. Mrs. Rocca was educated in the public schools of Italy and Springfield, and is a member of the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church and the Mount Carmel Society. Mr. and Mrs. Rocca became the parents of the following children: 1. Roger Hugo, who was born June 1, 1942. 2. Paul Francis. 3. Ray- mond Simon, who was born in April, 1945.
CARL JOHN ROBERTS-A leading figure in the household appliance industry of Springfield, Massa- chusetts, Carl John Roberts has made many valuable contributions toward improving the beauty and effi- ciency of the homes of Springfield.
Mr. Roberts was born August 25, 1911, at Spring- field, son of Frederick L. and Anna (Wittschiebe) Roberts. John Roberts, grandfather of Carl John Roberts, was a toolmaker of Springfield. His son, Frederick L. Roberts, father of Carl John Roberts, was born in April, 1882, and is now a prominent mer- chant of Agawam, Massachusetts. Frederick L. Rob- erts married Anna Wittschiebe, who was born in March, 1887, in Germany. He is an independent voter and attends the Roman Catholic Church.
Carl John Roberts received his early education in the public schools of Agawam, and was graduated from the Agawam High School in 1928. Upon finishing high school he became associated with his father in the automobile business in Agawam, and remained there until 1929, when his father sold the enterprise. When the elder Mr. Roberts went into the refrigerator busi- ness, Mr. Roberts took a two-months' course on re- frigeration at the Kelvinator Company in Detroit, Michigan. He then became associated with the Kelv- inator-Raff Company, of Springfield, and remained with the concern as service manager until 1934. In that year he organized the C. J. Roberts Engineering Company, which has a large service department, car- ries a full line of household appliances, and is the New England distributor for washing machine parts. He services, in addition to washing machines, a general line of radios and refrigerators. First situated on Main Street, in 1938 the enterprise moved to 43 Dwight Street, and in the following year moved to its present location. The business has steadily grown until today it is one of the most successful and prosperous firms of its type in Springfield.
Mr. Roberts is a member of the Appliance Parts Jobbers Association of Detroit, Michigan, the Spring- field Chamber of Commerce, and trustee and director of the Agawam Sportsman's Club. In politics he is an independent voter, and attends the Roman Catho- lic Church. For exercise and recreation he participates in fishing and hunting. In addition he is a member of the Springfield Lodge of Elks, the Longmeadow
Men's Club, the Springfield Sportsman's Club, and the Lions Club.
.On November 25, 1931, Carl John Roberts married Stella B. Cebula, daughter of Paul and Sallie Cebula. Her father, a native of Pennsylvania, was a metal ex- pert of Springfield, and died there in November, 1946. Mrs. Roberts was graduated from Commerce High School, took postgraduate commercial courses and was a stenographer prior to her marriage. She is a member of the Parent Teacher Association and various bridge Clubs, and attends the Roman Catholic Church. Carl John and Stella B. (Cebula) Roberts became the par- ents of the following children: I. Carl Francis, who was born August 20, 1933. 2. Wayne Edmund, who was born June 21, 1938.
PERCY F. SPENCER-Since 1934 Percy F. Spen- cer has been treasurer of the Florence Savings Bank and a member of its board of trustees. Mr. Spencer devotes much of his time and interest outside bank- ing hours to the Boy Scout movement, and serves as chairman of the Hampshire and Franklin Counties Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Mr. Spencer was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on June 23, 1880, the son of Rev. William and Grace (Davison) Spencer. His father was a Baptist minis- ter, and in 1887, when Percy F. Spencer was a boy of seven, the family moved to Massachusetts. There he attended the public schools, graduating from the Drury High School of North Adams in the class of 1898, after which he became a student at Williams College.
In 1900 Percy F. Spencer entered the employ of the National Bank of North Adams and was with this bank in various capacities until 1910. From 1910 to 1919 he was cashier of the Athol National Bank. He then left the bank and became a bond salesman, a pursuit he followed for the next fifteen years. In 1934 he accepted a position as treasurer of the Flor- ence Savings Bank and became a member of its board of trustees. The Florence Savings Bank, which cele- brates the seventy-fifth anniversary of its founding this year, has had a sound growth and development despite the fact that it has been through many periods of depression and boom. Its first officers, elected on April 12, 1873, were all prominent citizens of Flor- ence. An interesting fact about this bank is that three of Mr. Spencer's predecessors in the office of treasurer were women, the bank successfully employing women as treasurers for the thirty-eight years from 1880 to 1918. Today the facilities of the Florence Savings Bank have become inadequate, and a plan for enlarging it and remodeling to install modern bank- ing equipment has been approved by the state banking commissioner. Mr. Spencer has served the bank ably as treasurer and trustee from 1934 to the present time.
Fraternally Mr. Spencer is a member and past master of the Star Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Athol, and he and his family are members of the Congregational Church. With a keen love of young people and of the out of doors, Mr. Spencer has been very successful as a leader in the Boy Scout movement, and he is now chairman of the Boy Scouts of America Council for the two counties of Hampshire and Franklin.
On August 31, 1907 Percy F. Spencer married at North Adams Christina N. MacPhail, the daughter of Duncan and Christina (Hamilton) MacPhail and
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the sister of Professor Andrew W. MacPhail, asso- ciate professor of education at Brown University. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are the parents of three children. I. William D. Spencer, born in North Adams in 1908. He graduated from Williams College in 1929 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and is now in charge of the real estate department of the American Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Boston. He married Edith Lewis, and they have two children: Gail and Janet. 2. Andrew H. Spencer, born in Athol in 191I. He graduated from Williams College in 1932 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and was formerly asso- ciated with the Raytheon Manufacturing Company of Newton in an executive capacity. In 1948 he re- ceived the degree of Master of Arts from Boston University and is now studying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, doing postgraduate work at Boston University. He married Marguerite Dent of Turners Falls, and they have two children, Ann and William. 3. Laurence Spencer, born at Spring- field in 1922. He served as flight officer in a glider unit of the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations from 1942 to 1945 and is now a student at Boston University.
WALTER F. TATUM-Although a Southerner by birth, Walter F. Tatum, when he became asso- ciated with an industrial corporation at Lee and a resident of Stockbridge, was in a sense returning to his ancestral country, for one of his forebears in the maternal line was the renowned Rev. Jonathan Ed- wards, the most noted divine and pulpit orator throughout the Thirteen Colonies in the days just prior to the American Revolution. Jonathan Edwards lived some years of his life in Stockbridge.
Mr. Tatum was born on May 14, 1908, at Meridian, Mississippi, the son of the late Dr. Henry F. Tatum, and wife, Ruth (Featherstun) Tatum, who was born at Santa Ana, California, the daughter of a Methodist minister. Dr. Tatum was a leading physician of Meridian. Walter F. Tatum began his education in the public schools of his birth place and was gradu- ated from Meridian High School before coming north to attend Columbia University in the city of New York.
In 1929 Mr. Tatum became associated with the British-American Tobacco Company at Louisville, Kentucky. With this large concern he remained until 1941, serving in various capacities such as manager of the accounting department. Then through study at an institute he advanced to an executive position in this organization. In 1941 he accepted the position of executive vice president of the Smith Paper Company at Lee, and since then his business activities have been carried on in Berkshire County, where he also established his residence. Bringing to his present position a wealth of mature administra- tive experience, Mr. Tatum has contributed notably to the continued progress of one of the foremost firms in the great Berkshire paper manufacturing industry.
Mr. Tatum is a member of the Greenock Country Club of Lee, and is affiliated with the Occidental Lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, meeting in Stockbridge. His favorite recreation is golf.
On August 14, 1930, Walter F. Tatum was married
in New York City to Grace Schmedes of that city, a daughter of Henry and Grace (Doscher) Schmedes. Of this marriage there are four children: I. Walter F. Jr., who was born on June 8, 1934. 2. Beverly Ruth, born on May 22, 1939. 3. Harry Fletcher, born October 1, 1941. 4. Roger Perry, a twin of Harry Fletcher, born on October 1, 1941. All four children were born in Louisville, Kentucky.
HOWARD THEODORE JENSEN-A former member and president of the Springfield Common Council and a former vice president of the Massa- chusetts Republican Club of Boston, Howard Theo- dore Jensen is today one of the more successful in- dependent insurance operators in Western Massa- chusetts. With headquarters in Springfield, he covers the entire western portion of the State in his busi- ness. He is an outstanding member of the Hope Congregational Church.
Mr. Jensen was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on November 9, 1906, the son of Sern C. and Sine M. (Hendrickson) Jensen. His father was born in Ahlborg, Denmark, on December 1I, 1864, and lives in retirement in Springfield. For twenty-five years he was associated with the Indian Motorcycle Com- pany. Educated in Denmark's public schools, he came to the United States in his youth. It was in this country that he married another native of Den- mark, Sine (Hendrickson) Jensen. She died in Springfield in 1920, at the age of fifty-two.
Howard T. Jensen was educated in Springfield's elementary and high schools. When he left school, it was to become an apprentice carpenter. He re- mained in this work six months, giving it up to enter the employ of the Indian Motorcycle Company in Springfield. In 1926, he began a series of travels that were to take him into the Middle West and to California and give him a variety of experiences. At Chicago, he was associated with the Lloyd Thomas Company as a junior appraisal engineer. In 1930, he returned to Springfield, but after a year joined the staff of the Standard Oil Company of New York. He was stationed in the company's service department in Springfield. He resigned this position to take charge of the service station department of the Rich- field Oil Company of New York in Western Massa- chusetts. Mr. Jensen held this post until the Rich- field company sold the Western Massachusetts busi- ness to a distributing firm in July, 1936. Then he became associated with Ralph D. Jones, Inc., Spring- field automobile dealer, as a salesman. In September, 1936, Mr. Jensen entered the field of insurance, in which he continues. He became a salesman for the Hardware Mutual Insurance Company of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Three years later he was promoted to manager of the firm's Springfield office. In Sep- tember, 1941, Mr. Jensen went to California to join the sales staff of the Hardware Mutual Company of Los Angeles. In August, 1944, he returned to Spring- field and established his present insurance business, with offices in the Court Square Building. He handles all types of insurance and represents a large number of companies. Five persons are in his employ, and the agency's operations have spread into all corners of Western Massachusetts.
Mr. Jensen, long active in the Republican organi- zation of Springfield, was elected to the Common
ARTHUR H. RICE
William J. Vice.
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Council in 1934. In 1940, he was made president of the council, but resigned from that body when he went to California for the Hardware Mutual In- surance Company. He was also vice president of the Massachusetts Republican Club of Boston before going to the West Coast. Mr. Jensen is a member of the finance committee at Hope Congregational Church and also vice president of the Hope Church Brother- hood.
He is a member of the Springfield Board of Fire Underwriters, the Massachusetts Insurance Brokers Association, the Massachusetts Agents Association, the Civitan Club of Springfield, and the Springfield Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. An en- thusiastic amateur motion picture cameraman, Mr. Jensen is also a member of the Pioneer Valley Cinema Club of Springfield.
Mr. Jensen married Verona Howard in Springfield on December 11, 1933. Mrs. Jensen, a native of Chicopee Falls, is the daughter of Lewis I. and Ella M. (Garrett) Howard. Her father was treasurer and general manager of the National Scale Corporation of Chicopee Falls. He was born in that community and died in Springfield. Mrs. Jensen's mother, a native of Ellenville, New York, makes her home in Spring- field. Mrs. Jensen, who began her education in Chi- copee Falls, is a graduate of the Springfield High School and the Bay Path Institute of Springfield. She was a secretary at the Springfield Institution for Savings prior to her marriage. She is active in the Hope Congregational Church and Cabot Chapter. Order of the Eastern Star. One son has been born to the marriage-Howard Theodore Jensen, Jr., on October 16, 1941.
CLIFFORD F. MARTIN-A native son of Berk- shire County, Clifford F. Martin of Pittsfield was born in Cheshire, April 23, 1888, the son of John H. and Eliza J. (Couch) Martin. His father died in 1936 but his mother is still living (1948) at the age of 95 years. The family moved to Pittsfield in 1892 and with the exception of a year and a half spent in Michigan, he has lived in Pittsfield ever since. He was educated in the local schools and at Mount Her- mon School, Mount Hermon, Massachusetts.
During his youth he was employed by several local concerns and by the Manistee and Northeastern Railroad in Michigan. On December 15, 1912 he en- tered the employ of The City Savings Bank of Pitts- field. Since that time he has advanced through the various positions in the bank until on February 9, 1942 he was made its president.
Through the years he has been active in State and National Association Mutual Savings Bank work. Mr. Martin is at present a member of the executive committee of the National Association of Mutual Savings Banks and a director of the Pittsfield National Bank. His non-banking activities in. the community include the presidency of the Berkshire School for Crippled Children, vice president of the Community Chest, director of the Pittsfield Cliamber of Com- merce, and a director of the Family Service Associa- tion. He is a member of the Pittsfield Country Club and the Alford Brook Club.
Mr. Martin is a Mason being affiliated with the Crescent Blue Lodge and Berkshire Chapter of Royal
Arch Masons. He is a member of The South Con- gregational Church of Pittsfield.
He is married to the former Catherine A. Reitter of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
WILLIAM T. RICE-A leader in industry and banking, prominent in business councils, civic affairs and social life, and still capable of upholding in his favorite sports the reputation he made as a leading athlete in his youth, William T. Rice, president and treasurer of the A. H. Rice Company, must be as- signed a prominent place on any roster of leading citizens of the lovely Berkshire Hills city of Pittsfield.
William T., a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Rice, as a boy attended and graduated from the Hill School, and subsequently studied at Western Massachusetts' own Williams College in Williams- town. His prowess as an end on the varsity football team is among the well-remembered stories in Wil- liams athletic history, and he was also noted as a polo player. William T. Rice received his degree of Bache- lor of Arts from Williams College upon graduating with the class of 1913. Immediately after graduation he entered the employment of the A. H. Rice Com- pany.
Mr. Rice has thus been associated with this family industry for some thirty-five years to the present writ- ing. He advanced through various positions, learning the business from the ground up. Mr. Rice's father was president and treasurer of the concern until his death on December 3, 1927, when William T. Rice succeeded to both of those offices. Under his man- agement the A. H. Rice Company, which is engaged in silk manufacture at Pittsfield, has continued to progress and expand its operations. Mr. Rice's mother died on January 21, 1929.
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