Page 30 - BusinessWest Macrh 6, 2023
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HOLYOKE HISTORY TIMELINE >>
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1874
The Skinner family moves their business, William Skinner & Sons, and their estate, Wistariahurst, to Holyoke following the devastation of the Mill River flood of 1874.
1877
The Sisters of Providence open Providence Hospital, the first full-service medical hospital in Holyoke.
1877
City Hall’s clock tower is complete, with the timekeeping mechanism installed.
1878
Holyoke’s Opera House opens; John Albaugh performs his titular role in Louis XI as the opening show.
1883
Holyoke has
become the greatest paper- making center in the world, with 20 mills producing 177 tons daily.
1884
Holyoke Street Railway, originally a horse-drawn streetcar system, is incorporated.
1885
Textile workers
led by German immigrants strike at Germania and Skinner Silk mills.
1890
Holyoke has a
population of 35,637, including 5,993 Irish, 7,046 French Canadian, and 1,445 German. Foreign-born residents account for almost 48% of the population.
1893
Holyoke Hospital opens. Until 1977, it is also home to the Holyoke Hospital School of Nursing.
1895
Mountain Park opens as a trolley park, featuring a dance hall, open- air restaurant, switchback railway, and merry-go-round.
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Holyoke
Holyoke’s
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, this year celebrating its 70th edition, is a great tradition for the city and the many organizations, schools, and clubs that march.
Indeed, the city has always dis- played the ability to withstand adver- sity and move on — whether it was the many challenges of becoming the nation’s first planned industrial city or reinventing itself and diversifying its economy when much of the manufac- turing moved south or overseas, or, most recently, persevering through the COVID pandemic and its many side effects.
“It’s a celebration of resiliency,” he said, adding that the city will mark the occasion in a number of ways, includ- ing a gala, an ‘Eat, Drink, and Be Holy- oke’ event, a time capsule that will be placed in City Hall and opened at the 200th anniversary, ‘150th’ merchandise (hats, key chains, etc.), commemorative beers made by local brewers, and much more. “It’s a celebration of everything Holyoke.”
Vega agreed, and noted that one
of the driving forces behind the city’s ongoing resurgence is a focus on the arts and culture. He cited businesses such as Gateway City Arts, a live-perfor- mance venue, and organizations such as Beyond Walls, which partnered with Nueva Esperanza Inc., a community- development and social-services agen- cy, to honor Holyoke’s designation as a
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to veterans, he noted, adding that, in recent years, diversification has includ- ed more retail (the city already boasts the Holyoke Mall), cannabis business- es, and strong growth in the arts and entertainment sectors.
And this diversification has strength- ened the economy and made it more resilient, he said, adding that current efforts have been focused on creat-
ing opportunities across the board
— meaning both jobs and opening the door to entrepreneurship.
“When I look at where Holyoke is today and where it’s going, it’s clear that its leaders are focused on providing economic opportunity for all, whether they be entrepreneurs who perhaps identify as Latinx or established busi- nesses that have been here for a long time,” he said. “The hope is to help everyone grow, and grow together.”
Aaron Vega, the former state repre- sentative who is now serving as direc- tor of Planning and Economic Develop- ment, agreed.
“Like a lot of cities, we’re at a cross- roads,” he said, noting that, while manufacturing has declined in recent years and decades, other sectors have emerged, such as cannabis, IT, and clean energy. One of the keys moving forward, said Vega and many others we spoke with, is that focus on entre- preneurship and helping new small businesses take root, in some cases literally.
“Like a lot of cities, we’re at a crossroads.”
“It’s very hard these days to start
a small business, but we have a lot of supports for that, like EforAll and the chambers, and people now realize, especially here in Western Mass., that it’s the downtown businesses that cre- ate the character in a community,” he said. “So we’re really trying to focus
Aaron Vega says Holyoke has many outstanding traits, especially its long history of resilience.
Staff Photo
    on that; we’re really trying to empower people who live here already to open up their own business.”
Something to Celebrate
Like many others we spoke with for this special section, Garcia said the 150th anniversary is a time of reflec- tion, an opportunity to look back at the
city’s proud history and ahead to what the next chapters might be.
It’s also an opportunity to celebrate all that Holyoke is — a proud city with a rich history, rich traditions, a diverse population, a legacy of innovation, and other enviable qualities, he said, noting that perhaps the greatest of these is resilience.
Holyoke
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 30 MARCH 6, 2023
<< HOLYOKE’S 150TH >>
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