Fitchburg City (part 2 of 8)

The business was Incorporated in July, 1903, and has for its present officers M. B. Damon, president; W. T. Hidden, vice-president; R. D. Gould, treasurer, Charles J. Russell, secretary.

The business dates back to 1858, when it was founded by Wright, Kendall & Co. A number of changes followed, after which Isaac C. Wright became sole proprietor. February 1, 1880, Myron B. Damon was admitted to partnership, and February 1, 1886, R. D. Gould became a member of the firm. In 1892, Mr. Wright's interests were purchased, and the firm became Damon & Gould, continuing under that name until the time of incorporation.

Messrs. Damon and Gould have been connected with the business thirtyfive and twenty-nine years respectively, and under their direction the greatest development and advancements have been made. It is a business house that reflects great credit upon this city, and calls attention to the opportunities Fitchburg presents as a mercantile center, and for transportation conveniences. It also speaks of the acumen and energy of the men who have built it up to its present foremost position.

Messrs. Damon and Gould are stockholders in other manufacturing and financial establishments in this city, and are numbered among the representative and responsible citizens of this community.

Wood Turning

When a concern reaches a certain point in its operations it seems quite as easy to go backward as to go forward, and it has sometimes been unfortunately demonstrated in our own city as well as others that the retrograde movement is the one that has been practiced.

Though this has not, of course, been the general rule, it is pleasant to contemplate the career of one of the oldest established Industrial concerns in our city, the Mossman Wood Turning company, which in more than forty years' existence has had a continually constructive and advancing career.

This concern, with plant in the rear of 9 Main street, has from its earliest founding been a leader in its field and has never relinquished its claim; not resting upon past performances Ipr reputation gained, but keeping abreast or in advance of the times, and by high-grade work and a superior product, retaining the favor of early customers and annually adding new ones.

To do this the company uses the best raw material obtainable, generally white birch; has the finest equipment in machinery and replaces its equipment when any invention has been made that will improve production. In consequence the plant is one of the most modern in this section of the country. The force of men employed includes some twenty skilled men, most of whom have been with the company for years and are aware that accurate and thorough workmanship is demanded.

The company is an organization of practical woodturners and manufacturers of artistic and novelty turned goods. The output includes cane bead dowel, organ knobs, plain and beaded balls and knobs for rattan chairs, gocarts and carriages, handles for electric switches, separators, curry combs, glass cutters, rubber stamps, file and crank handles of every description, in plain wood or shellacked, or any kind of enamel finish, with or without ferrules.

It has, in effect, every facility for doing business promptly and economically and is able to enter any market and quote prices that gain it a favorable hearing and usually an order.

Jerome Mossman has been with the company since it was founded in 1870 as L. Brown & Co. Since 1891 he has been the only member of the firm of which he was once a partner.

The premises occupied are the most extensive of any wood turning establishment in this section, several different floors and basements of the Wachusett Machine company's buildings being used.

Mr. Mossman has been about as long associated with this business as any of Fitchburg's manufacturers in one line. His enterprise and integrity have advanced it to its present volume and success and he is an example of the type of efficient industrial men that has given Fitchburg its reputation as a machine and manufacturing center.

West Side

It is usual in every city that one concern stands a little higher in the favor and affections of the public than all others. This condition, in any event, prevails in Fitchburg, and few If any will dispute the statement that Nichols & Frost occupy this most desirable position.

This department store dates back to 1860, when it was founded by L. J. Brown, and it was bought out by F. I. Nichols and W. A. Frost in 1884. But even this long period of service does not altogether explain the supremacy of the concern, for many old houses have lessened rather than increased patronage as the years advance.

The popularity and success of this firm may be attributed to its honesty. This is not only a policy but an instinctive principle of the concern and has been practiced so steadfastly that customers never doubt it. Consequently when Nichols & Frost offer selected lines of goods in their eighteen departments, it is realized by the customers that the goods are just what the firm says they are; that the price has been fixed according to value, and that there is no misrepresentation then or at any other time.

Another recommendation of this house is that it deals in nothing shoddy. Its guarantee of quality goes with every article of merchandise sold, and a stock is carried that makes such a guarantee practical. The result is that this house holds the class of trade

The store, located at 150-156 Main street, with a women's shop at 164 Main street, is the most metropolitan of Fitchburg's department establishments. Dry goods, domestics, women's furnishings, gloves, hosiery, and knit underwear, etc., are carried on the street floor, as well as a book and stationery department, a recent and rapid development.

stocked than any similar ones in the city. The lines handled appeal to fastidious people, and in ready-to-wear suits, garments, waists, skirts, etc., the most seasonable and nobby styles are shown in all fabrics and designs that can be purchased in the fashion centers.

Rugs, draperies, carpets, trunks, suit-cases and bags are handled on the third floor, and this is one of the innovations that has been successfully promoted by the present firm. On this floor is also located one of the most complete art needlework departments in Worcester county.

The main floor of the establishment is 100 by 60 feet. A total of some 25,000 square feet is occupied and an average of ninety people are employed.

The Women's Shop, and annex at 164 Main street introduced two years ago, affords special conveniences for the display of corsets, muslin underwear, infants' wear and knit goods. Here also may be found skilled workers in manicuring and hairdressing.

Mr. Nichols was with L. J. Brown In earlier years and Mr. Frost was connected with a dry goods house in Boston before entering into this partnership.

In the past ten years the premises occupied have been thoroughly overhauled and improved and facilities provided in accordance with the highest standard of modern merchandising. As said in the beginning, the firm is freely acknolwedged to be the leader in its field in this city, and the prestige of their commercial standing is also bestowed upon Messrs. Nichols and Frost as responsible residents of this municipality.

A. A. Little

Quality and service will be remembered long after the price has been forgotten, and it is by giving value in high-grade goods and attending considerately to all details that the development and success of the business of A. A. Little has been accomplished.

The stores occupied by Mr. Little at 2 and 6 Main street were not combined when he first entered business. On the contrary, he purchased the grocery business at 2 Main street, corner of Myrtle avenue, of the heirs of C. T. Harding, December 7, 1899, and some three years afterward purchased the market adjoining. Both branches have been expanded under Mr. Little's proprietorship, and no grocery and meat concern in our city handles a better or larger line of goods, or caters more successfully to discriminating people.

Mr. Little not only has the best trade in his part of Fitchburg, but he has customers in almost every part of the city, and his policy of quality and square dealing meets with the approval of all.

In the grocery store, not only the finest quality of staple groceries, but the fancy groceries, table condiments, pickled, canned and tinned goods, sauces and piquant dishes demanded by fastidious people are carried in one of the most extensive lines shown in our city. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and other appetizing foods are handled, and everything in desirable foodstuffs is fresh and plentiful.

The meat department is fully as complete, with all varieties of fresh and cured meats, poultry and game in season. All stock is handled with a skill and ability most desirable from a sanitary point of view.

Mr. Little has been in Fitchburg since 1887, and has been in the grocery and meat business all that time. He had his own meat market for a short time and also owned a grocery store which he sold at the end of a year. He has been employed by some of our best concerns, and when he took possession of his present stand, he had a wide experience of the best sort, as was demonstrated in the able Itolicy he put into effect, and which he has pursued unerringly and with marked success.

The fact that a firm has been in business for a substantial period and has always dealt fairly and honestly with its patrons, is a much needed recommendation, nowadays. But being alive to modern methods of merchandising, rendering up-to-date service, and employing improved equipment, gives it double the reputation it would have if it only relied on the qualifications first mentioned.

The firm of Lyons, Davis & Co., 158 Main street, is representative of highclass merchandising in clothing and men's furnishings, handling the lines of goods to give the greatest satisfaction, and having the finest fixtures and improvements by which stock is kept in the best of condition and shown most advantageously. The store occupied is the best lighted in the city, giving the customer the opportunity to thoroughly examine the goods. Two years ago it was entirely remodelled, and among the improvements installed were cabinets where each coat is hung separately and trousers and vests are folded

Such makes of clothing as A. Shuman of Boston, Rosenberg and Michel Sterns of Rochester, are dealt in, and in either suits or garments experience and ability is shown in the selection of lines that meet the highest demands for style, texture and workmanship.

Lamson & Hubbard's hats are carried, and in all men's furnishings the best manufacturers' products are handled, each season's styles being presented as soon as they are offered by the wholesale houses.

William J. Lyons, the senior member of the firm has been in the clothing business for thirty-two years, and in 1885 became a partner in the firm of Albee & Lyons. In 1900, after the death of Mr. Albee, Nelson W. Davis was admitted to partnership and there has been particular progress and success in the succeeding years.

Mr. Davis had been employed in the clothing trade previous to entering this firm, and the company as now constituted is one of the most expert and energetic in our city, standing as leaders in this business and maintaining an establishment known for reliable and honest dealing, with a service complete in every department.

There is a certain prestige connected with an old established business that is always valuable, though it must be confessed that nowadays people attach more Importance to the manner in which they are served than to the length of time that service has been offered them. However, when they have become accustomed to a particular trading place and find that it is one of the best in its field, there is a permanency to the patronage that makes for continued success.

The pharmacy of Edward O. Earls has these two attributes that are most necessary for success. The business Itself is one of old-established reputation, and under the proprietorship of Mr. Earls since 1905 it has offered a complete service that has been sufficient to maintain the trade of the old house, and to attract considerable new.

dealing that is a maintained policy of the establishment. Mr. Earls is a member of the Fitchburg Druggists' and the State Pharmaceutical Associations, and is numbered among the lead ers, both as a chemist and as a business man of integrity.

Merriam & Rolph

Fitchburg is a city practically independent in the completeness of its own resources, and there is hardly a manufacturing or merchandising field that has not some representative here. The fact that we are a growing community means necessarily an influx of new business concerns, yet in almost every line there are one or two old establishments whose methods are familiar to our people and whose reputation is that of soundness and reliability.

Edward O. Earls

this city, and this means that the concern has the opportunity of getting all the remedies and druggists' supplies that are known to the trade. The American Druggists' Syndicate now numbers some 12,000 members, combined to manufacture every pharmaceutical product, and to effect the most reasonable price for them.

Complete lines of drugs and chemicals are dealt in here, while druggists' sundries, toilet articles, fancy goods, confectionery of superior quality, and smokers' supplies, are also carried.

This concern is capable of dispensing American, English, and foreign prescriptions, and the compounding is accurately and scientifically done. Mr. Earls manufactures, and sells, both at wholesale and retail, lemonade and orangeade powders. Developing and printing for amateurs is done here, and prompt and efficient service given to the customers.

The business was founded February 28, 1867, by William A. Macurda & Co., and has had but three managements, Mr. Earls succeeding E. A. Sawyer. The solid black walnut fixtures of early days, now extremely rare, are still in place, though one of the modern improvements is one of the handsomest soda fountains in this city.

Mr. Earls is now in his twenty-second year as a druggist, and had an early experience In the southern part of the United States. He was later employed in the North, and in Fitchburg was head clerk for A. H. Burgess for three years, and for Hayes & Pierson for one year.

In the past six years. Mr. Earls has not only ably demonstrated his experience and ability as a pharmacist, but has given evidence of his enterprise and progressive business ability.

Though somewhat removed from the center of the trading district, Mj. Earls has attracted trade through the fine stock offered, and the square there is no concern better or more widely known in this section than Merriam & Rolph, with warehouses and office at 47 Main street, where they have been located since 1877. The business was founded three years previous to this date, in 1874, and in the period succeeding there has been a continual development, lesuUing in an extensive patronage and a reputation for straightforward and upright transactions.

Hay, grain, feed and straw are the chief commodities carried and wholesale as well as retail trade is accommodated. The storehouses are located right close to the railroad tracks, so that the unloading of cargoes is expeditiously and economically done, and every improved equipment is used that will better the service and allow the firm to sell at the lowest market quotation.

The storehouses have a capacity of forty carloads, and as a complete and large stock is kept on hand at all times, there is no order, great or small, that cannot be filled immediately.

Four men are employed and two teams regularly used, although many of the customers draw their own supplies and other transportation facilities are hired as the occasion demands them.

J. W. Merriam is one of a family which has always been in the grain and feed business in or about Fitchburg, and F. L. Rolph is connected with the same family. When this partnership was formed in November, 1874, the quarters then occupied were in the old Universalist church building. Three years later they moved into their present quarters.

Mr. Merriam and Mr. Rolph are members of the Board of Trade and Merchants' association, and both are known for their Interest in Fitchburg's advancement and welfare and are numbered among our representative merchants and citizens.

Sometimes a man goes through life who is always young. He may have reached the allotted age of threescore years and ten, but still he will be seventy years young and neither he nor his neighbors think of him as being old.

This is something of the feeling expressed by friends and business associates or customers of S. E. Brigham, who has been established in business since 1856 and is the oldest tradesmen in our city; though for that matter Mr. Brigham is just as hardy, young and active as many men who started in business a quarter of a century after him.

Not only has Mr. Brigham been proprietor of his own shop for the past fifty-five years, but he has been located on his present property since 1859, having built it after he had been on West Main street near River street for three years.

It is almost needless to say that Mr. Brigham has one of the best patronized establishments in this city. A man of his long career, whose dealings and workmanship have always been reliable and thorough, gets his recommendations from satisfied customers; and this recommendation for Mr. Brigham, it may be said, has passed to many of his present customers from a preceding generation.

The building at 7 and 9 Brook street, with another at 123 Elm street, is completely equipped with materials and tools to perform any sort of blacksmithing or carriage woodwork. Horseshoeing is carefully and expertly done.

The horse or carriage owner of Fitchburg or vicinity is convinced of the wisdom of taking his work here if he wants it painstakingly done, and that it may be done promptly as well as expertly three men are employed all the year round and from six to eight in the driving and outdoors season.

Mr. Brigham comm,enced work in Fitchburg in 1856, and while devoting himself unrestrictedly to his trader refusing public office or other positions, he has nevertheless impressed his honorable personality upon this community and has won distinction for his long career and for the integrity and straightforwardness that have been identified with it.

Interior Chaffin Store

The history of music is older than that of civilization. The most savage races are found to have some rude musical instruments, sufficient at least to mark certain divisions of time, and to serve as accompaniment to the dance. Those less savage have melodies, while in all recorded instances where nations have advanced from barbarism to civilization, music has followed the national growth, and so today an up-to-date music house must have a complete line of musical goods in all departments. Such a house you will find at 157 Main street, and its proprietors ask you to come in and convince yourself.

In the rush of living which is characteristic of the present day, many people find little time to inquire about their neighbors or very closely about the business concerns with whom they have dealings. Much is taken for granted in most mercantile houses, though there are of course exceptions to this rule. In the piano and musical merchandise trade particularly, people in general know but little of such goods, and must depend largely upon the integrity and experience of the dealer. In such a case they turn naturally to a house long established, and well spoken of by its customers, whose probity and professional standing have become as much an understood condition by the public at large as the soundness of the city's best financial institutions. Because of such a reputation the firm of J. F. Chaffin Co., 157 Main street, stands among the foremost of piano houses in Worcester county, and by reason of its long history in Fitchburg, has the particular confidence of the public here.

This house was founded by J. F. Chaffin in 1877, and his good judgment is shown in the stock carried, which is among the most extensive and complete shown by any such concern, and the guarantee of the firm always accompanies any article that is sold.

mended by professional performers, and which in tone, volume, and ease of execution are among the leading pianos sold in this country. The Bourne is another well-known make handled here, beside the Webster and others; so that each customer's purse may be suited, and each one get the instrument that is the highest value for the price asked. So many are shown that in wood, workmanship and pattern no taste need remain unsatisfied. They also carry a large line of second-hand pianos and organs.

Orchestral and band instruments are carried in the most extensive assortment displayed in our city; while folio and sheet music, stools, racks, and other merchandise required for home furnishings or professional purposes can be obtained here from the supply that is always at hand.

This firm has the agency for the New Home sewing machines, which is an important part of its transactions, and in the development of this department energy and foresight have been shown.

In the tuning department the best of workmen are employed, and the house is in a position to tune and repair pianos and organs, besides all other musical instruments, in a satisfactory manner.

H. L. Sawyer & Co

In no business or profession is an established and reputable standing of such importance as in undertaking and embalming. People go to such an establishment only when necessary, and are naturally anxious to consult a firm in which they have confidence, and which has, perhaps, been called in family affairs before.

The business of H. L. Sawyer & Co. was founded in 1868 by M. W. Cummings; in 1898 Mr. Sawyer purchased it of the Cummings estate, so that in forty-three years there has scarcely been an interruption in the existence of this house. This house, both under its present proprietorship and its predecessor, has always had the confidence of the public. The offices of undertaking, embalming and funeral directing have been conducted with ability and thoroughness, and all the services necessary are carried on with unobtrusiveness and tact most appreciated in the time of sorrow.

At the office and warerooms at 211 Main street is carried the largest line of funeral furnishings shown in this part of the county. The stockrooms are equipped in the most modern manner, So that goods are shown in surroundings that do not call to mind too acutely the occasion for which they are needed.

The concern owns its rolling stock, comprising some of the handsomest and finest equipages used in this service, and two or three assistants, including a lady attendant, join with the proprietor in giving skilful attention to their duties,

H. L. Sawyer, the proprietor, came to Fitchburg from West Boylston, where he had been in the undertaking business ten years. He managed the affairs of the Fitchburg house alone from October, 1898, to September, 1899, when his father joined him and the firm became H. O. & H. L. Sawyer. The elder Mr. Sawyer died in November, 1909, and the firm name -syas changed, to H. L. Sawyer & Co., in July, the following year.

The company transacts business in many of the surrounding towns as well as in this city, and it is one of the best known concerns of its kind in this part of Worcester county.

Mr. Sawyer, during his residence in Fitchburg, has become identified with other than professional matters, and has been influential in various organizations. He is now a director of the Board of Trade, on the board of managers for the Old Ladles' Home, and gives his time and services for projects that promise the welfare of this community.

Though Fitchburg's greater prominence is derived from its machine manufacturing and textile plants, it has nevertheless for many years had a variety of interests, important among which was its shoe manufacturing concerns. It would be most deplorable if such an industry were lost to our city, and though the two concerns that covered this field in earlier days have now ceased to exist, it is a matter of congratulation in the community generally that one of the earlier plants was reoccupied six years ago. The equipment Installed at that time and the methods in vogue under the present incorporation make it one of the most modern industries of its kind in this section of the state.

The company incorporated as C. W. Bennett & Co. in April, 1905, has for its present officers Daniel A. Boyle, president; W. E. Putney, vice-president; C. W. Bennett, treasurer; these three gentlemen, with W. C. Goodwin and George T. Wiley of Boston, constituting the board of directors. The capital stock is $30,000 and all the gentlemen interested in the concern are men of financial acumen and soundness.

The building occupied is the former factory of E. F. Belding, erected in 1892, and is of brick with three floors and basement. It had been unoccupied for some time, and was wholly refitted and equipped when the Bennett company took possession in 1905. In consequence the machinery is of the most modem design and utility, which, combined with the experienced management of the concern, gives this company facilities to successfuliy meet competition from all other manufacturers in its particular field.

The products of the company are misses' and children's shoes of medium priced grades, sold through jobbers all over the United States. The output of the factory is about 1500 pairs of shoes a day, and two hundred people are employed.

Since the incorporation of the Bennett company the factory has been run on full time almost without exception, so that its organization was a distinct benefit to those shoemakers who had made their home in this city, while it retained in Fitchburg a most desirable class of residents and operatives.

Treasurer Bennett, upon whom the operation of the factory depends, is a shoe manufacturer who gained his experience in his home city of Fitchburg, and has had an able and enterprising career in this industry. He began work in boyhood days in the E. M. Dickinson shoe factory and was successively graduated from office boy through different departments to the superintendency, added to which he did the buying for seven or eight years.

He brought to the concern which bears his name a well-informed mind, operating and executive ability, and a progressive policy. He has been most ably and sincerely encouraged by his board of directors, so that a sound standing and reputation has been obtained in the industrial world, and Fitchburg has retained its prestige as a shoe manufacturing center of importance.

Fitchburg Cigar Co

A Popular and Well Patronized Smoke Shop Owned by A. O. Bernson Men who are in the habit of smoking a great deal very quickly learn where their favorite brands of cigars or tobacco are kept, and are the best judges of the stock. They do not need to be told if the goods are kept in the best

The trade of the Fitchburg Cigar Co., 82 Main street, has been built up by giving satisfaction to discriminating customers. The brands of tobacco carried are the ones that are most popular with users of the weed. There is always a large assortment on hand, so that a variety of tastes may be met, and there is a constant replenishment of stock that makes for quality and freshness in every line carried.

The best-known makes of cigars, ranging from popular five-cent smokes up to imported brands of more expensive quality, are carried, and cigarettes of foreign and domestic makes are handled in the variety that only the seasoned cigarette smoker knows to exist.

Pipes, pouches, cigar holders, match cases and safes, and other smokers' supplies are carried in extensive assortment, and the location of the store at the corner of Snow and Main streets is excellent for the local and transient patronage which it enjoys.

Mr. Bernson is a young man who demonstrates the adaptability of our foreign -born residents for pursuing enterprising and modern methods, and is known as a successful and upright business man.

Slate Roofers

For the matter of half a century the name of William Edwards has been connected with slate roofing, and though the founder of the business has passed away, his successor continues the leader in this field, and the wellknown name is strongly upheld by the extensive operations that are now conducted, and the reputation that is given this company for its trustworthiness and honorable methods of doing business.

The William Edwards company was founded in 1860, and since that time it has been the leading concern in this part of the county. At first the business was confined almost entirely to slate roofing, but in more recent years other modern operations were added to its transactions, so that gravel, tin, and paper roofings are also furnished and applied.

The old concern did all the work for the Fitchburg division of the Boston & Maine railroad, and the present one still has these contracts, and does the slating on depots, freight houses, and other Boston & Maine property all the way from Boston to Rotterdam Junction.

Fred H. Dudley, the present proprietor, has been the owner of the business for the past four years, and in that time has not only retained the patrons of the old concern, but has also .added many new ones. Virtually all the fireproof roofing that is done in this city is executed by him, and some of the largest contracts of this kind in other places in this section of Worcester county have been handled by the Edwards Slate Co.

More recent contracts were three churches in Concord, done last year; the Italian church, Hastings Hall, and Normal school dormitory in this city, and the Elizabeth Sears residence in Harvard.

Mr. Dudley is agent for Beaver Brand roofing and handles all kinds of roofing materials, snow guards, wooden eave troughs and galvanized conductors.

The office is at 83 Water street, where there is also a storage house in the rear, and a spur track running close to it, which gives economical facilities for receiving consignments, though a large portion of the slate or other materials are shipped from quarries or manufacturers, direct to where the operations are taking place.

Four to fifteen men are employed, and the crew comprises one man who has been with the old firm as well as the new, and has a career of fortyseven years to his credit.

Mr. Dudley has been in Fitchburg for the past sixteen years, and before buying out here, was the foreman for Contractor J. D. Littlehale. He is one of Fitchburg's youngest industrial men, but his responsibilities have been most efficiently and skillfully met. He has not only displayed energy and ability but progressiveness and enterprise that gained him a present success that will continue to increase with advancing years. He is a member of the Board of 'Prade and Merchants' Association.

Cunningham, The Hatter

Miss E. M. Cunningham, the proprietor, is a milliner of experience and ability, and was for years employed in the millinery department of Nichols & Frost. She founded the present business of her own in the spring of 1910. Miss Cunningham had that most important of all business assets - the confidence of the public - had countless friends, and was regarded for her ability as a milliner.

Putting in a stock that had been most expertly selected, a desirable trade at once responded, and the satisfaction that was experienced by early customers was reported among others, with the consequence of a most desirable increase in patronage in the-

The Bennett Shop

This hatter is one of the first to visit the metropolitan markets In search of novelties or new goods, and displays the latest things in headwear at her establishment.

Special order work is a feature of this store, and with all designs in hats carried, with every description of millinery supplies, special orders are made up to suit individual tastes, and artistic and becoming creations are the result. Six assistants are employed in season.

The concern has in a very short time taken a place among the leading millinery establishments in our city, and Miss Cunningham is to be credited with ability and progressiveness in making such a distinct success In a very little over one year.

As she has always been a resident of Fitchburg, it is a matter of congratulation to her many friends that she has so quickly won her advancement, for she is warmly regarded in this community for personal as well as business qualifications.

City Steam Laundry

While the volume of business done by a steam laundry is not altogether a guarantee of the quality of work done, it is nevertheless a fairly good indication of the satisfaction that it gives customers, for no concern can have a successful development unless it receives such commendation as to hold old customers and attract new ones.

In consideration of this fact, it may be assumed that the City Steam Laundry, with office at 43 North street, performs the work entrusted to it with skill and thoroughness, for its patronage has so increased in the past five years that the concern has recently leased the second floor of their present building, having outgrown their former quarters, and this move will give them an adequate and up-to-date date establishment.

The latest improved machinery has been installed in recent years, so that every operation that takes place here is performed in the most effective manner with the best equipment to produce high-grade results, both in washing and Ironing.

This laundry most effectually covers the many fields a modern steam laundry is designed to occupy. Starched and polished work is done with the thoroughness and skill that makes steam work so much superior to hand or domestic work, with the modern machinery that prevents friction, and lessens the wear and tear the cruder methods used to produce.

Family washing, hotel work and the newest convenience in wet wash are performed by this concern, and in each department it has a patronage that is the proof of the excellence with which all these operations are performed. Some 300 wet washings are done each week, and rough-dry work is also done

Unexcelled work is done on waists, shirts, collars, cuffs, etc., tuid no similar company in our city has a better reputation for high-class work, filling orders promptly, or charging a reasonable price, either from transients or from regular weekly customers.

The plant is large and well arranged, on the average eighteen skilled people are employed, and three teams are used for collecting and delivering.

E. A. Cooper, the sole proprietor since March, 1909, has been connected with the business since July, 1906, when with a partner he purchased it of Fred Emery, who had been located here for two years.

Mr. Cooper had been a driver for a laundry for four or five years previous to his management of this business, and in all transactions of a steam laundry has an experience and progresslveness that have been shown in the development that has taken place under his proprietorship. He is a leader in this industry, and a business man whose square dealings have been productive of the present high standing of the City Steam Laundry.

Cornelius P. Hurley

Cornelius P. Hurley, the grocer at 103 Myrtle avenue, exercises supervision in several quarters, for ne has not only been in business in our city for twenty years, but has accumulated much real estate, in which he has fourteen tenants, and is the proprietor of

Mr. Hurley was born in Fitchburg fifty-three years ago and learned the trade of machinist, at which he worked in this city, and for five years with the Brush Electric Light company in New York city.

In 1888 he purchased the property on Myrtle avenue, and after conducting a grocery business in a small store for eleven or twelve years, he erected the brick block now occupied, nine years ago.

High-grade staple and fancy groceries are handled in all varieties, and the stock is kept up-to-date in quality and quantity, while reasonable prices have been one of the means by which Mr. Hurley has built up a large and satisfactory trade.

Mr. Hurley has from time to time added to his holdings of real estate, and improt^ed it so that he now has some first-class tenements. Cowslip Farm has also been expertly developed, and the two hundred and forty trees planted there yield some of the finest apples gathered in this district, for which there is an ever-ready market.

Nine cows are also pastured there, and the milk is sold at Mr. Hurley's store and to other retailers. Ninety hens are among the livestock on the farm, and the eggs from these are the strictly fresh ones which discriminating people desire.

Mr. Hurley has never sought or accepted public office, but as a sterling and upright citizen he is esteemed in his native city, and is known as a substantial, enterprising and reliable business man. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Massachusetts Cattle Owners' association.

John E. Barnes

Among the retail concerns that are most soundly and popularly known in Fitchburg may be mentioned the shoe firm of John E. Barnes, 144 Water street. Though the words "popularly known'' might seem inapplicable, the condition they represent is necessary to the success of a neighborhood store such as this one. In the center of the city, different customers may come in each day; but in a neighborhood trade the success of the business depends upon the same people coming in day after

The Barnes establishment has the best and largest trade in this section, and this has been so for a long number of years. Mr. Barnes has been the proprietor since 1890, when he bought out Matthew Mannix, the pioneer shoe dealer in this vicinity, and though the present store is a few doors from the original site, it is the retail shoe concern that provides goods and satisfaction to the patrons of this section.

Footwear of all kinds for men, women and children is handled, and the makes best known for durability and lasting service are the kinds handled. Various styles and lasts from the Endicott, Johnson & Co. concern of Endicott, N. y., one of the largest manufacturers in the world, are dealt in, and the best-known u n i o n-m a d e shoe handled is the Webber Bros.' product from North Adams.

Rubber goods, slippers, and ali kinds of house or street boots are shown, and the most seasonable goods ion the market are offered in the shapes, leathers and colors I that are most popular at the time.

Mr. Barnes is a native of Fitchburg, and was educated here. He has been in mercantile lines since his youth, and has especial knowledge of the shoe industry. He is particularly w e 1 1- known in the Water street section, has the friendship and goodwill of the population about here, and is regarded as a reliable business man and a responsible citizen.

Progressive methods, an accommodating service, and desirable lines of goods will at all times meet with the approval of the public, but it is not often that such particular evidence of appreciation is shown as has been given J. B. Donnelly, the market man at 13 Oliver street.

In fact, it would have been less surprising if Mr. Donnelly were still looking forward for success, for his career was practically interrupted in the middle when he was obliged to give up his first stand, and a few months later take the occupancy of his present premises.

But this move, instead of lessening trade, has increased it, for the patrons of the Main street store have been quite willing to step around the corner a few doors, and new customers who pass by this location have been attracted to trading here.

Once patronizing this market means a continuance of custom, for the purchaser on a first visit Is struck with the up-to-dateness of the market, the clean and wholesome interior, the fine arrangement of stock, and the complete and highly-recommended lines carried.

Fresh and cured meats are dealt in, in ail the varieties that the wholesalers offer, but care is always taken that the highest grades shall be delivered here, so they may be passed on to customers with the assurance that they will be perfectly satisfied with the quality and the price.

A large refrigerator keeps meats fresh, and in superior condition. Large lines of poultry are handled here, also game in season. Canned goods, fresh vegetables and fruits, eggs and dairy products are other commodities handled, and for quality and reasonable quotations, there Is no market In this city that surpasses this one in giving patrons what they demand.

Mr. Donnelly, who has been in Fitchburg for the past twenty-three years, has been in the meat trade most of that time, starting with C. H. Smith on Academy street, employed by Emory for four years, and J. F. Jaseph seven years.

Becoming established for himself in February, 1906, he was in the Twitchell building on Main street until that property changed hands. He has been on Oliver street since September, 1908.

A. A. Wellington

As a representative of the building trade in Fitchburg, there is no contractor better or more favorably known in his particular field than A. A. Wellington, who has been in this industry for the past thirty years. Mr. Wellington has been the contractor for some of the finest residences in this city and adjoining towns, and these structures are monuments to his ability and thoroughness.

For the past seven years, Mr. Wellington has occupied a shop at 20 Rollstone street, and cabinet work is carried on here in addition to general carpentering.

But it is as a contractor on his own account for the last sixteen years that Mr. Wellington has gained his particular reputation, having erected the Corcoran house now occupied by Albert

N. Lowe, the Perkins residence on Ross street, the Dr. Spring residence, Herbert I. Wallace's country house at Ashburnham, and the Hardy house in the same town.

Mr. Wellington has a reputation not only for expert and thorough workmanship, but he is known for the precision with which he lives up to specifications. In making his contract, he allows for the most desirable lumber, house finish and tested quality in all materials that he will use. In carrying out the contract, he provides exactly the materials and quality stipulated, and the construction work is painstakingly done. In consequence, people who want houses or blocks put up to remain and endure any number of years are likely to call upon Mr. Wellington, as he is known in Fitchburg and surrounding territory as one of the most reliable and experienced builders in this section.

Mr. Wellington has been a resident of Fitchburg for more than forty years. He began at his trade of carpentering thirty years ago and has followed It without interruption, and has been established for himself as a contractor sixteen years.

Mr. Wellington was a member of the city council for two years, is interested in all movements that promise the welfare of this community, and is regarded as one of our responsible business men and citizens.

C. P. Hurley. .Myrtle Avenue

The place transportation facilities have in community growth needs but the mention to be appreciated. It may be very difficult to draw the line between where a community demands extension of service and where a transportation company feels that extensions would create patronage. It Is not worth while to try to locate the invisible barrier. The two at least go hand in hand. The value of street railway service to Fitchburg cannot be overestimated.

The Fitchburg Street Railway company was organized with a capital of $60,000 and ran its first car, a twohorse 35-passenger open car on July 1, 1886. The track was laid as single iron from Goodrich street to West Fitchburg steamer house, 3.25 miles. The total equipment consisted of two open 35-passenger and two closed 18- passenger two-horse cars, and two closea 12-passenger one-horse cars. There were 16 men on the payroll.

Today the capital is $450,000 and its bond issue of $400,000 is a state approved savings bank investment, than which no other verdict of the soundness of the company and its value to the city as a financial and public service corporation need be mentioned. The equipment is 60 cars in all, including two express cars and service cars, and the company has recently taken the first step toward establishing the pay-as-you-enter system. One car has been purchased and others will follow. There are 225 people on the railway payroll with 35 in the opera company and 20 attached to the theatre in other ways, a total of 280. The few horses that pulled the six cars in 1886 are replaced by an electric power plant of 3000 h.p. capacity.

The extension of the company's endeavors and the growth of Fitchburg and Leominster - and indeed the growth of Lunenburg, and Shirley, and Ayer, and their common interests - kept rapid pace for the next few years after the opening trip.

Chronologically the record is substantially this: Extension from Goodrich street to Fitchburg park in 1887; from American House to Bemis road in 1889; from West Fitchburg Steamer House to Waite's Corner in 1890. The Leominster Street Railway company built from Leominster centre to North Leominster in 1891. In 1892 the two companies were consolidated and in that year electricity was applied as power to the cars between Leominster and North Leominster. In 1892 the line extended from Bemis road to Leominster centre, and the first electric trip between Fitchburg and Leominster was run on June 23. 1892. The next construction was from Fitchburg Park to Whalom in 1893, and the opening of the park under the company's management dates from that summer. North Leominster was linked with Whalom in 1895, and the West street extension was built in 1896. The Myrtle avenue and South side loops, and the Cleghorn line were all built in 1898; Blossom street in 1900, Lunenburg in 1901. The Leominster, Shirley & Ayer line was a separate corporation of Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway company men, building 8.66 miles from North Leominster to Ayer, and this extension was joined to the parent company in 1905. The small extension in the Cleghorn was built on demand, so to speak, and the total mileage is therefore brought up to 41, of which double track service extends from Depot street. West Fitchburg, to Whalom. The trackage by towns is: Fitchburg, 18.225 miles; Leominster, 10.065; Lunenburg, 7.406; Shirley, 3.228; Ayer, 1.669; Harvard, 0.106. The express service was inaugurated in 1908.

There were carried in 1910 the great total of 5,750,000 passengers. The largest number ever carried on any one day was 67,600, almost halt as many more than the population of this city.

Several things have made the road a good thing for the city. One is that the management is all local men and its stock ownership is almost substantially here in Fitchburg and Leominster. This very condition has prevented that exploitation in speculative ways that has been the bane of many street railway companies, and has injured the communities they have sought to serve. Business and civic pride have been potent factors in the management.

To mention the Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway company without mentioning Whalom would be to leave out one of the strong factors through which it brings so much pleasure into the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year. Equally would it be impossible to mention Whalom without the railway.

Whalom park is a tract of several score acres bordering one of the prettiest - though not one of the largest - lakes in Massachusetts. The excellence of traffic management was straightway put into the park management. Not a single thing that could detract from the safety, enjoyment, comfort and reputation of the place and its patrons has been for an instant permitted. The equipment includes an admirable, large, well-furnished hotel, women's pavilion of most attractive convenience and ample privacy, dance hall with orchestra, skating rink v ith music, merry-go-round, swings, deer park, sand boxes for the littlest folks, speedy steamer on the lake, bathing pavilion, diving float, row boats and canoes for hire, bear cage, roller coaster, penny arcade, the usual refreshment booths, etc., and last and best of all, the famous out-of-door theatre which has brought fame to the park, the city and the company.

Opened in 1898, the theatre was a very simple affair. Its rustic stage was small and its scenery such only as the beginnings of things in that day made needful. Folding chairs placed on the sloping earth accommodated a few hundred. Gradually the audiences and the production.^ mutually grew.

until now there is a large and ample stage flanked by adequate side and dressing rooms, scenery loft and all possible equipment for the production of excellent opera and comedy. For the audiences a concrete floored, open sided but wholly roofed auditorium seating close to 3000 people, in reserved seats for half the house, has been supplied.

The park is formally opened each year on May 30, and the regular stage performances usually are carried two weeks into September, the opera season opening early in June. These performances have been delightfully carried out since 1898 and the repertoire numbers at least 125 different productions at the close of this season. The standard has been kept musically high and the principals have been people of invariably marked excellence.

Fitchburg men who have been progressive, constructive and successful in its largest industries have been no less so in their directorship of the railway company. The managing head of the company since its start, has been Wesley W. Sargent, who served his apprenticeship on roadbed and cars, and has been superintendent from 1886 till now, and for two years or more president of the company. He has been the personification of the company to the public, and has received public criticism and suggestion always with open mind, and has answered every call as far as was compatible with business prudence and operating practicability, with the result that today this company teaches lessons in the proper relation of a public service transportation company to the corporate community.

Fitchburg is by no means dependent upon the local company alone for electric transportation, for the same year that saw the opening of the South Side loop, saw also the opening of a competing line to Leominster, the Fitchburg & Suburban, a few years later made part of what is now the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway company, which operates substantially every other street car line in the county with a total trackage of nearly 125 miles. From Waite's Corner the Gardner, Westminster & Fitchburg line runs through the towns named in the corporate title, connecting at West Gardner with Baldwinville, Templeton, Athol, Orange and Wendell. At Ayer, the easterly terminal of the local company is separated only by a railroad track from the lines of the Fitchburg & Lowell street railway. The connections through the Worcester lines enable one to proceed to New York, and by several combinations a choice of routes to Boston and Providence may be enjoyed. Boston is also pleasantly reached through Lowell, from which city Nashua, Canobie lake and the beautiful Merrimac valley are just as readily accessible. In fine, Fitchburg is a centre of many hundred miles of electric car service which pour in their thousands of patrons to Whalom on pleasure bent or for business at the high grade retail stores of the city.

The development of suburban residential opportunities by the electric car lines is markedly noticeable in Lunenburg and North Leominster where many families identified with Fitchburg are now established. The summer residences in Westminster are many that can lay their erection wholly to the trolley lines. Within the communities thus served the development of what was but a few years ago "outlying district" and unbroken land is of great importance, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in valuation have been added to each place solely because transportation has eliminated distance.

Boston Furniture Co

Though Water street has an accepted position as one of the settled retail districts in Fitchburg, there are certain lines of trade that are not generally found in the neighborhood districts, and in the exceptional cases when they are so located are conducted in a limited way and do not compare with establishments of the same kind in the center of the city.

One might possibly expect to see a small furniture concern on Water street, but there are few people who would look for a business as large as that of the Boston Furniture Co.

Kitchen, dining room, chamber and parlor furniture is shown in all the different materials that are used for these commodities and In the various styles offered by the manufacturers. Mattresses, springs and other bedding materials are dealt in largely; upholstered goods, carpets, rugs, draperies, etc.

This company has the agency in Fitchburg for the Quaker range, one of the best heaters and cookers on the market, recommended for the small amount of fuel it consumes. This company advertises a saving to their customers of 30 per cent, on prices asked by other dealers.

Furniture repairing is attended to promptly and reasonable prices only are charged. Upholstering is also done; all the materials and stock that are needed for any such operation are kept on hand and expert workmanship is applied to any job that is undertaken.

The proprietors are business men of alertness and sagacity, who have extended their transactions through square dealing and enterprising methods and have built up a sound reputation for themselves and for the Boston Furniture Co.

F. & L. Street Railway Power Station

In an up-to-date city having complete establishments in almost every line of manufacturing and mercantile transactions, it would be strange if the confectionery and ice cream trade were not satisfactorily catered to. The fact is, that our city has a number of concerns which are particularly creditable in this field, of endeavor, and none of them has a sounder or more desirrable reputation than that of J. A. Hills, 128 Main street.

Located in the American House block for more than thirteen years, this concern has a central site which attracts much transient trade, while those who have become familiar with the products and stock of the Hills company have no wish to trade elsewhere, and comprise a patronage that has been steadily increased during the existence of the company.

Scarcely anything in sweet stuffs but may be secured here, the Hills concern being a manufacturer of many delicious dainties, and dealing also in some of the highest grade chocolates and bonbons put upon the market by nationally known confectioners and manufacturers.

Quality, Apollo and Lenox chocolates are some of the best known makes handled, in bulk or in packages, and Mr. Hills, himself, manufactures handdipped chocolates, taffy, caramels, hard candies, and some particular sweets for which this company has become especially noted.

Salted nuts, ice cream, and syrups for the soda fountain, are made here, and all these goods have the highest guarantee of pure material used and expert mixing. The trade is both wholesale and retail and Hills' ice cream is regarded throughout this section as one of the most delicious refreshments offered. It is made of pure cream, flavored with pure extracts, and is frozen in the most improved way. so that the smoothness and quality of the ices or creams are equal to the best made anywhere.

Tables and chairs are arranged in the rear part of the store for customers for ice cream, and the service is excellent at the soda fountain, where either hot or cold drinks are served.

Mr. Hills is a popular caterer for social or fraternal gatherings in our city, and when light lunches or refreshments are to be served he is the purveyor most frequently called upon. Orders for ice cream are delivered at homes or hotels, and a team is kept for this purpose, four people being regularly employed, and one or two extra In the summer.

Mr. Hills came to Fitchburg some twenty-eight years ago. and for ten years was In the grocery trade, employed by two of the old concerns in our city. He then entered the confectionery business, remained in it here for a year, after which he became established In Leominster. Returning to Fitchburg, he opened his present store, August 15, 1897, and in the succeeding p.rlod has steadily built up an increasing trade and a reputation that places him among the foremost confectioners in this section, and has given him a standing as one of the sound and enterprising mercantile men in our community.

S. G. Cushing & Son

It might be supposed by people who have only a general idea of such a business that a wood-turning establishment would have a restricted trade, and that each community that required such products would have a plant in its vicinity.

It is admitted that there are many wood- turners in this country, but the business is like every other one, in the fact that there is a certain superiority which is only attained by a few manufacturers whose product is consequently in demand over all others.

This explains the wide market which has been gained by the Fitchburg concern of S. G. Cushing & Son. The business has been operated since 1875. and its product is not only in demand in all parts of the United States, but shipments are occasionally made to European countries.

The plant at 29 Newton place is one of the oldest industries in this city, but under the present proprietorship, improvements have been constantly made, so that in equipment and stock it is one of the most modern and upto-date in any part of the country.

lumber is generally used, and the products in greatest demand are handles for cutlery, tools, umbrellas and sunshades, tops, and other articles that are needed in similar business. Skewers for mills are a regular part of this concern's product in recent years, the output being largely increased, and a standard of workmanship raised that makes this company's goods preferred over that of many others.

Some twenty-five men are employed, and the length of time the business has been conducted is partly shown in the prolonged periods that some of the employees have been connected with it - one of them. Foreman FVed L. Latter, having been here for thirtynine years.

S. G. Cushing bought out the business in 1875, and three years ago admitted to partnership his son, Ralph W. Cushing, who had been associated with him for the previous nine years. The senior Mr. Cushing is president of the Fitchburg Enamel Co., which does much of the enameling of the woodwork that is turned out by the older concern.

Both are representative of the industrial activities of our city, and have been instrumental in making Fitchburg known as a manufacturing center. S. G. Cushing is a woodturner who has made a recognized reputation for high-class products, and square dealing, and in this policy he is now ably seconded by his partner and son.

In this field as in various others, Fitchburg demonstrates its resourcefulness by having at least one firstclass ladies' tailor; and Fairbanks, at 1971/4 Main street, has this distinction.

Some people assume that any tailor can do all kinds of garment making, and it is only when they have had some experience that they realize that women's work is as different from men's as any two lines of industry can be. The two cannot be successfully conducted together, and the reputation that has been won by the Fairbanks concern in the past ten years is due to the fact that ladies' tailoring is the exclusive work it gives attention to. The men and women employed are skilled in this trade, and have every facility to conduct operations in the most thorough and modern manner.

A view of the premises occupied gives an idea of the volume of business done. There is the salesroom, with stock shown, in dress and garment materials, trimmings and linings. The trying-on room is separate, and furnished with all the accommodations that are necessary for this part of the operations. There is a reception room and a large work room, and seven or eight people are employed.

Mr. Fairbanks keeps on hand the most stylish fabrics that are in demand each season; shows exclusive colors and patterns, and has at hand all the materials that are needed for a high-class garment.

Such a concern, necessarily, is patronized by the most particular people - ladies who do not like the styles in ready-made suits, or who are difficult to fit: and the others who have the quite popular belief that one must have her clothes made by a tailor to be trim and stylish. It is generally conceded that in order to have something appropriate to one's personality a ladies' tailor is needed, and the success and high standing of this house proclaims the fact that Fairbanks has given the service that is demanded by such fastidious and particular patrons.

It is to this trade that this concern caters, carrying the highestgrade goods, having expert cutters and fitters, and satisfying discriminating women in this city, and in much of the surrounding territory. It is, in fact, one of the best-known ladies' tailoring houses in this part of the county.

Delos E. Fairbanks was one of the founders of the business, and has been sole proprietor for the past five years. He is a mercantile man of experience in this city, and was one of the first to note the field it offered for a ladies' tailor.

Giving satisfaction in the first years of its organization, the reputation of the concern has been steadily developed and strengthened in subsequent years, and its patronage has grown accordingly, so that it is indisputably the foremost in this field in this section.

the trade and prestige of the concern, and is one of the sound and progressive business men in this city, who has won a deserved success through ability and integrity.

Fuller Hardware Co

When the length of time that some of our business concerns have been established is taken into consideration, the growth and success of the Fuller Hardware Co., established only since August, 1907, seems little short of phenomenal. Notwithstanding its short existence, it has one of the most extensive stocks in this city, and one of the largest and soundest trades.

In a measure the concern was known before this store at 177 Main street was opened, which might account for its early success. But in addition to the response which the public made when the business was first started, there has been a continual increase in the subsequent period, and the volume of trade now rivals that of much longer established concerns in a similar line of trade.

All kinds of shelf and builders' hardware are carried. This firm also has the exclusive agency for Farnum's Cheshire lime, Harrison Bros.' paints, Pratt & Lambert varnishes, P. & F. Corbin's builders' hardware, and Gratoa & Knight Manufacturing Co.'s belting.

Mill supplies are dealt in, and some of the largest manufacturing plants in our city obtain the greater amount of their accessories at these headquarters, for in addition to the agency for some of the best-known goods such as those mentioned, the Fuller Hardware Co., not confining its operations to one line or one manufacturer, handles all goods in its special field that are in any demand, or reach the standard which this company maintains in all stock carried.

The store on Main street is only part of the premises occupied, as two large storehouses are used, and the heavy goods, such as lime and cement, pipes, etc., are kept in the reserved space.

Cutlery, kitchen utensils and all sorts of tools are dealt in, and each part of the stock shows in its high-grade quality the experience and ability devoted to purchasing it, conditions that benefit the customer, who can depend upon this company's guarantee.

The corporation has for its president, W. A. Fuller; treasurer and manager, W. T. Gavin; clerk of the corporation and assistant manager, R. H. Gavin. The president and treasurer are the owners of the Gavin Hardware Co. of Leominster, and Mr. Gavin is one of the most experienced men in the hardware trade in this section.

He was formerly employed in this city, and from here went to Leominster to promote a hardware business for the 'W. A. Fuller Lumber Co., managing It for a while and then taking It separately and developing It to one of the largest and most successful industries of its kind in the county. Three years ago, Mr. Fuller and he combined in the Fuller Hardware Co., founded in this city, and, less than two years ago, the younger Mr. Gavin was admitted to the corporation.

The business has been advanced with singular rapidity and success, Mr. Gavin's previous career in this city giving him the favor and confidence of many people, and this first welcome being strengthened by the facilities and extensive accommodations offered by the concern.

The Fuller Hardware Co. stands as one of the foremost in its field, and is one of the establishments that does credit to the city of Fitchburg as well as to its enterprising owners.

Rollstone Tailoring Co

It is by satisfying customers that the reputation of the Rollstone Tailoring Co. has been gained, for though it is a comparatively new concern, it is one of the most reliable, and has a patronage equal to that of any similar business in this section.

As makers of both men's and women's clothing, the Rollstone Tailoring Company has attracted a trade that is satisfied only with the best. To this end cloths for suits or garments are kept in stock and the most seasonable fabrics are shown. Trimmings, linings, etc., are also carried, so that the customer need only make his or her selection and be sure of a suit or garment that is stylish, perfect-fitting and distinctive.

Ready-made garments are turned out by the hundreds or thousands and have no particular personality. With the custom tailor it is different. Cus- tomers select the cloth most becoming, have it made for their special requirements, and fitted to their own forms, consequently the really nobby suits, coats, skirts or trousers come from the custom tailor, and the Rollstone Tailoring Company, under the proprietorship of Vincent Matulewicz, is one of the most expert representatives of this trade in Fitchburg.

The company was formed in 1904, and shortly afterward located at 145 Main street, where one of the bestlighted, most commodious and wellequipped work-rooms in this city is occupied. The warerooms are in the front of the same building, and as many as twelve people are employed in the busy seasons.

Mr. Matulewicz has been in this country 19 years, always pursuing his trade of custom tailoring, and has been employed in such fashion centers as Boston, Washington and Baltimore. He is an expert in men's and women's tailoring, and has skilful people In his employ, so that every part of a garment which he turns out represents thorough workmanship. Since coming to our city in 1904, Mr. Matulewicz has continually extended his transactions and added to his patronage and reputation. The Rollstone Tailoring Co. is regarded as one of the leading concerns in this city, and its proprietor Is known as a business man of integrity, and a citizen identified with the community's best interests.

B. A. Cook & Co

That Fitchburg presents a fertile field for wholesale as well as retail mercantile transactions is evinced by the number of concerns that successfully cover these enterprises. Among them is the Wall Paper House of B. A. Cook & Co., 9 and 11 Oliver street, one of the largest and most extensive dealers in this kind of merchandise in this section of the state, and whose trade extends to several adjoining states as well, giving our city a service that is wholly and thoroughly complete.

This concern shows between four and five thousand patterns of wall papers, occupying the most of their block on Oliver street, including the large basement, and has the capacity to display this immense assortment with unusual facility and accommodations to attend expeditiously to all shipments.

The store is arranged in the most attractive manner with panels and landscapes in wall paper. The most modern equipment for exhibiting the stock is utilized, and the customer has the best of opportunities to examine colors and textures.

The number of patterns of both foreign and domestic papers dealt in is sufficient evidence of the fact that almost every product of the manufacturer and importer is shown here. The most beautiful and costly designs are carried, and the person who has only a small amount of money to expend is given an equally wide selection.

The solid colors that are largely demanded nowadays are shown in every quality. Conventional and unique designs are carried, and there is every color or shade that the decorator or consumer can use in this line.

Handmade papers with rare patterns are among the exclusive goods shown here, such as are displayed generally only in the largest cities. This concern also attends to paper hanging with the same skill it devotes to the purchase and arrangement of its stock. Moldings of all kinds are dealt in, and though these two lines comprise the entire operations of this house, from twenty to twenty-five people are kept employed practically the year round.

The transactions of the company through other parts of Massachusetts, and in Vermont and New Hampshire are conducted by some two hundred agents of B. A. Cook & Co. These are generaliy paper-hangers and painters who are supplied with a series of some seven books containing samples of the stock handled here. One of the proofs of the volume of business done by this Fitchburg establishment is that the amount of paper that is cut up into samples equals the entire amount that is used by some retail concerns in their season's business.

B. A. Cook, the proprietor of thi.s concern, has been a business man in this city for the past twenty years. Originally succeeding the paint concern of George W. Hurd, for eight years he was on the JIain street site now occupied by the Woods company. In 1903 h e consolidated with the Fitchburg Hardware company, withdrawing three years later, and giving particular attention to wall paper trade, with the result that late in 1908 he erected the block on Oliver street, the main portion of which he himself occupies, and planned the premises for the convenience and improved handling of the trade he had then and which he has subsequently increased.

The business is one which successfully demonstrates the resources of our city in wholesale as well as retail trade. It provides an establishment not duplicated in any but the largest cities, and its sound and wide reputation brings reflected credit upon our city as well as upon the advanced it to its

O. S. Cook & Sons Co

A community should be resourceful, and having a number of principal manufacturing concerns, there should he auxiliary organizations or enterprises that cover the different fields related to the others, and yet independent in their own facilities and markets.

In this class of indusfries may be listed the firm of O. S. Cook & Sons Co., manufacturers of wood boxes and Shooks, at 64 Westminster street. The company, incorporated the first of January, 1910, has for its officers the foliowing: Oman S. Cook, president; Oman S. Cook, Jr., treasurer; Cassius Cook, secretary.

The business and premises was purchased by Oman S. Cook in the spring of 1903, and the eight years succeeding have been productive of remarkable expansion, improved facilities and capacity. and a volume of business that is four or five times as large as was formerly done.

The building is one of the manufactories of West Fitchburg, and its early employment was for the making of agricultural implements and boxes, but the latter development soon assumed the greater importance, so that the factory was finally given over to box making; and this was the business purchased by Mr. Cook from R. A. Leonard.

Practically all of the cotton mills in our city are provided with their best boxes by this concern; the paper miils are also permanent customers of this house, and Fitchburg's shoe factory has its packing cases made here.

But the reputation of the concern is not entirely local, and some of its largest orders are made for outside enterprises, conspicuous among them being a piano concern in New York which has all its boxes and cases made here, the demand averaging thirty carloads a year. As this piano house is one of the largest and best-known in this country, the fact that it orders its Shooks of the Fitchburg concern is proof of the superiority of the Cook Company products, both in workmanship and prices.

The company has at its West Fitchburg plant a large building of three floors. Much new machinery has been added under the present ownership, so that operations are conducted in the most modern manner, and any improvement that assists in rapidity and economy is installed when the value of the invention has been tested.

Last year a Gale machine for shooks, which does accurate and quick work, w'as installed, and very recently a new band resaw superseded the older pattern that had been in use.

From twenty to twenty-five workmen are employed, and pine, hemlock, and spruce lumber are turned Into finished products at the rate of 200,- 000 feet a month. Four teams are used for shipments and local deliveries, the corporation owning its stable in this vicinity as well as its factory.

Oman S. Cook, the senior member of the company, is a resident of Leominster, and in that city followed two or three different lines of industry. He is a skilful mechanic, who has been engaged in carpentering, chair manufacturing, and piano making in this country and Canada. He was the builder of forty-two houses in Leominster, all of which he sold except the one he retains for his own residence.

Oman S. Cook, Jr., the treasurer, has been associated with his father for three years, and Secretary Cook has been with the concern one year.

The corporation is one of the most soundly-rated in our city, and its progressive and upright management has resulted in a productiveness and success that has by no means reached its limit.

Bruce-Hibbard Electric Co

No field of operations has been so widely extended and developed in the past fifteen or twenty years as that of electricity. This once untrained current has been put to uses that were

The business was incorporated the first of this year and has for its officers Edward A. Bruce, president and treasurer: Albert E. Heustis, vice-president; Paul Fielden, secretary.

Office And Salesroom

hardly dreamed of in early days, and the purposes for which it yet may be applied are doubtless as numerous as those for which it is now employed.

It is most necessary, then, that companies engaged in electrical contracting should be particularly alert and enterprising, and in the Bruce-Hibbard Electric Co., with office and salesrooms at 5 Oliver street, Fitchburg has a concern that compares favorably with any simiiar organization in New England. In fact, as this concern's operations are quite as heavy outside as inside this city, it may be assumed that it has facilities equal to any contractors in this part of New England, and that it can make as favorable prices and perform as satisfactory workmanship as its keenest competitor.

The company is fully equipped to perform any work in power or lighting, and the installation for a manufacturing plant, public building or business block or residence is executed with the highest efficiency.

The installation of private telephone systems, burglar alarms, illuminating facilities, electric bells, fans, etc., are most frequently demanded, and all necessary materials are handled by the concern and the wiring scientifically done.

Some of the recent contracts of the company were the installation of lighting and power for Crocker, Burbank & Co., and the Fitchburg Paper Co., by which the Connecticut River Power Co. will furnish Crocker, Burbank & Co. with eleven hundred horsepower. Lighting and power contracts have been executed in Vermont and Maine. That of The Edward Mfg. Co. in Augusta, Me., covered a period of nine months and 30,000 pounds of copper was used on this job. The postoffice building in Fitchburg, Leominster High school, the Agricultural college of Amherst and Amherst college are some of the lighting contracts that were carried out in earlier years.

An average of thirty people are employed and this number in busy seasons is extended to forty or fifty; complete lines of electripal goods are shown in the salesrooms on Oliver street, which are up-to-date in arrangement as well as stock.

This company, first established in 1898, made a number of improvements to Its property two years after and an attractive front was constructed and new floor rnace added.

Mr. Bruce was engaged in electrical work and general construction a number of years before the firm was founded, and has been the practical head of its administration and operation from the first. The other two members of the corporation have been employed here a number of years and have gained a practical and valuable experience in this industry.

The concern is one that caters completely to the demands of its home city, and in entering other territories has gained a prestige for itself and indirectly for Fitchburg, as the headquarters of such a progressive and capable organization.

Charles J. Derick

Though we often hear the complaint made that the harness business and other enterprises connected with the horse trade are falling off each year, this condition of affairs does not affect men of experience and recognized reputation. The advent of the automobile may have made some difference in the number of people engaged in horse or stable dealings, but it Is usually found that the weak ones were weeded out, and men of ability have not been affected.

Among the concerns that have steadily forged ahead is that of C. J. Derick, 40 Day street, and as the proprietor of this business has been engaged in the harness trade for thirtyfive years, it is easy to see why he is patronized, and why his trade has remained constant to him.

Mr. Derick is the manufacturer of harnesses that are masterpieces of workmanship. The proper material is used, excellent work put into every part of the construction, and measurements carefully followed, so that strong, durable, and excellently-fitting harnesses are the products here.

They are especially desired by concerns whose horses have heavy loads to draw, when the harnesses are tested most severely. The goods made by Mr. Derick have always come up to the highest requirements.

All kinds of stable and horse supplies are handled, mats and robes for automobiles and carriages, dog collars, and other leather goods. Mr. Derick's shop is one of the best-known in this section. One or two capable men are employed.

Mr. Derick has been on Day street for the past thirteen years; for eleven years across the street nearer Main, and for two years in his present location. He was for eight years located in Winchendon before coming to Fitchburg, and has had altogether some thirty-five years' experience in his Industry.

Goodrich Clothing Co

Though the name of Goodrich has long been connected with the clothing trade in Fitchburg, the management of the business has passed into other hands, who uphold the sound and staunch reputation of the old house, while maintaining the most up-to-date and progressive methods of modern merchandising.

The store occupied bj' the Goodrich Clothing Company, 149-151 Main street, is one of the largest and most attractive in this city, and its central location has always made it desirable for the clothing trade. The integrity that has marked its management has been of influence in making the site a

Clothing Co. in our city, and this concern is patronized by discriminating buyers who are judges of material and prices, and know when they are getting particular value.

Men's furnishings handled by this concern are bought in the same manner, and one of the largest and best lines of furnishings in this part of the county is shown by the Goodrich Clothing Co. The stock of hats, caps, neckwear, etc., is kept complete and up-todate by the continual addition of new stock.

The store has been recently improved so that counters, cases and cabinets are of the latest invention and utility, and the stock is exhibited in tasteful and convenient arrangement, where it can be inspected without mussing or unnecessary handling.

The old reliable Goodrich Clothing Co. of this city is now composed. of F. E. Hartwell, Danbury, Ct., president; C. A. Wheelock, Springfield, treasurer; E. W. Alley, Fitchburg, secretary and manager.

Mr. Alley has been connected with the Besse-Foster Company for twelve years, and is an expert clothing man. He has attained a most desirable and creditable standing in our city for himself and for the company which he represents.

German Co-Operative Grocery Co

It is particularly appropriate that a cooperative grocery store should have been successfully developed by German stockholders, and by managers popular and reliable one, and under the present proprietorship there has been a marked increase in transactions, the patrons of the old concern finding satisfaction in trading here, while the inducements offered are sufficient to constantly attract new patronage.

The company, representing the Besse-Foster system of clothiers, has at its disposal unusual facilities for buying, inasmuch as there are thirtyeight stores iwhich combine in the wholesale market, and each one gets the benefit derived from purchasing in such enormous quantities.

Goods are particularly manufactured for this concern, and with such a territory to cater to, it is practically needless to say that makers offer inducements in prices and stock. The trademark of the firm is registered on these goods, and each house stands back of the clothing it offers. The advantage which a firm enjoys through buying in such quantities, is shared with the consumers. Buying at the lowest possible price, the firm can sell at a corresponding figure. Being sought by wholesalers and manufacturers, they can in a measure make their own stipulations, demanding the best fabrics, and the most skilful workmanship.

of this nationality, as the Fatherland is one of the countries where the community idea has been most carefully promoted and fostered. But though Germany is most earnest in nurturing the cooperative idea, the German Cooperative Grocery Co. has been advanced through American progressiveness and an up-to-date alertness, peculiar to no country, but characteristic of the modern business men who are located in our city.

The German Co-operative Grocery Co. was incorporated in June, 1897, with a capital of $5000. The object of cooperation - to assist every one associated together in such a body - Is especially well carried out by this concern, since no one is allowed over four shares of stock, and there are now two hundred stockholders. The business was begun in a small space on Leighton street, and about ten years ago the building at 106 Kimball street was erected, and has been occupied since. It affords ample capacity for the large stock carried, and one of the finest lines of imported, domestic, and fancy groceries anywhere shown in our city, is dealt in here. Selected assortments of canned and bottled goods, household utensils, kitchen ware and other commodities of this nature are handled in great quantity, and five people are employed, and

The cooperative idea is that through organization, goods can be bought for the lowest possible price, and sold at the same ratio. This principle is maintained by this company.

The officers of the corporation are August Doehla, president; Adam Pensel, secretary; Otto C, Sammett, manager and treasurer; Paui Haenisch, auditor; John Sammett, Paui Demmler, Kari Uhiig, George Popp, and Adolph Riedel, directors. All are representative German-Americans and respected residents of this city. Manager Sammett has been connected with the company for eleven years, and his enterprise and ability have been exercised for the benefit of the stockholders, so that every policy pursued, and every economy realized, has been shared by ali.

The company stands among the sound and upright business concerns in our city, and the officers have been loyal to it. In gaining a reputation for the corporation they have also won regard for their own astuteness and integrity.

nine years has annually added to his patronage and reputation, being regarded as one of our leading florists and as a public-spirited citizen, who gives his encouragement and support to any movement that promises the welfare of this community.

Fitchburg Baking Co

Though the reputation of any concern is likely to correspond well with the number of years it has been established, the modern efficiency of such a plant as the Fitchburg Baking Company's must be taken into account as well, else the result will be short of that warranted by the facts.

The company s property on Circle street has been completely renovated and improved in recent years; and no manufacturing bakers in Worcester and it is said of one driver, Henry Smith, now retired, that he loaded his wagon here for more than forty years. The business is now owned by Charles O. Swanson and Arthur G. Swanson.

Charles O. Swanson, for seventeen years a baker in this city, has been a partner for ten years, formerly with Swan Nelson, later with his brother, Arthur, who succeeded Mr. Nelson last year. He is one of the most thorough and experienced men in this industry in the county. Arthur Swanson supervises the outside transactions.

his ability has been so well recognized that he numbers among his patrons some of the most fastidious ladies in Fitchburg and surrounding towns.

Stock or samples are shown in his rooms, and the most seasonable fabrics are dealt in, all the linings and trimmings are provided, and for a suit or separate garment, Mr. Greenberg produces the latest styles and clothes that are perfectly fitting, to which the most expert workmanship has been applied. Five capable people are employed.

So well known is the Waymoth woodturning lathe that the appellation of "wood, turning" is not used half the time, and the designation is simply the "Waymoth lathe." That is sufficient for any one who knows about the wood-turning business, for it was the first lathe invented and put on the market for wood turning. Though this was years ago, the house of Waymoth has continued the ieader in this field, making modern improvements on the old model and taking out patents in later years.

The lathe is used today in practically every wood-turning establishment in this country, and is also in demand in the export trade. It is the lathe that for all short varieties of wood turning does the work most efficiently, expeditiously and economically.

It is especially demanded by makers of handles for knives, cutlery, umbrellas or sunshades, of knobs, spools and druggists' boxes, and for such work has never had a superior since it was placed upon the market.

The plant at Newton place has long been occupied by this concern, and whiie the invention of the Waymoth lathe was of the first importance, its reputation has been maintained by the thorough and experienced supervision that is given to its manufacture. The design shows the proper proportions, the best of material is used, and the most skilful workmanship is employed, so that in durability as well as in efficiency, this lathe meets the requirements of practical wood turners. Eight men are employed on the average, and the business is conducted by C. H. Waymoth, a son of the inventor.

It was in 1857 that A. D. Waymoth made his invention, and the first patent was taken out. Later, in company with Hale W. Page, he went to Brandon, Vt., for white birch, then to Bristol, Vt., returning here in the early sixties. The company made quite a feature of manufacturing pill boxes with the Waymoth lathe, but as the machine more and more supplanted hand work, the facilities of the oontpany were devoted to manufacturing the lathes.

C. H. Waymoth entered the business with his father in 1878, and has been sole proprietor since 1901, though continuing the old firm name of A. D. Waymoth & Co.

The company stands at the head of the baking business in this city, is a concern that is known and relied upon in many other communities in this part of the state.

Under the proprietorship of C. W. Moeckel since 1902, the greenhouses at 17 Summer street have been advanced to their greatest degree of efficiency. These hothouses are among the oldest established in Fitchburg. Always conducted by expert florists, they have had an enviable reputation that has been greatly enhanced by Mr. Moeckel's skill and enterprising methods.

The principal plant comprises three greenhouses, and a "lean-to" furnishes three smaller houses, so that In all some 7500 square feet of glass is contained in the property.

It is one of the best patronized floral establishments in our city, and for speciai designs, decorations or landscape gardening, no concern can show more skill or proficiency than C. W. MoeckeTs.

Funeral designs are most effectively made up. Harmonious colors are intertwined and original or conventional frames are filled with lasting and fragrant blossoms.

Carnations, roses, lilies and other plants of various descriptions, green stuffs and hardy plants are raised, and the stock is most carefully chosen and expertly nurtured, so that plants for the home, bouquets or cut flowers, give the greatest satisfaction when purchased here.

Decorations for weddings, public meetings or social occasions are artistically done by this concern and all the materials needed for display and pleasing appearance are furnished.

Mr. Moeckel learned his trade of florist and gardener in Germany, where thoroughness is demanded. He has been in Fitchburg for the past seventeen years, was employed for five years by one of the old greenhouse owners, and has been in business for himself for twelve years.

Bread, pies, cakes, and pastries are produced in extensive quantities, for the recent installations not only allow greater variety and better quality, but add to the capacity.

Three large ovens afford accommodations for baking, daily, five to eight thousand loaves of bread, and this is sold not only throughout Fitchburg and its suburbs, but shipments are made to all points within a radius of twenty-five miles.

The demand for sanitary methods now made by the public, as well as the pure food law, is met by the life of the most improved machinery, so that personal contact is almost unknown in the operations. Weighing, sifting, and mixing are done by machinery; revolving ovens are used for the baking of pies, and long-handled ladles are used where custard or similar pies have to be filled.

Sixty doughnuts are dropped at one time into the clean fat in which they are fried, and every operation is conducted upon a large scale. Day and night forces are employed, numbering twenty-five people. Ten teams are kept on the road.

Max F. Greenberg

The trend of the times is toward specialization, and people have gradually learned that the person who endeavors to do all things does none of them particularly well. It is the man devoted to one line of effort who becomes experienced and successful. This is especially true of the tailoring business, and though some concerns claim to do ladies' amd gentlemen's tailoring, it is found that if both lines are tried one or both will suffer.

Max F. Greenberg, the ladies' tailor in Rooms 43 and 44, Safety Fund building, has been established in Fitchburg for eleven years, and in his field has become known as a leader.

Mr. Greenberg learned his trade in his mother country of Germany, and has practiced it for many years. He has been in the United States for twenty-eight years, engaged in such fashionable centers as New York and Boston. In locating in Fitchburg, Mr. Greenberg promised to do what he was skilled for and capable of doing, and

Normandin Bros

Every growing city, like Fitchburg, offers opportunities for men who are alert and enterprising, and are capable of accepting the openings offered them. It is to the credit of many of our business and industrial men, that they have brought to our city a man thoroughly experienced in this line, and whose enterprise has been demonstrated by the policy he has put in effect, and the service he has given.

The store in relation to the hardware trade, is one of the best known in this vicinity, and was conducted by Mr. Lawrence for fifteen years. Shelf and builders' hardware in complete stock are dealt in, and a specialty is made of carriage woodwork. Wheels, rims, spokes, shafts, and other vehicle equipment are handled, and the hardware used for carriage purposes is also carried.

ticularly if they want to be well thought of. Certainly, nothing helps more to the making of a good impression than to have good-looking hands or hair, and this doctrine is accepted by business people no less than by those who have leisure, and nothing else to do, but to think of their appearance.

The trade of the Douglas Hair Store includes many people who are particular about their appearance, whether it is from social or business reasons or personal ambition.

Fitchburg Auto Co

The garage in the rear of the Fitchburg Hotel has, because of its location in that place for the past eight or ten years, become particularly well known to visiting automobilists, who are always anxious to park their car on or grasped the chances presented, and through the fertile field open to them, and by their own sagacity and energy, have developed from small beginnings large and successful results.

Among the concerns who may be listed in that class is that of Normandln Bros., with office at 276 Fairmount street, where they have transactions in coal, wood and ice, and attend to mason contracts, roofing and concreting. The business was first established In August, 1899, when trade was begun In the coal and wood line. This end of the business has been largely extended In succeeding years, and all kinds of fuel are now dealt in, hard and soft coal, long and short wood.

Two years later the ice business of J. H. Daniels was purchased, and at present, this concern annually cuts thousands of tons of Ice of excellent quality from Goodfellow pond and the Pratt road pond.

The concrete and roofing business was undertaken a year after the firm was established; in 1905 masonry contracts were taken and the concern is now one of the leaders In our city in doing foundation work, laying sidewalks and covering roofs.

Joseph and Arcade Normandin, who comprise this firm, were residents of our city for some years previous to the formation of this partnership. They give employment to twenty-five people, have a large Investment In their stock and equipment, and are men of property in their district.