Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 19

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

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III > Part 19

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Mr. Willard was born at Harvard, Massachu- setts, on December 9, 1865, a son of Stedman A. and Angenette (Putnam) Willard, both now de- ceased and both members of families which have helped to make the history of New England what it is. He received his education in Massachusetts public schools, began his active career at an early age and in 1883 entered the employ of the Graton and Knight Company of Worcester. Since that time he has been active in its operation, rising through various positions in different departments of the corporation until, in 1926, he was elected to the presidency, succeeding John E. White. Fol- lowing this review, an account of the company and its history will be found.

Mr. Willard is well qualified by experience and native ability for the responsibilities devolving upon him. He has many other connections in addition to the presidency of the Graton and Knight Com- pany, serving successfully as president of the Power Transmission Association, the American Leather Belting Association, the Manufacturers Research Association and the Associated Indus- tries of Massachusetts. His position in manufac- turing circles was further indicated by the election to membership on the executive committee of the National Association of Manufacturers. Mr. Wil- lard was also chairman of the sole and belting group of the Tanners' Council of the United States. He has played an important part in the work of these various associations and is in close touch with industrial leaders all over the United States and in foreign countries.

At Worcester, Mr. Willard is a trustee of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company, a director of the Worcester County National Bank and trustee of the Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank. He is affiliated fraternally with the Free and Accepted Masons and the Improved Order of Red Men, being a member in the Masonic Order of all higher bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in- cluding the thirty-second degree of the Consistory. While always giving his best attention to the duties of business, he has found time to be active in civic affairs and has contributed substantially to the progress of the community. Mr. Willard is a familiar and important figure in the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, is treasurer of the local Young Men's Christian Association, a member and past president of the Worcester Country Club, and

a member of the Economics Club, the Worcester Club, the Rotary Club, the Bancroft Automobile Club, the Commercial Travelers' Association and the Unitarian Laymen's League. These and other connections reflect the range and variety of his interests.

THE GRATON AND KNIGHT COM- PANY, a leading industry of Worcester and one of the best known leather manufacturing com- panies in the world, was established in 1851 by Henry C. Graton and Joseph A. Knight in part- nership. The beginning of this enterprise was very modest. The plant consisted of a two-room shop, about twenty by sixty feet, and the two part- ners constituted the entire working force. The capital of the company amounted to $1,057.29. During the day the founders devoted themselves to the technical processes of tanning and manu- facturing leather; at night the books were posted and correspondence answered. When it became necessary to secure more orders, Mr. Graton as- sumed the duties of salesmanship, starting on trips which frequently took him thirty to fifty miles in a single day, a considerable distance in those times. Often he went on foot.

In spite of difficulties, the company gradually forged ahead. Every effort was made to maintain high standards of quality and orders were received from many neighboring manufacturers. The plant was moved from the card clothing factory owned by Timothy K. Earle and Company, in which operations had been begun, to two rooms located at No. 137 Front Street, Worcester. In 1867, in order to provide more adequate facilities, a leather tannery on Bloomingdale Road was occupied, giv- ing the company a capacity of one hundred and fifty-seven hides a week. Various additions were made to this plant but still larger quarters became necessary. By 1870, the annual sales of the com- pany totaled $179,000; the payroll amounted to $25,000 annually and the capital of the company had been increased to about $7,000. In 1872 it was incorporated with a capitalization of $100,000 to provide for further expansion. In 1882 a subsidiary company, the Worcester Counter Company, was established in a building near the tannery to manu- facture counters and soles for shoes and by 1890 this latter organization was tanning six hundred hides a week. In 1893 a new factory was built in Worcester and gradually all manufacturing opera- tions of both companies were concentrated there. Meanwhile, the first branch had been established in Chicago in 1893. As the company continued its growth, other branches were gradually established.

The great impetus which the World War gave to American industry almost doubled the demand for the company's products and the plant was ex- panded to meet this situation. A natural reaction followed the war, but the sound operating policies of the company, which had never been abandoned, enabled it to weather the storm and to return in subsequent years to peak production. In normal times this enterprise gives employment to some 1,200 Worcester workers and approximately 300,000 hides are tanned each year. These are used prin- cipally in the manufacture of leather belting, but many other special products are also manufac- tured, including three types of sole leather-a flexible special tannage, regular oak, and oak waterproof welting, automotive leathers, flat and

WORCESTER COUNTY

V transmission belting, lace leather, packings, whole leather, textile leather and many others. These are widely known for their excellence and have received medal awards at many exhibitions, includ- ing the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905, the Jamestown Exposition of 1907, the Alaska- Yukon Pacific Exposition, held in 1909, and the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915. The Graton and Knight Company originated the idea of standardized leather belting for all indus- tries, a development which has proved its value in use.

Sales offices are maintained by the company today in several large cities and their products find a ready market not only throughout this country but abroad. The original capitalization of $1,057.29 has been increased to more than $7,000,000 and the working force, which consisted originally of only the two partners, now numbers many hundreds. Present officers include : Frank H. Willard (q. v.), president ; Frederick E. Barth, vice-president ; Paul H. Wilson, secretary ; and C. A. Bartlett, treasurer. The company and those who have made its growth possible have reason to be proud of a record which has not been excelled by any New England indus- try.

ALBERT FARNSWORTH, M. A., Ph. D .- Born in England, November 17, 1882, Albert Farns- worth, son of Thomas and Alice (Jackson) Farns- worth, came to Massachusetts and entered Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, to prepare for collegiate studies. He matriculated at Brown Uni- versity, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1906 and was graduated in 1910 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. In the autumn of that year Mr. Farnsworth became a teacher in Phillips-Andover Academy, a position he held from 1911 to 1914, when he went to Newtonville, Massachusetts as a teacher in the Newton High School. In the fall of 1918 Mr. Farnsworth became a member of the faculty of the Worcester Classical High School, serving from 1918 to 1923, then resigning to act as instructor in the well-known Worcester Academy, a position in which he has remained with marked success since that time. In 1921, Clark University conferred upon him the degree of Mas- ter of Arts. The same university again honored him with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1927. Dr. Farnsworth is held in high esteem among his colleagues as an educator and historian, his teaching specialty being history. He is a member of the New England Teachers' Associa- tion, and was its president in 1925. He is also a member of various educational associations.

Dr. Farnsworth is interested in many phases of social activities. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, and is a member of the Brown and Bohemian clubs. His college fraternities are the Phi Kappa Psi and the Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of the American Historical Association, and since 1931 has been president of the Worcester Historical Society. He has been a member of the Worcester School Board since 1925 and its vice-chairman since 1931. His church is the Congregational. Dr. Farnsworth has contributed many articles to newspapers and other publications on historical and allied subjects. He is the co-author of "Worcester and Its Story," published in 1934, and has in preparation a book to be entitled "Daniel Shavs."

In 1913, at Methuen, Massachusetts, Dr. Farns- worth married Carrie Reaetta Humphries, daughter of the Rev. Alfred E. and Rebecca ( Higginson) Humphries. Dr. and Mrs. Farnsworth are the parents of three children: I. Albert H., born in 1916. 2. R. Barbara, born in 1919. 3. Nancy, born in 1928.

CHARLES WARREN JOHNSON-A mem- ber of the firm of Stark, Johnson and Stinson, Incorporated, one of the important insurance com- panies of Worcester, Charles Warren Johnson holds a place of prominence in the business circles of the city, and is a constructive factor in the modern development of the municipality. He is a native of Worcester, born November 27, 1882, the son of the late Edwin and Leah (Warren) Johnson, the former of whom was born in Rhode Island and the latter in England. Educated in the grade schools of his birthplace, Mr. Johnson was graduated from Worcester Academy and Drexel Institute of Phila- delphia, from which latter institution he holds the degree of Bachelor of Science.

In 1907 Mr. Johnson became interested in the insurance business and accepted a post with the Factory Insurance Association of Hartford, Con- necticut, as a fire protection engineer. He was stationed at Philadelphia for three years and for two years more was in the South. In 1912, Mr. Johnson located in Boston, Massachusetts, with the New England Insurance Exchange as insurance engineer, and later was associated with the Con- tinental Insurance Company of New York as the chief engineer for New England. It was not until 1919 that he returned to his home town, Worcester, there to join the firm of William N. Stark and Company, general insurance agents. In 1925 this firm changed its name to Stark, Johnson and Stin- son, Incorporated, the title under which since then it has operated, handling all forms of insurance. The company has developed well and built up a very large business and clientele. It represents for the district many of the old line insurance com- panies of America. Charles W. Johnson is pres- ident of the corporation; James E. Stinson is treasurer, and Mrs. Leoda E. Wallace, chief clerk. This company is reputed to have been the first in New England to advertise by radio.

Mr. Johnson has had a colorful and varied life, and is interested in numerous forms of activities. He is not only familiar with all parts of the United States and Canada, but has traveled in Europe, Africa and South America. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Quinsigamond Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons: Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Worcester Club, the Quinsiga- mond Boat Club and the Commonwealth Club.

On November 15, 1909, Mr. Johnson married Ruby Allen, of Worcester, and they are the par- ents of a son, Alden Porter, born March 24, 1914. He is now a student at Choate School, Wallingford, Connecticut.

CLIFFORD F. HOOD-Coming to Worces- ter in 1917 after some years of engineering experi- ence in the Middle West, Clifford F. Hood formed the connection with the American Steel and Wire Company, which he has continued since that time.

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Mr. Hood has risen rapidly within the organization and is now manager of the Worcester division of his company.

Mr. Hood was born in Monmouth County, Illi- nois, on February 9, 1894, a son of Edward Ever- ett and Ida (Firoved) Hood, both of whom died in the year 1926. His father was a farmer by occupation. Clifford F. Hood received his pre- liminary education in public schools and subse- quently entered the University of Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1915 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He commenced his busi- ness career with the Packard Electric Company, with which he remained until 1917. At that time he came to the American Steel and Wire Company at Worcester, beginning as a clerk in the offices of the company's electric cable works. Following the entry of the United States into the World War, Mr. Hood enlisted in the Regular Army, serving with the heavy artillery in France with the rank of first lieutenant. After his honorable discharge from military service, in 1919, he returned to his duties with the American Steel and Wire Com- pany and was made superintendent of the electric cable works. In 1925 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the South Works at Worcester and superintendent in 1927. In September, 1928, he was promoted to the office of assistant manager of the Worcester division, and to that of manager on January 1, 1933. The several plants of the American Steel and Wire Company here employ several thousand men in normal times, the largest number of any Worcester concern. Mr. Hood has proved his value to the company and has taken an important part in the successful direction of its affairs.

Mr. Hood is a member of the American Insti- tute of Electrical Engineers, the American Society of Automotive Engineers and the Worcester Engi- neering Society. He is also a member of Chi Phi and Sigma Tau fraternities and of Scabbard and Blade and is likewise affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, being a member in this order of various bodies, including the Commandery of the Knights Templar. He is a Congregationalist in religious faith.

In 1917, Clifford F. Hood married Emily Tener, of Pennsylvania, a member of the same family as that of John K. Tener, former Governor of Penn- sylvania and at one time president of the National Baseball League. Mr. and Mrs. Hood are the par- ents of two children: I. Randall F., born August 6, 1929. 2. Richard F., born May 10, 1931.

DWIGHT EDWARD PRIEST-As presi- dent of the Parker Wire Goods Company, Dwight Edward Priest is at the head of one of the com- panies which has contributed to the prestige and prosperity of Worcester as an industrial center.

Edward Priest, father of Dwight Edward Priest, was born in Northfield, Massachusetts. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of his birthplace and in a boy's academy in Vermont, and later entered the mechanical engineering de- partment of the Worcester Institute of Technology from which he was graduated. Soon after his graduation he entered the employ of the Thomson Houston Company of Lynn, which later consoli- dated with the Edison Electric Company of Schenectady and was named the General Electric Company at the time he moved to Schenectady

and assumed charge of the railway and motor engineering department, and that connection he maintained to the time of his retirement. When the Parker Wire Goods Company was formed, he became financially interested in it, and he continued that interest to the time of his death. In 1928 he was elected president of the company, and that position he held until February, 1931, when he resigned because of ill health. All this time he had continued to live in Schenectady, New York, mak- ing occasional visits to Worcester to look after his interests in the Parker Wire Goods Company. In March, 1931, a little less than a month after resign- ing as president, he died. In this office he was succeeded by Dwight Edward Priest, his son. Ed- ward Priest married Alenia Videtto, a native of Nova Scotia, and they became the parents of Dwight Edward Priest, of further mention.

Dwight Edward Priest, son of Edward and Alenia (Videtto) Priest, was born in Schenectady, New York, November 9, 1902, and received his education in the public schools of his birthplace. In 1924 he became an employee of the Parker Wire Goods Company, and learned the business from the bottom up, filling positions in all the dif- ferent departments. Eventually, he was made superintendent of the plant, which position he held until his father's death, in March, 1931, when he was made president of the company. In this posi- tion Mr. Priest has the direction of the affairs of a plant filled with a variety of machines and equip- ment and employing on an average of one hun- dred and fifty hands. At the time of writing the officials of the Parker Wire Goods Company are : President, Dwight Edward Priest; vice-president and treasurer, Howard Nestor. Mr. Priest is a member of various Worcester clubs and organiza- tions, and takes an interest in any well-planned movements for the progress of the city and the welfare of its citizens.

On June 30, 1932, Dwight Edward Priest was married to Emmy Lou Havens, daughter of Colo- nel Elmer H. Havens, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. They have one daughter, Polly Curtis Priest, born July 4, 1933.

GEORGE H. STONE, M. D .- Since 1930 the Memorial Hospital of Worcester has been effi- ciently supervised by Dr. George H. Stone, who came to this responsible position from Eastern Maine General Hospital, where he had served as superintendent for nearly a decade.

Dr. Stone is a graduate of Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1905. Four years later, in 1909, he completed his special medical training, receiving at that time the degree of Doc- tor of Medicine. He had served his interneship in Boston City Hospital and after receiving his degree returned to that hospital, where he was later ap- pointed to an executive position on the staff, a posi- tion which he filled for two years. In 1915 he went to the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, where he served from 1915 to 1921, with the exception of the period during which the United States was en- gaged in the World War. After his enlistment he was assigned to Camp Devens, where he served to the close of the war, ranking as captain in the Army Medical Corps. After receiving his honor- able discharge he returned to Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, where he continued to serve until 1021.

WORCESTER COUNTY

In that year he was appointed superintendent of Eastern Maine General Hospital, at Bangor, Maine, and there he continued to give highly efficient and valuable service in 1930, when he came to his pres- ent position as superintendent of the Memorial Hos- pital of Worcester.

The Memorial Hospital of Worcester had its beginning back in 1868, when, upon the death of Ichabod Washburn, a wealthy and benevolent manufacturer of Worcester, on December 30 of that year, it was found that he had in his will provided for the establishment of Memorial Hos- pital and Washburn Free Dispensary. The trus- tees were incorporated by act of Legislature, March 8, 1871, and on March 4, 1874, Washburn Free Dispensary was opened in the Bigelow Mansion at the corner of Front and Church streets, a build- ing which had just been vacated by Worcester City Hospital. On May 1, 1881, the Washburn Free Dispensary was transferred to No. II Trum- bull Street, and five years later, July 1, 1886, the Samuel Davis estate on Belmont Street was pur- chased of William Dickinson. The work of prep- aration and remodeling went rapidly forward, and in June, 1888 the Washburn Free Dispensary was removed to Belmont Street and the Memorial Hos- pital was opened in the Dickinson house, which was the mansion of the Samuel Belmont estate. The newly opened hospital contained only nineteen beds, but it was well begun on its career of expanding usefulness. A school of nursing was opened in March, 1889; district nursing was organized in May, 1892; and in September of that same year the Henry L. Clarke and the Philip L. Moen wards were dedicated, and ten private rooms added. The Worcester Society of District Nursing re- lieved the hospital of the district nursing in 1899, and in 1902 the Albert Bowman Wood Surgery was dedicated. A power house and laundry, built in 1908, greatly facilitated the routine work of the hospital, but still the plant was not fully prepared to meet its opportunities for service. The Memo- rial Hospital had always considered the care of women and children its special work. Women's and children's wards had been provided with funds donated by Philip L. Moen and Mrs. Clarke, and in 1905. a fund of $34,000 had been raised by sub- scription to make the children's ward adequate to its greatly increased needs. This work, begun by Miss Mabel C. Gage and carried on by such citi- zens as Charles A. Chase, Dr. Leonard Wheeler, Reginald Washburn, and Dr. Homer Gage, resulted in the opening, in 1909. of the Rebecca A. Mor- gan maternity ward, the George L. Newton build- ing for private patients, and the children's build- ing containing forty-eight beds, a large play room and a roof garden. A special service department was established in 1911, the new dining room for nurses in 1915, and the industrial accident ward for men in 1918. The Corliss property on Oak Ave- nue and the Jefferson property at the corner of Oak Avenue and Belmont Street were purchased in 1920, in 1923 the D. Wheeler Swift property on the corner of Oak Avenue and Kendall Street was added to the already greatly expanded hospital holdings, and in May, 1925, a successful campaign for funds made possible the building of a new out- patient department and a new residence for nurses. Meantime, in 1917, the Washburn Free Dispensary had been transferred to Jefferson House on Oak Avenue, and in November, 1926, it was again

moved to new quarters in the Higgins Building. The new residence for nurses, Jaquith House, opened in February, 1927, includes Knowles Hall, in memory of Francis Bangs and Hester Ann Knowles, and the Mary Nelson Perley demonstra- tion ward. In 1927 were opened also the Homer Gage, Jr., Ward and the Sawyer Surgery, a memorial to Francis Wild Sawyer. The Memorial Hospital in 1932 had two hundred and fifteen beds, and in 1931 it took care of 5,419 in-patients and 28,701 out-patients. Its expenditures for 1931 amounted to $335,000, of which $55,000 is annually provided by endowments. Memorial Hospital has rendered splendid service to the city of Worcester and is year by year increasing its facilities for service.

To this large and important field of professional activity came Dr. George H. Stone in 1930, and since that time he has met his responsibilities most efficiently. Dr. Stone is a member of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society (having transferred his membership from the Maine Medical Society), the Worcester District Medical Society, and the Amer- ican Hospital Association. Fraternally, he is iden- tified with the Free and Accepted Masons, being a member of all the York and Scottish Rite bodies and having attained in the latter the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the American Legion and of the Officers' Reserve Corps of the United States Army in which he ranks as major ; the Worcester Country Club and the Worcester Rotary Club (having transferred membership from the Rotary Club of Bangor, Maine.)

Dr. George H. Stone married, November 19, 1914, Eva M. Scott, who was born in Boston, but removed to Claremont, New Hampshire, and later to Clinton, Massachusetts. Dr. and Mrs. Stone have three children: George H., Jr., Eleanore G., and Caroline A.

FREDERICK W. CRONIN-In two differ- ent professions, engineering and the law, Frederick W. Cronin has performed work of value, so hold- ing a somewhat special distinction in point of varied achievement. He is now practicing law in the city of Worcester, his native place, and is here affiliated with a number of organizations in differ- ent branches of local life.

Mr. Cronin was born on September 28, 1876, at Worcester, son of Michael J. and Mary J. (Leary) Cronin. His father, who for many years lived in India and was a bricklayer by occupation, died in 1904. The mother came from Ware, Mas- sachusetts ; she passed away in 1908. In public and high schools, Frederick W. Cronin, of this review, received his early education, afterward attending the Massachusetts Nautical Training School. At that institution he took a certificate and diploma as an engineer, thereafter continuing in engineering work for seven years. He was engineer on the "Yale" during the Spanish-Amer- ican War in 1898 and later became a stationary engineer. While serving in that capacity, he took up the study of law, successfully passing the bar examinations and being admitted to practice in 1905. Since then he has continued his legal work, practicing under his own name and specializing in criminal law. He is without doubt one of the leading men in his profession in Worcester and

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 19

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