Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 29

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 29

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Creighton P. Morton received his preliminary education in Worcester public schools and subse- quently attended Post Business College. He has been connected with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company during practically all his business career, having joined this organization in 1923. Mr. Morton is a member of the Life Under- writers' Association of Central Massachusetts, the Worcester Commercial Travelers' Association and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. He has many civic interests and has been very prominent in Worcester club life, being a member of the Bohemian Club; the Commonwealth Club; the Worcester Advertising Club, of which he is pres- ident; the Kiwanis Club; the Players Club; the American Legion; and various Masonic bodies in Worcester and Boston. He is an active Repub- lican and a member of the Worcester County Re- publican Club, the Worcester Safety Council, and the Worcester County Fish and Game Association. The value of his services to civic enterprises of Worcester and worthy community institutions is well recognized. During the World War, Mr. Morton enlisted in the United States Navy and was a member of the Naval Aviation Corps until the signing the Armistice. He is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in this city.

In 1920, Creighton P. Morton married Sylvia F. Valva, who was born in Worcester. They are the parents of one child, Beverly, born September 13, 1927.

DOLORD J. HAMEL-For many years a well-known figure in Worcester life, Dolord J. Hamel has been active in political and civic affairs and is influential in social circles of the city. In business he is a manufacturing optician.

Mr. Hamel was born on December 29, 1892, in the Province of Quebec, Canada, a son of Cyril J. and Exilda (Bessette) Hamel. His father, who was a wheelwright, died in 1923. His mother is

still living. Mr. Hamel obtained his education in the public schools and in the English High School at Worcester, to which city he came as a boy. He began his active career in the employ of John C. Freeman, under whom he was trained as an opti- cian, and remained with him for some six years. Subsequently he became connected with the Globe Manufacturing Company, where he was an em- ployee for two years and manager of the plant for three years.

The entry of the United States into the World War interrupted this activity and for the duration of the war he was engaged on special duty for the government at Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, with Dr. Brashear, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On his return to civilian life, Mr. Hamel resumed his old position as manager of the Globe Manufac- turing Company and in 1920 entered business for himself as an optician and manufacturing optician. He is continuing business under his own name, at No. 98 Front Street. Mr. Hamel also founded and is president of the Safety Rubber Traffic Marker Corporation, and is treasurer of "La Tra- vailleur," a French language newspaper published in Worcester. He is a director of the Caisse Populaire Bank and chairman of its committee on loans.

Mr. Hamel has many other local connections and interests. An active Republican in politics and an influential member of party councils, he is now a member of the Worcester County Republican Club and chairman of the Republican City Committee of the Tenth Ward in this city. He was a delegate in 1931 to the Republican State Convention. He has been much interested in civic affairs, serving as a member of the board of directors of the Massachu- setts Franco-American Civic League and as vice- president of the Republican Council. His support may always be counted on for worthy movements in the public interest. Mr. Hamel is affiliated fra- ternally with the Catholic Order of Foresters, in which he is deputy chief, and is a member of the Société de St. Jean Baptiste and other French societies, including the Franco-American Veterans, of which he was the organizer, and a member of the American Legion. He has long been recognized as a leader among the French people of Worcester and has taken an active part in the city's cultural life, helping to re-organize the Philharmonic Choral Society, of which he is now treasurer. He is also a member and was the organizer of the Harmony Club. Mr. Hamel is a Catholic in religious faith and is a member of Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church in this city. He makes his home at No. 45 Fruit Street, Worcester.

GEORGE BENNETT HURLBURT-Of an old and distinguished New England ancestry, George Bennett Hurlburt has carried on the tradi- tions of the family as a public servant of the city of Worcester and as a public-minded citizen who has contributed greatly to the better development of the municipality and the welfare of its people. He is a native of Pepperell, Massachusetts, born March 9, 1864, the son of Charles S. and Laura E. (Bennett) Hurlburt. The earliest progenitors of both paternal and maternal members of the fan- ily were among the earliest settlers of Connecticut, and arrived in this country from their native homes in England about 1635. Adam Hurlburt, great- grandfather of the subject of this review, was a

Doland Gastand

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captain in the Revolutionary War. A great-grand- father on the grandmother's side fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. Charles- S. Hurlburt was a railroad man during the most of his life. His son, George Bennett, was educated in the public schools and Eastman's Business College, Pough- keepsie, New York.

His first essay at making a livelihood was as a bookkeeper on one of the Norwich Line steam- boats running out of New York City, a post which he held for six years. Mr. Hurlburt came to Wor- cester in 1888, and was employed as a bookkeeper in the Pease Machine Company plant, and held this position for another six years. He resigned to go with the George F. Hewitt Company and remained with this firm until the duties of public office compelled his retirement. In 1898, Mr. Hurl- burt was elected assessor of Worcester, and took up his headquarters in the old City Hall, on the corner of Front and Main streets. This was the beginning of a career the like of which is not to be found in the records of the municipality. On March 9, 1933, he had completed thirty-five years as assessor, during a full quarter of a century of which he had been the chairman of the board of assessors. No previous assessor of Worcester has served in the office more than eighteen years. Mr. Hurlburt hopes, and with every reason for fulfill- ment that he will continue in office until 1934, when he will be automatically retired after thirty-six years of exacting and hard work. Few of the city officials are more esteemed or held in higher honor. His record is one which has always borne the closest scrutiny, and is one of personal achievement and steady devotion.

Since 1932 Mr. Hurlburt has also been chairman of the board of health, the only one to hold these chairmanships in the history of Worcester. Fra- ternally he has long been affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Worcester County Republican Club, and Ward 2 and Ward 8, Republican clubs, he being the founder and organ- izer of both wards clubs. In the various civic and welfare movements of the city, he has been both helpful and prominent. Generous and kind-hearted he has always been a friend of the poor and gave to them in their necessities.

George Bennett Hurlburt at New York City, on September 20, 1887, married Kathryn Brincker- hoff. a member of one of the old Knickerbocker families whose ancestry runs back to the original settlers of parts of New York and New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Hurlburt are the parents of a daugh- ter, Ruth; in 1932, a director of the Bancroft Or- chestra at the Bancroft Hotel.

ALBERT SUTTON RICHEY-A consult- ing electrical engineer of wide reputation, Albert Sutton Richey is a well-known figure in the elec- trical railway industry. For the past quarter of a century he has also been professor of electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Mr. Richey was born at Muncie, Indiana, on April 10, 1874, a son of Webster S. and Julia T. Richey. He received his preliminary education in public schools of his birthplace and following graduation from Muncie High School entered Purdue Univer- sity, from which he was graduated with the degree

of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1894. In 1908 he also took the degree of Electrical Engineer at the same institution. Meanwhile his professional career was well under way. From 1895 until 1905 he was associated with the Union Traction Company of Indiana serving successively as electrician, electrical engineer and chief engi- neer. In 1905 he came to Worcester as assistant professor of electrical railway engineering, and in 1907 was appointed full professor of electrical engineering, a position which he has held since that time. Apart from his duties at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Professor Richey has prac- ticed independently as consulting engineer in elec- tric railway and other public utility work. The value of his services is widely recognized and many important interests have consulted him in regard to their problems. His clients have included at various times not only nearly every electric rail- way in New England, but also a large number of railways and other public utilities in all parts of the United States as well as in Canada and Cuba. Professor Richey has also been retained by State utility commissions in New Jersey and Ten- nessee and by various municipalities on utility problems, serving with conspicuous fidelity and success in this responsible capacity. He possesses a minute and comprehensive knowledge of his field, and his authority is recognized in engineering cir- cles throughout the country.

Professor Richey is the author of the "Electric Railway Handbook," published by McGraw-Hill. In 1928-29 he edited for the American Electric Railway Association the publication "Electric Rail- way Practices"; and publishes independently a monthly "Conspectus of Indexes." He has been a frequent contributor to such periodicals as "Tran- sit Journal," and the "Journal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers." He is a mem- ber of the American Transit Association, the Engi- neers' Club of New York City, the University Club of Boston, and the Worcester Country Club. He is affiliated with Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and with Tau Beta Pi honorary fraternity. In politics he is a Republican and in religious faith a Pres- byterian.

On June 14, 1907, Albert Sutton Richey married Edith H. Kendrick of Worcester, Massachusetts. They are the parents of two children: I. Frances. 2. Janet. The residence of the family is at No. 9 Regent Street, Worcester.

EVERETT B. RICHARDSON-In 1891 Everett B. Richardson, with several associates. organized and incorporated the Richardson Piano Case Company at Leominster, Massachusetts. He continued to serve at the head of a company, which has become not only one of the leading local indus- tries but one of the most important enterprises of its kind in the country, until his death, August 26, 1933.

Mr. Richardson was born in Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, on October 14, 1864, a son of Lucius A. and Louise E. (Fitch) Richardson. He completed his academic training in Leominster High School, took a course in business college and began his active career in the employ of a piano case manu- facturing company, where he thoroughly learned all phases of this craft. After a number of years, seeking larger opportunities, he decided to estab-

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lish a company of his own and on January 1, 1891, organized the Richardson Piano Case Company. He became the first and until his death was the only president of this organization. His associates in the company originally were Lucius Richardson and Henry R. Smith. The original plant of the company had 70,000 square feet of space, but with the growth of the business this has more than doubled, being increased in 1920 to 150,000 square feet. Meanwhile this enterprise had become the largest of its kind in the country. Although its output was confined at first solely to the manufac- ture of piano cases, work of other kinds was added gradually and with the advent of the radio a whole new line of production was opened up. Elaborate radio cases are now being manufactured by arti -. sans of the company for some of the largest radio concerns in the country. This branch of the busi- ness, which was begun in 1925, has now become the most important feature of the company's activ- ities. There is also a department, however, for the manufacture of fine panel work for various pur- poses and another for the production of a line of specialties in the furniture trade. The original product of the company-the manufacture of piano cases-is continued on a reduced scale. The ca- pacity of the plant is 200,000 radio cabinets, in addition to the large output in other lines. Some three hundred skilled workmen are employed and the products of the company are distributed throughout the New England states and Metro- politan New York. It is capitalized at $300,000. Prior to Mr. Richardson's death the officers of the company consisted of Everett B. Richardson, pres- ident ; Judson C. Richardson, vice-president ; Ever- ett G. Richardson, vice-president ; and Ernest Aker, treasurer.

The important qualities of business leadership and sound judgment which Mr. Richardson brought to the president's office were reflected in the steady growth and progress of his company. He was long a prominent figure in the business life of Worcester County and gave his services freely to civic enter- prises and local institutions. Mr. Richardson was president of the Fitchburg Duck Mills and for many years clerk and a trustee of the Leominster Savings Bank. He was a past president of the Leominster Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Leominster and Monoosnock Country clubs, the Fay Club of Fitchburg and the Worcester Country Club and fraternally was affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons. He was active in this order, having been a member of various higher bodies, including the Commandery of the Knights Templar, and having served in 1898 as Master of his lodge and in 1910-II as District Deputy of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. During the World War, Mr. Richardson occupied the responsible position of fuel administrator for Worcester County. He was, in religious faith, a member of the Congregational Church.

On June 26, 1889, Everett B. Richardson mar- ried Ada E. Conant of Kentucky. They became the parents of the following children: I. Bernice Louise, a graduate of Leominster High School, Wheaton College at Norton, Massachusetts, and Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Virginia. She married Percy C. Campbell, of Massachusetts, and they have two children: Louise and Robert. 2. Judson C., born April 1, 1894, a graduate of Leo- minster High School, Phillips-Exeter Academy and

for two years a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With the entry of the United States into the World War he enlisted in the navy, serving as a wireless operator. After the war he became associated with the Richardson Piano Case Company and became a vice-president. Judson C. Richardson married Erma Carter of Leominster, and they have three children : Judson, Nancy and Cynthia. 3. Everett G., born April 30, 1900, educated at Leominster High School and Dartmouth College, which he attended for two years. He also saw service in the United States Navy during the World War and later became a vice-president of the Richardson Piano Case Com- pany. He married Dorothy Pace and they have two sons: Everett G., Jr., and Briggs.

ERNEST AKER-During his active career, which has covered more than twenty years, Ernest Aker has been associated with two important enter- prises of Worcester County, the Fitchburg National Bank, where he began work as a young man, and the Richardson Piano Case Company of Leominster of which he is now treasurer. His efforts have brought him a substantial reputation in the busi- ness life of this section.

Mr. Aker was born in New York City on Octo- ber 27, 1891, a son of William J. and Mary (Noth) Aker. He comes of English and German ancestry. Mr. Aker was educated in Massachusetts schools and in 1909 was graduated from Fitchburg High School. Immediately thereafter he entered the em- ploy of the Fitchburg National Bank and from the bottom worked his way up to the position of teller. In 1920 he was offered and accepted the office of accountant and office manager for the Richardson Piano Case Company of Leominster, with which he has since been connected. The merit of his serv- ices won him advancement and in 1931 he was elected treasurer of the company. He has been active in its affairs and his opinion on all mat- ters connected with operations is regarded by his associates with respect.

Apart from his business interests, Mr. Aker has given a great deal of his time to civic affairs and for ten years served as auditor of the town of Lunenburg. He is a member of the Evangelical Congregational Church and has a wide circle, locally, of friends and acquaintances.

On December 25, 1913, Ernest Aker married Myrtle M. Hastings of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a daughter of Edgar H. and Mary (Schomer) Hastings. Mr. and Mrs. Aker have four children : Myrtle Hastings, William Raymond, Ernest Brad- ford, and Dorothy Louise.

PERCY BOURNE HITCHCOCK-A well- known figure in the life of Worcester County for many years, Percy Bourne Hitchcock has served with distinction in various public offices both at Fitchburg and Worcester. During the past four- teen years he has been income tax assessor for the district comprising Worcester County, making his headquarters in the city of Worcester.

Mr. Hitchcock was born at Fitchburg, Massa- chusetts, on March 25, 1878, a son of William N. and Annie Z. (Bourne) Hitchcock, the former a native of Norwich, Connecticut, and the latter of Bourne, Massachusetts. William N. Hitchcock came to Fitchburg in 1873, being associated here

Merle Beee

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with the New Haven Railroad as agent and in other capacities. He died in 1904. Annie Z. (Bourne) Hitchcock, his wife, resides at West Boylston with their son. The families on both sides are of English origin and were established here during the earliest period of American colon- ization. Richard Bourne, who was the first to come over, settled on Cape Cod. He built the first house on the Cape and was associated with John Eliot, well known in history as the American Apostle to the Indians. The Hitchcocks (orig- inally Hiscox) came from England and settled at Westerly. The first son of the American pro- genitor, Thomas, was elected a minister and built the first Sabbatarian Church in Westerly. He served this congregation as pastor for sixty years.

In the present generation of the family, William Harold Hitchcock, brother of Percy Bourne Hitch- cock, is a resident of Dedham, Massachusetts. He is a very prominent lawyer, was formerly assistant attorney-general, and is now chairman of the Mas- sachusetts Board of Bar Examiners.

Percy Bourne Hitchcock of this record, was educated in the public schools of his birthplace, being graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1896. Thereafter, for twenty years, he was asso- ciated in the paint and wall paper business with Benjamin A. Cook, former mayor of Fitchburg. In addition to his business interests, he took an active part in public life, serving for two years as councilman and for one year as alderman. In 1918 Mr. Hitchcock was appointed income tax assessor for the Worcester County district, and at that time took up his residence where his activ- ities have since centered. He has administered the duties of his present office with conspicuous fidelity and success, bringing to his service in the public interest the same executive talents and soundness of judgment which distinguished his business career.

Mr. Hitchcock has many other local connections and interests. He is an active member of the Worcester Rotary Club and in 1929-30 was its president. In addition he has served as vice-pres- ident of the club and as chairman of several com- mittees, including, for two years, the program com- mittee. Mr. Hitchcock makes his home at West Boylston, and is a member of the Beaman Club there and of the West Boylston Congregational Church.

On June 29, 1918, he married Ethel Isham, of Spokane, Washington.

HENRY PAUL BLUMENAUER-Follow- ing several years of experience in the foreign serv- ice of an American corporation, Henry P. Blume- nauer returned to the United States, made a study of metallurgy and became president of the Arcade Malleable Iron Company, of Worcester. This is one of the important industrial plants of Worces- ter County, and of it Mr. Blumenauer is virtually the sole owner.

Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, December 17, 1887, Henry Paul Blumenauer is the son of Charles F. and Mary Jane (Frear) Blumenauer ; the for- mer, born in Ellenville, New York, was a rubber manufacturer and died August 25, 1928 ; the mother, born in New York, died May 21, 1917. Their son, Henry Paul, after attending the public schools, prepared for college at Andover Academy. After graduating from there he entered Cornell Univer-

sity and graduated in the class of 1911, with the degree of Civil Engineer. He joined the staff of the Standard Oil Company, which sent him on a foreign mission. He was in this service abroad for five years, and on his return to this country he was made sales manager of the Naugatuck plant of the Eastern Malleable Iron Company, continuing with this concern for five years. He resigned that position to become associated with the Arcade Malleable Iron Company, of Worcester, in 1920. This business was established in 1829 under the title of the Worcester Malleable Iron Works, later in 1850, changed by Warren McFarland to the Arcade Malleable Iron Company. It was incor- porated in 1923, and Paul H. Buckingham was elected president. A reorganization was effected in 1926, with these officers : President, H. P. Blume- nauer, and treasurer, R. J. Nelson. The directors are Edward L. Bennett, Frank Brisse, Harold Storke, Frank C. Smith, Jr., J. Verner Critchley, Stanley Moore, and H. P. Blumenauer. The specific purpose of the company is to manufacture malleable and "Z" metal castings, and it is also engaged in the manufacture of other metal prod- ucts including arzite. It is the only manufactory in the Eastern section of the United States of malleable iron chain and of what is known as link chain. The business in normal times provides em- ployment for two hundred and fifty persons in its plant of 116,000 square feet of floor space. The major portion of its products is distributed through New England and the Atlantic Coast states.

Mr. Blumenauer is also president of the New England Foundrymen's Association, a director of the Baldwin-Duckworth Chain Corporation, and a past president of the Foundry Council of Central Massachusetts. He is a recognized authority on malleable iron and metallurgy as applied to his industry. On these subjects he has written numer- ous articles for technical and trade magazines. It is generally conceded that through his knowledge of the industry and thorough efficiency in manage- ment he has brought the company to its present high standard in the circles of Worcester trade and commerce.

His fraternal affiliations are important, among them being Shephard Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; all the Scottish Rite bodies, including the Consistery, in which he has attained the thirty- second degree; also the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. He is a member of the Com- monwealth Club and the Rotary Club of Worces- ter, and also of the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce and serves on its industrial committee.

Mr. Blumenauer married, in 1915, Mary W. Kehoe, a native of Connecticut. They have twin sons : Charles E., and Henry P., born August 8, 1916.

MERLE BELL-As president of one of the important textile companies of Worcester, Massa- chusetts, Merle Bell has played prominent rôles in the development of the city as a manufactur- ing center. He was born at Wrightsville, Penn- sylvania, October 22, 1880, son of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Henry and Marcia (Smith) Bell. He is a direct descendant of Joseph Bell of Virginia, colo- nel of the Cartaret Foot, the regiment which drove the Spaniards from Beaufort Harbor on August 26, 1747, who was a distinguished legislator in the North Carolina Assembly for twenty-one years ; the

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Hon. Joel Parish, member of Committee of Safety of the New Hanover County, North Carolina, 1774- 1776; and of Colonel Robert Smith, the first lieu- tenant of Chester County, Pennsylvania, the engi- neer officer who defended the Delaware by his sys- tem of Chavaux de frise ; and was a member of the Assembly which adopted the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 29

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