Page 56 - BusinessWest Macrh 6, 2023

THE FACES OF HOLYOKE BUSINESS >>
Valley Blue Sox
This Team Has Become a Summer Tradition in Holyoke
If you visit Holyoke during the summertime, you might catch the Valley Blue Sox in action at Mackenzie Stadium.
The Blue Sox, originally known as the Con- cord Quarry Dogs, began in New Hampshire but have since rebranded and have called Holyoke their home for more than a decade now. The team is part of the New England College Baseball League, with players coming from all over the U.S. each summer.
“Having a team in Holyoke is great for us; you have a really loyal fan base, the same fans that usually come to a lot of games, so we get to know the same people throughout the sum- mer in the city,” said Tyler Descheneaux, the new general manager. “The community really rallies around it.”
He went on to explain the team’s national impact as well as local significance.
“The purpose of this league is to try and have players that are trying to make it to that next level, to the major leagues, play summer ball,” he explained. “Our league is ranked as one of the top leagues in the entire country for summer leagues — last year, we were number
two in the entire country. It’s a highly coveted league, so a lot of MLB scouts or even college scouts will come to our games to see how these players are.”
The team is going to bat with plenty of new promotions this season, including a part- nership with Michael’s Bus Lines on a raffle, with one lucky fan winning a free bus ride
for 25 people. Additionally, opening weekend will feature a giveaway of shirts to the first 250 fans who come to the game, and these aren’t just any shirts — the team is debuting a new logo this season, and this will be the first chance for fans to sport the team’s new look.
The Blue Sox are actively involved in the community — on and off the field.
“One thing that we do every summer is we always hold different youth baseball clin- ics, which usually last a week. We always hold one in Holyoke, and that’s coming up,” Descheneaux said.
With so much in store for the team and the community, this summer seems to be shaping up to be a home run. BW
Marcus Printing
For Almost a Century, This Press Has Found Success
The printing industry has seen plenty
of changes over the past century, but they’ve only accelerated in the new cen- tury, said Susan Goldsmith, president of Mar- cus Printing.
“Technology in printing has changed more rapidly in the past 20 years than the 100 years before that,” she noted. “We have basically kept up with technology, starting with eliminat- ing film from the printing process and going direct to plate, and then getting into the digital world and most recently expanding into mail- ing as well as wide-format; we’ve become a little bit of everything to everybody.”
It’s a model that works for Marcus, she added. “We couldn’t be just a standalone digi- tal shop, or a standalone offset shop. We’re a mid-sized print shop. That’s where we’re most comfortable — not printing a million pieces, but we can print 50,000, or we can print two for you. That’s been the niche we always want- ed to serve.”
The third-generation family business was established in 1930 by Phil and Sarah Marcus at 32 Main St. in Holyoke, who moved to 109 Main St. in 1942. Back then, it was strictly a
fine letterpress printing company, installing its first offset press in 1945.
In 1961, Marcus moved to a 7,000-square- foot space in the former Skinner Mill on Appleton Street. During the next 25 years, it expanded its offset production, purchased the building, and expanded to use all of its 21,000 square feet on three floors. The current loca- tion, at 750 Main St., is a 33,000 square-foot facility, all on one floor.
The company’s 30-plus employees pride themselves on customer service, Goldsmith said. “We don’t make promises we can’t keep, and we do everything in our power to get it to you when you need it. And we try to employ as many Holyoke people as we can.”
She’s also proud of her company’s place in the Paper City.
“Holyoke has a great business community, and printing and paper have been at its foun- dation. We just had a conversation with John Hazen about work our parents did together, and I’m guessing maybe our grandparents. It’s nice to have that long-term connection with the history of what the city is built on.” BW
—Joseph Bednar
—Elizabeth Sears
56 MARCH 6, 2023
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