Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 12

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700

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In addition to all the above-mentioned activ- ities, Mr. Harrington became one of the most dis- tinguished and honored men of the Masonic Fra- ternity of the State. He was past master of Athelstan Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; mem- ber of Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hiram Council, Royal and Select Masters; past commander of Worcester Commandery, Knights Templar, which he served as treasurer for many years; member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Ara- bic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and a past patron of Stella Chapter, Order of the East- ern Star. He was a trustee of Aletheia Grotto and for many years a trustee of the Masonic Fra- ternity of Worcester, a member of the finance committee of the Worcester Masonic and Educa- tional Association which raised the funds to erect the beautiful Masonic Temple of Worcester, and a trustee of that property. He was a member of Quinsigamond Lodge, I. O. O. F., and was a past master of Worcester Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry; and served as treasurer of the Massa- chusetts State Grange for more than thirty years. He was also a trustee of the Worcester County Agricultural Society. For eight years he served in the Worcester City Guards, of the State Militia, ranking for two years as first lieutenant, and was one of the first honorary members elected to George H. Ward Post, No. 10, Grand Army of the Re- public. He was a trustee of the Worcester County Horticultural Society; Worcester County Me- chanics' Association; Worcester Chamber of Com- merce; Worcester Country Club; and the Massa- chusetts Republican Club.

Hon. Francis Alfred Harrington married (first), November 16, 1871, Roxanna M. Grout, who was born in Spencer, Worcester County, daughter of Elias and Eliza (Draper) Grout. She was a past matron of Stella Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, and past grand matron of the State. She died December 24, 1900, and he married (second), May 29, 1902, Lillia (Dudley) Leighton, daughter of Joseph Smith and Sarah Ann (Lamson) Dud- ley, of Augusta, Maine; her only daughter, Leora, married Mr. Harrington's second son, Frank Ches- ter. To the first marriage three children were born: I. Charles Arthur, of further mention. 2. Frank Chester, born February 6, 1876, married, June 17, 1900, Leora Leighton, daughter of Frank

and Lillia (Dudley) Leighton, and has four chil- dren. 3. May Emily, born May 6, 1878, married James P. Gray.

Charles Arthur Harrington, oldest son of Fran- cis Alfred and Roxanna M. (Grout) Harrington, was born in Worcester, January 26, 1874. After graduation from Worcester High School in 1891, he entered Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he was prominent in athletics, playing football, win- ning honors in the quarter-mile run, and serving as president of the Tech Athletic Association. He was graduated in 1895, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science, and then taught in the evening schools of Worcester for two years and in Wor- cester High School for five years. In 1902 he became associated with his father and brother in the management of the Masonic and Ridgely Pro- tective Associations and later was made secretary of the Masonic Protective Association, which, in 1918, became the Massachusetts Protective Asso- ciation. Upon the death of his father, in 1922, he succeeded to the office of president, which position he is still ably filling, with William C. Johnson as vice-president, L. G. Hodgkins as secretary, and Frank C. Harrington as treasurer. In politics Mr. Harrington is a staunch Republican and is active in local public affairs. From 1908 to 1914 he was a member of the common council, serving on the committees on finance, streets, and sewers and in 1912-13 as president of the council. For three years he served on the board of overseers of the poor. Mr. Harrington is a well-known member of the Ma- sonic Fraternity. He is a past master of Athelstan Lodge and a past commander of Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar. He was one of the organizers of Aletheia Grotto, the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm. Of this he has been Monarch. In the Scottish Rite bodies he is a member of Worcester Lodge of Perfection ; Lawrence Chapter, Rose Croix; past sovereign prince of Goddard Council, Princes of Jerusalem ; and a member of Massachusetts Consistory, and has been honored with the thirty-third degree. He is also a member of Quinsigamond Lodge, No. 45, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Worcester Grange, of which he is a past master; and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (college) Fraternity. He is well known in club circles, being a member of Worces- ter Club; Worcester Country Club; Vesper Coun- try Club, of Lowell ; Shelter Harbor Country Club, of Westerly, Rhode Island; Worcester County Mechanics' Association ; Worcester County Musical Association ; Worcester Polytechnic Alumni Asso- ciation ; Worcester Chamber of Comerce; Worces- ter Division, American Automobile Association ; Worcester County Republican Club, and the Com- mittee of One Hundred, of Miami Beach, Florida, where he makes his winter home. His reli- gious connection is with Piedmont Congregational Church.

Charles Arthur Harrington married, June 27, 1900, Luella Blanche Crook, born February 25, 1872, daughter of David and Frances E. (Cushing) Crook, of Columbus, Ohio. They have three chil- dren: I. Ruth Anna, born July 23, 1901, married Warren A. Ellsworth, who is engaged in the insurance business, and they have two children : Warren A., Jr., and David H. Ellsworth. 2. Mil- dred E., born March 4, 1903. 3. Francis Alfred 2d, born August 28, 1909, a student at Dartmouth College.

WORCESTER COUNTY

J. WARREN SHEPPARD-As the founder and the president of the Sheppard Envelope Com- pany, of Worcester, the largest independent manu- facturing corporation of its kind in Massachu- setts, J. Warren Sheppard holds high rank in the industrial circles of the city. He is well informed and his judgments carry weight with commer- cial leaders.

Mr. Sheppard was born in Barre, Worcester County, Massachusetts, July 13, 1880, and is a son of James E. and Margaret J. (Cross) Sheppard. His education was received in the public and high schools of his birthplace, and his first business experience was as an apprentice to the printer's trade, he entering the employ of Lucius P. God- dard, of Worcester, at the age of thirteen. After four years with him, Mr. Sheppard became identi- fied with the Sherman Envelope Company, and shortly was placed in charge of the printing de- partment, later promoted to the head of the man- ufacturing department. Meanwhile he acquired an interest in the business, but when that business was sold to the United Drug Company Mr. Sheppard organized the company of which he is now the head. The incorporation of the present concern took place on January 10, 1921, and the officers are: J. Warren Sheppard, president; Eugene A. Cahill, vice-president; W. H. Sheppard, treasurer; M. Myra Glazier, assistant treasurer; James E. Sheppard, Harold E. Brewer, Herbert L. Dakin, and Linwood M. Erskine, directors. Within two years the corporation was capable of turning out I,200,000 envelopes-lithographed, printed and plain ---- per day. The number of envelope machines has been increased to twelve times the original number. In 1932 the company had an increased capacity, and occupied 33,000 feet of floor space. The cap- italization had almost doubled; on the average a hundred hands were employed.

Mr. Sheppard is affiliated with the Athelstan Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, being a mem- ber of all bodies of Masonry up to and including the 32d degree, Scottish Rite, and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of several of the business and other organizations of Worcester.

J. Warren Sheppard married Florence E. Vaughn, daughter of Henry and Cora (Dakin) Vaughn, of Worcester.

MARCUS WILBUR WHITE-In the re- sponsible position of purchasing agent of the Nor- ton Company, Marcus W. White has been installed since July 1, 1919. He is an important factor in the operation of this great concern, handling his department in a thoroughly capable manner. Born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, October 15, 1877, Mr. White is the son of Harrison and Sarah (Sny- der) White, the former, a native of that town, died in 1928, aged eighty-three, and the latter, born in Troy, New York, died in 1887. His father was a builder and a veteran of the Civil War, hav- ing fought in the 49th Massachusetts Infantry. His mother's father was killed in the battle of Gettys- burg, and an uncle in the battle of the Wilder- ness.

From the public schools of his native town the son, Marcus W., entered Williams College, where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1899. He started on his business career as cost accountant for the James Hunter Machine Com-

pany at North Adams in 1900. In June, 1907, he came to Worcester to join the staff of the Norton Company, having accepted the position of store- keeper. He succeeded Henry Duckworth as pur- chasing agent in July, 1919, and has remained in this position until the present time.

During his occupancy of the place of head store- keeper of the Norton Company the World War was fought, and Mr. White labored many hours daily, buying supplies and making a circuit of sev- eral of the company's branch plants. He is one of the most enthusiastic stamp collectors, owning one of the most valuable collections of its kind in New England. Several articles on the subject of philately have been written by him and have appeared in publications to the edification of his

fellow-collectors. He is a member of several philatelic societies, and president of the Worcester Philatelic Society. During his college days Mr. White became noted for his herbarium of native orchids, having reported several varieties for the first time from his native State of Massachusetts. In the summer of 1899 he found and named a new variety, which has been placed in Gray's Botany. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite member of Freemasonry and affiliated also with Aleppo Tem- ple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and Worcester Commandery, Knights Tem- plar. He is a member of All Souls Universalist Church.

Mr. White married (first), in 1903, Caroline Millard. She died in 1919, and he married (sec- ond), in 1922, Amie Nyberg. His children, all of the first marriage, are: I. Ruth M., a graduate of Worcester State Normal School and Columbia University, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. 2. Robert H., a graduate of the Connecticut State Agricultural College, Bachelor of Science. 3. Har- riet R., a graduate of Becker's Business College. The White family have lived at No. 15 Sherburne Avenue, Worcester, for more than a quarter of a century.

JOHN WOODMAN HIGGINS-As pres- ident and treasurer of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, John Woodman Higgins heads an organ- ization which is not only numbered among the leading industries of Worcester, but which must be considered on its record one of the most enter- prising steel corporations in the country. Mr. Hig- gins is a rarity among corporation leaders-a con- spicuously successful executive who has moulded a well-considered philosophy, taking into account both the traditions of the past and the probabilities of the future, and applied it to his business life. He is well aware of the esthetic possibilities of the material with which he works and is convinced that the continuance of the New England steel industry depends upon its adoption of the prin- ciples of functional art, a recovery of the spirit of the ancient craftsman applied to the conditions of our age.

In visiting the plant of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, interest immediately centers on the five-story building whose lower floors house the executive offices of the company and whose upper stories contain the famous industrial art museum- The John Woodman Higgins Armory. The build- ing itself is unique in type, the first building of its size and purpose to be constructed without other material than steel and glass for the exterior. Mr.

WORCESTER COUNTY

Higgins had long considered the possibility of such a structure. He had demonstrated the intrinsic value of the design in several factory buildings of the plant and when these proved ideal for their purpose, he obtained, in 1929, the services of an architect capable of embodying his idea in a larger structure. Today it stands as a monument to Mr. Higgins' vision and enterprise. "The unusually large, deeply fluted rolled steel columns, with ab- normally large rivet heads, and the steel sash run- ning from ground to roof, all give emphasis to the controlling architectural motif --- steel. The vari- ous methods of working and joining metals by rolling, casting, stamping, punching and forging are exemplified in the frieze of steel plates with patterns in perforated metal, the cornice castings and the wrought iron scrolls." The remainder of the building's exterior is of glass, the perfect com- plementary material for the purpose intended. No brick, stone, concrete or any other finishing mate- rial, save a protective coating of aluminum bronze paint, covers its outer walls. The whole edifice presents, as Mr. Higgins has said, an appropriate challenge to the steel age.

An even greater challenge is presented by the John Woodman Higgins Armory, which the build- ing contains, to the makers of steel, the funda- mental industry' of our modern machine age. Mr. Higgins has written of the purposes which led him to cstablish the armory and of the conditions pecu- liar to New England which make his plans of such vital importance to this section as a whole. The following paragraphs may be quoted :

Our great-grandfathers produced pig iron in New England at one cent a pound and supplied the coun- try. Our grandfathers bought better pig iron in Pittsburgh at lower cost and bent their ingenuity and energy toward converting this into castings, which sold at three cents a pound. Our fathers held their own by advancing to the next step, that of manufacturing machinery and finished products, which sold at ten cents a pound. Inventive genius, skill and science have been appiled in successive steps. We have advanced to alloyed pressed steel, watch springs and jewelry at fifty cents a pound, but we have no monopoly on skill, and our children can only hope to keep going by turning out, through mass production, commodities which combine such artistic qualities of design that they will command a price of a dollar a pound. Heavier and coarser products will be produced near to the centers of demand, where the time and cost of transportation have minimum effect.

Anticipating this evolution, we have established in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the plant of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, a specialized in- dustrial museum for the comparison of our current pressed steel products with medieval steel products which have withstood the test of time.

Just as the lawyer accumulates documents in his library and the surgeon collects specimens in his laboratory, so every manufacturer, whether of but- tons or of dirigibles, should assemble his museum of exhibits representative of his special trade, ex- pressing the service and recording the history of his chosen line. Here he finds himself in that friendly atmosphere where constructive ideas germinate. His reference files expand into a library and his speci- men case into a research laboratory. No business can exist long without research nowadays.

The John Woodman Higgins Armory is a library, research laboratory, clinic and collection of sheet steel products, from all places and all times, estab- lished with five purposes in view -- to interest and inspire our present steel workers, to restore the zeal of craftsmanship to the machine operator, to exalt and to extol the steel trades and products, to at- tract superior recruits for the future, and to inform the public in their choices.

This institution, independently endowed and di- rected, was opened free to the public in 1929. It

comprises two wings, each a Gothic nave ninety feet long, joined by a lofty octagonal vestibule. In the east wing are exhibited masterpieces and typical products representing the evolution of sheet steel craftsmanship from the earliest days through the Gothic, Maximilian and Renaissance periods, with over 2,000 examples collected by Mr. Higgins from all parts of the world during a period of a quarter of a century. The incidental decorations are of great interest and in perfect keeping with the purpose of the museum. While some of the exhibits themselves date back to the stone, bronze and iron ages, the main floor is devoted to the steel age and the dominant feature of this historical display is the collection of armor and weapons. These illustrate the skill of the master armorers through the periods of the Crusades, the Conquests, and the days of knighthood and chivalry and heraldry, up to the eighteenth century when the perfection of firearms depressed the trade of the armorer. Many specimens are of great beauty -- the beauty of perfect utility and superb craftsman- ship- and in their own period are worthy to stand beside the finest achievements of the other arts.

The west wing of the gallery is representative of the change from the hand-craftsman's shop to the modern mill where production is gauged by the almost unlimited speed and power of physical and chemical forces rather than by muscular strength. The nave of this hall is flanked with cases of products of modern pressed steel mills, showing the evolution and various uses of this process, which was first developed half a century ago in Worcester by the predecessors of the present Wor- cester Pressed Steel Company. At the end of this hall is the dominant masterpiece of modern manu- facturing methods -- the chassis of one of the finest automobiles made in this country, ninety per cent. pressed steel and the last word in precision, effi- ciency, strength, safety and finish. "Thus we have visualized, from the earliest days up through the ages the history of sheet steel -- steel, 'the metal par excellence,' as Mr. Higgins terms it. On the one hand, as you stand in the center of the museum hall, is the old and medieval world of the individual craftsman ; on the other, the modern world of mass production, the so-called 'machine age.'"

For all their perfection, the products of our industrial age are not recognized as expressions of fine art as are earlier examples. Something is lacking, and the solution of this problem Mr. Hig- gins regards as vital to the future of the New England steel industry.

"My ideal," he has said, "is to induce connois- seurs and artists to study all commercial steel products, show us wherein these now fall short, and then help us to improve them. Art and indus- try both sprang from the same taproot. In mate- rial and workmanship we are far ahead of the old masters, but we haven't caught their mantle of art. Why shouldn't our automobiles, airplanes and elec- tric refrigerators class among the masterpieces ?

"We need vision and imagination to meet changed conditions. The mechanical engineer needs the help of the artist to perfect his product in beauty, form, color and texture."

Mr. Higgins' pioneer effort to secure more art in industry is typical of the breadth of vision which he has brought to bear upon the problems of his concern during more than a quarter of a century. This organization stands today as a fitting monu-

WORCESTER COUNTY

ment to his creative energy and tireless efforts, but its history and that of its predecessors presents undoubted evidence of the continued initiative of its owners, and in his work Mr. Higgins is fol- lowing the fine tradition so long associated with its name. The Worcester Pressed Steel Company, in its present corporate form, succeeded the Worces- ter Ferrule and Manufacturing Company, which was organized in 1882 and had its beginnings as early as 1868 in a partnership established by two Worcester mechanics and an inventor. The Wor- cester Ferrule and Manufacturing Company was the first to develop the manufacture of bicycle frame fittings in pressed steel and so completely revolutionized the cost of production at a period when the bicycle was in the heyday of its glory.

With the incorporation of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company in 1904, the concern immediately expanded and moved to a thirty-acre location, ad- jacent to the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks near Barbers Crossing, where a modern plant was erected and equipped with the latest special ma- chinery. This plant has always been maintained on the highest level of efficiency and new ma- chinery and equipment were installed as quickly as they were invented and perfected. The Worcester Pressed Steel Company is always abreast and fre- quently ahead of the times in its field and has operated with never a shut-down, a fire, a strike or a failure since its organization. In the twenty- nine years of its existence, it has developed into a million dollar corporation, retaining without change the cardinal principle upon which its success was built-the direct service of other manufacturing lines. It supplies the textile and electrical trades, the farm and dairy, and the motorcycle, automo- bile, oil burning, airplanes, radio and other metal industries. Under normal conditions it employs five hundred persons and its products find a ready market not only in all parts of the United States and Canada, but also in many foreign countries.

It is in many ways fitting that this important Worcester industry should have as its present ex- ecutive head a native of Worcester and a member of a distinguished New England family. John Woodman Higgins was born in this city on Sep- tember 1, 1874, a son of Milton Prince and Eliz- abeth (Chapin) Higgins and a direct descendant of Richard Higgins, who came from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1632. Mr. Higgins' father, who was born in Maine in 1842 and died at Worcester in 1912, was an engineer, manufac- turer and industrial educator. He had the distinc- tion of having been the first person to be called to a professorship in Worcester Polytechnic Institute and served as head of its mechanical department for twenty-eight years. He was known as the father of the trade school movement in America.

John Woodman Higgins received his early edu- cation in private and public schools of Worcester and of Atlanta, Georgia. Subsequently he matric- ulated at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he specialized in electrical engineering and from which he was graduated with the degree of Bach- elor of Science in 1896. He was prominent in athletics and other activities of the institute and was a member of the local chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.

Mr. Higgins began his active career as engi- neer of the new plant of the Plunger Elevator

Company, of which his father was president. He designed and installed the electric lighting plant of the company and served as its superintendent and secretary until 1904, when it was merged with the Otis Elevator Company. At that time he pur- chased the Worcester Ferrule and Manufacturing Company and became its secretary and treasurer. In the same year, in association with his father and several local industrialists, he founded the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, successor of the Worcester Ferrule and Manufacturing Com- pany. Mr. Higgins became its first manager. Sub- sequently, he was elected treasurer and upon the death of his father in 1912 succeeded to the pres- idency. While he has always given the major share of his energy and interest to the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, he has many other connec- tions, both with important manufacturing and com- mercial concerns and with organizations of other types. The range and breadth of his interests may be indicated by merely listing the various societies, clubs and enterprises in which he is active. These include : The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers; American Society of Me- chanical Engineers; American Iron and Steel Insti- tute; National Metal Trades Association, of which he was formerly vice-president and councilor ; As- sociated Industries of Massachusetts, of which he was vice-president and director; Metropolitan Art Museum of New York; Business Historical So- ciety of Boston; New England Historical and Genealogical Society; Society of Mayflower De- scendants; Sons of the American Revolution ; Worcester Young Men's Christian Association, of which he served as president; Worcester Club; University Club; Tatnuck Country Club; Engi- neers Club of New York; and Appalachian Moun- tain Club.

Mr. Higgins has always been particularly inter- ested in such movements as the Young Men's Christian Association, recognizing their value in the building of manhood and citizenship. In addition to serving as president and secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, he was a member of its board of directors for thirty-five years and was chairman of the committee which raised a large building fund some years ago. He donated the swimming pool in the new building. Mr. Higgins has been a member of Piedmont Congregational Church at Worcester for many years and served on its standing committee and as chairman of its finance committee. His principal hobby is the col- lection of ancient armor and steel products, now housed in The John Woodman Higgins Armory, while his favorite recreations are golf, horseback riding and travel.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 12

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933 Publication date: 1934 Publisher: New York, American historical Society Number of Pages: 700

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700