Lewis Wickes Hine Archives - Page 2 of 5

Hanging Around the Saloon, Chicopee Mass

August 23, 2017March 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

A group of workers hanging around outside of the Cyran & Gierlasinski Cafe on Grove Street in Chicopee, on June 29, 1916. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

The scene in 2014:

Social reformer and photographer Lewis Wickes Hine visited Chicopee several times in the 1910s, documenting child labor conditions in some of the city’s factories. The first photo here shows a group of workers hanging around a saloon at the end of the workday. It’s probably safe to assume that the cafe was Polish; the names of Cyran & Gierlasinski leave little room for doubt. By the late 1800s, Chicopee had become an industrial center, and many of the workers were immigrants, either French-Canadian or Polish. To this day, many Chicopee residents are of French-Canadian and Polish ancestry, some of whom are probably the descendants of the men in the 1916 photo. Today, the Cyran & Gierlasinski Cafe might be gone, but the Polish influence is still present; the site is now the parking lot for the main offices of the Polish National Credit Union.

Kibbe Brothers Candy, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Kibbe Brothers candy factory on Harrison Avenue in Springfield, in October 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The scene in 2014:

I have previously featured a number of photos from Lewis Wickes Hine of the National Child Labor Committee, when he traveled around the country documenting child labor conditions in the early 1900s. His work includes several Springfield companies, one of which was Kibbe Brothers Company, a candy company that had been in Springfield since 1843.

For many years, the company operated out of a building at the corner of Main and Harrison, but in 1890 they moved about a half a block down Harrison Ave, where this 1910 photo was taken. This photo is rare among Hine’s photos in that it doesn’t feature any photos, but it does show the “Girls Wanted” and “Boys Wanted” signs in the window next to the main entrance. Based on the other photos that Hine took of the factory workers, many of them were 14 to 15 years old, which was apparently the minimum working age at the time. In some of the captions, he mentions that they made between $3.50 and $4.00 per week, which in 2014 dollars would be about $86 a week.

According to Springfield Present and Prospective (1905), the factory employed about 350 people and produced over 12 tons of candy each day, which was shipped as far as California. However, the company was out of business by the mid-1930s, probably a victim of the Great Depression. Today, part of the lot is occupied by the headquarters of Hampden Bank, and the rest of it is a parking lot and parking garage.

Dwight Manufacturing Company, Chicopee Mass (9)

November 26, 2016November 20, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A group of boys at the Dwight Manufacturing Company in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in September 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The same scene in 2014:

Like the 1911 photos in this post and this post, the first photo here was taken on modern-day Route 116 in Chicopee by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. His caption reads:

“Stanislaus Matthew, 30 Cabot St., (left hand boy). Warren Butman, Nonotuck St. Has worked in spinning room since Monday. Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts.”

Dwight Manufacturing Company, Chicopee Mass (8)

November 26, 2016November 19, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Another scene outside of the Dwight Manufacturing Company factory in Chicopee in September 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The same spot in 2014:

These photos were taken from almost the same spot as the ones in this post, just turned slightly to the right. The 1911 one was taken by Lewis Wickes Hine as part of the National Child Labor Committee, and his caption reads:

“Stanley Sypeck, Jasimine St., W. Springfield. Works in the Dwight Mfg. Co., 6 months in spinning room. Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts.”

Based on census records, it is unclear who exactly this boy was, but the address gives some clues. “Jasimine Street” likely refers to what is listed as “Jasmin or Morgan St” in this map from the 1912 Atlas of Hampden County. The Jasmin name was evidently archaic, because today it is known only as Morgan Road. In the 1910 census, it is named Morgan Street, and there is a “Sypek” (note spelling) family living there. The census lists 15 members of the extended family, including not just one but two Stanleys. It gets even more complicated, though, because one Stanley is listed as being 22 and the other as being 5. Clearly, the boy in the photo taken just a year later is neither 23 nor 6, and although census records are certainly not infallible, it still leaves open the question of which Stanley this boy is.

The other possibility, of course, is that Stanley isn’t his real name; as Hine mentions in his caption to the photo in this post, the boys will often use fake names in the event of trouble. Either way, he likely lived in the house of 15 Sypeks on Morgan Road. The census indicates that they lived on Morgan Road, probably near the corner of Piper and Morgan, although the exact house number is not listed. Either way, it was probably a single-family home, which means working at the factory was probably quieter for the young Stanley than being at home.

Dwight Manufacturing Company, Chicopee Mass (7)

November 26, 2016November 18, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Two boys standing on Springfield Street in Chicopee, next to the Dwight Manufacturing Company building, in September 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The scene in 2014:

The 1911 photo was taken by Lewis Wickes Hine of the National Child Labor Committee, and was part of his efforts to document child labor conditions in the United States. Here, these two boys are posing in front of the old covered bridge on what is now Route 116 in Chicopee. The bridge over the Chicopee River is gone, as is the bridge that replaced it, and the road itself is substantially busier than the dirt road of 1911.

According to Hine’s caption, the boys are:

“Peter Pluta (right hand boy), 2 Bertha Ave. Works in spinning room. Two years there Henry Fritz (left hand), 56 Cheever St. Has worked in spinning room two or three months. Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts.”

I did try looking these boys up through census records and other documents, but Peter Pluta and Henry Fritz were not exactly uncommon names in Chicopee in the early 1900s. However, it is likely that they were either immigrants or children of immigrants from Poland (Pluta) and Germany (Fritz).

Indian Orchard Manufacturing Company

November 26, 2016November 18, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Two workers pose outside of the Indian Orchard Manufacturing Company on Front Street in Indian Orchard, Springfield, Massachusetts, in September 1911. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection.

The same scene in 2014:

The Indian Orchard Manufacturing Company was once a major employer in this neighborhood of Springfield; it was strategically located along the fast-moving Chicopee River, which was a center of industrial development in 19th and early 20th century Massachusetts. It was also one of the places photographed by Lewis Wickes Hine as part of his efforts to document child labor practices in the country. Here, two boys pose across the street from the factory. According to Hine’s caption, they are:

“Alfred Gengreau, 20 Beaudry St., Joseph Miner, 15 Water St. Both work in Mr. Baker’s room. Indian Orchard Mill. Location: Indian Orchard, Massachusetts.”

I tried looking up genealogical information on both boys to see what became of them. I could not find any information about Gengreau, although based on his name, he was probably a French-Canadian immigrant. However, I was able to find some information about Miner. Based on what I was able to gather from census records and other public records, here is what I know about him:

He was born in 1897 to Joseph Sr. and Mary Miner; Joseph Sr. finished school after the second grade and, according to the 1910 census, could not read or write. They had one other child who had died sometime before the 1900 census, and by the 1910 census the three of them lived in a company-owned housing unit on Water Street, just a short distance to the right of where these photos were taken. In 1910, Joseph Sr. worked as a crane operator.

Joseph Jr., the one photographed above, was 14 when the photo was taken; according to his 1940 census, the highest grade that he completed was the 4th grade, which suggests he may have been working for some time before 1911. A few years later, he would serve in World War I. After the war, he married is wife Mabel, and they had two children: Eleanor, born in 1922, and Wallace, born in 1931. In 1930, Joseph and Mabel were still living in Springfield, paying $18 a month in rent, and Joseph was working as a mechanic. By 1940, however, their economic situation appears to have improved; Joseph was still employed as a mechanic, but they were listed on the census as being homeowners; their home at 461 Walnut Street in Springfield was valued at $2,500.

By the 1950s, the Springfield city directories indicate that Joseph and Mabel were living on Plumtree Road in Springfield, at the time a new suburban residential part of the city. Joseph’s occupation during this time was listed as a real estate broker. All things considered, it’s impressive – he grew up working as a child laborer in a factory, living in company housing, and eventually became a real estate broker who owned a home in a relatively upscale neighborhood.

Joseph died in 1964 at the age of 67, and Mabel died in 1975. She actually outlived her younger child, Wallace, who died in 1974 at 43 years old. Joseph and Mabel’s oldest child, Eleanor, died in Springfield in 2009. It’s likely (although I haven’t researched it) that Eleanor and Wallace had children who still live in the Springfield area, and if so, I’d love to hear from them and see what else they could tell me about the young 14 year old boy in the 1911 photo, because as I mentioned, just about everything I found out is through census records, which only give information on a small piece of a person’s life.