The Chamber of Commerce

Excerpt from Naugatuck Daily News – Saturday, August 31, 1946
World War II - History Edition

Housing, Transportation Problems Studied By Chamber Of Commerce
Suitable Rooms, Rents Found For New Residents On War Jobs

Naugatuck’s Chamber of Commerce organized many committees to aid in war activities in the Borough, and took an active part in ministering to wartime problems on the civilian front.

The Chamber of Commerce organized an Emergency Retailers Committee, a Food Supply unit and a Transportation Committee. It participated in work to relieve the housing shortage, and assisted in war fund drives. At the close of the war it organized a Post-War Committee, composed of 13 divisions.

The Emergency Retailers unit was set up in July, 1942, with authorization of the State OPA. One of its duties was to compile and maintain the makeup of merchandise lists, and its members visited local retailers to check on the posting of price ceiling lists. The Price Panel of the local War Price and Ration Board grew out of this committee. Claremont I. Tolles headed both units.

Miss Irene L. Squires, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, was appointed chairman of the Food Supply unit in July, 1943. She was assisted by Mrs. Joseph M. Smith and Donald G. MacVicar. Functioning of the committee was limited because the shortage of food did not require extensive investigation. The unit was organized to be ready for action in the event the food situation became critical.

In January, 1943, the Chamber of Commerce organized a Transportation Committee, consisting of Donald G. MacVicar, chairman, Warden Leo J. Brophy and representatives of Borough industries. The committee conferred with the Public Utilities Commission, officials of the New Haven Railroad, and managers of bus companies in an effort to obtain better transportation facilities for war workers in the area.

The organization cooperated in finding suitable rooms and rents for new residents doing war work in Naugatuck. The subject of housing was considered at many meetings. The development of the Glenbrook Apartments and the Glenridge Estates project was an outgrowth of the committee’s work.

A house-to-house canvass to obtain pledges for purchase of Government bonds was organized by the Chamber which also cooperated with merchants in their plans for the sale of war bonds and stamps. Assistance was given to the War Fund drives, and the Chamber of Commerce office served as headquarters for the committees on each drive.

The Chamber cooperated with the Red Cross in registering donors for the Blood Bank.

It played an important part in preparations for observance of Victory Day, assisting merchants and manufacturers in their plans.

Its Post-War Committee is headed by Charles E. Brust. Sub-Divisions were formed to consider a wide variety of current problems.

Harold P. Baldwin was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce in December 1941, and held that office until the election of Philip E. Rice in December 1944. When Mr. Rice left the borough to take up residence in California in the latter part of 1945, the post remained vacant until the election of James L. Linsley in January of 1946.

Excerpt from Naugatuck Daily News – Monday, September 15, 1947
Industrial Exhibit Supplement

C. Of C. Traces Town’s Fame From Buttons, Cutlery, Rubber, Candy

As we view the products on display at the Industrial exhibit, we see the Naugatuck of 1947, a far cry from the community of original pioneers who settled up and down the valley during the 18th and 19th centuries. Suppose we were to transpose this exhibit from the present time back to the 1820’s and 30’s, or even one hundred years ago, the exhibitors and their products probably would have been:

New Haven and Baltimore Co.—Polished metal buttons.
Lucian Judd—Wooden buttons.
David Wooster—Iron wire.
Russell Bros. and Mr. Hopkins—Bone buttons and silk twist.
Orin Isbell—Bone buttons.
Anson Smith and Son—Bone and Ivory buttons.
Eban Tuttle—Hoes and farm implements.
Jared Byington—Nails.
Robert Isbell and Letson Terrell—Japanned tin buttons.
Amasa Goodyear—Round-tined forks and cast buttons.

Button manufacturing was the predominant business of the foregoing industries, and it is interesting to note that Lucian Judd fabricated the wooden buttons from the laurel and ivy which grew in abundance on neighboring hillsides, while Anson Smith had the ivory used in the manufacture of buttons “teamed” here from Meriden.

In the 1840’s, Isbell and Warner undoubtedly would have displayed wool-carding machinery, and Charles Goodyear, in his exhibit, might well have demonstrated over fifty types of articles showing how “metallic gum elastic” would prove superior to any other material—leather, silk, cotton, wool, or wood.

The growth of the rubber industry in Naugatuck from this early beginning is well known, and an industrial exhibit at a subsequent date, without proper tribute to rubber industry, would be unrepresentative of local products.

Late 19th Century—Cutlery
Among the industries appearing on the scene later in the 19th century, cutlery manufacturing was most prominent as evidenced by the following:

Union Knife Co.—Pocket knives.
Godfrey and Terrell—Thimbles.
David Pratt—Thimbles and writing pens.
John Bird—Differential pulleys.
James Bird—Tin buttons.
Union Suspender and Scrof Co.—Webbing for suspenders.

Lessee of Union Knife Co.—Pistols and pruning shears.
Gifford Manufacturing Co.—Shears and edged tools.
Connecticut Cutlery Co.—Shears, pocket knives.
Homer Twitchell and Son—Safety pins.
Naugatuck Malleable Iron Works—Iron castings.
E. F. Smith and Sons—Vegetable ivory nut buttons.
Mathew Anderson—Underwear and stockinet goods.
Naugatuck Mfg. Co.—Plumbing and steam fitting supplies.
Henry Mathews—Uniform trimmings, cavalry epaulets.

Among this latter group, Mathew Anderson is credited as being the first plant in this area equipped with automatic knitting machinery, and the impact of the Civil War is shown in the manufacturing of uniform trimmings and cavalry epaulets by Henry Mathews.

Present day manufacturers whose establishment in Naugatuck can be traced into the 19th Century, are: U.S. Rubber Company, Eastern Malleable Iron Company, The Perry Press, Inc., Naugatuck Water Company, Naugatuck Manufacturing Co., and the Naugatuck Daily News.

From the distinction of being a button center in the first half of the 19th Century to that of being one of the important cutlery centers in the last half of the 1800’s, Naugatuck has attained nationwide prominence in the 20th Century as the “Rubber Town” of America in the manufacture of rubber wearing apparel—and, in more recent years, has become widely known as the home of the Peter Paul candy bars.

Today, 8,000 Employed
Industrial Naugatuck of 1947 supports approximately 8,000 persons employed by the 23 following manufacturing industries:

  • Anderson Mfg. Co.

  • T. F. Butterfield, Inc.

  • Eastern Malleable Iron Co.

  • Elkamar Mfg. Co.

  • Footwear Division, U. S. Rubber Co.

  • Formatic Company

  • Hy-Lite Plating Co.

  • Lewis Engineering Co.

  • Naugatuck Chemical Division, U. S. Rubber Co.

  • Naugatuck Daily News

  • Naugatuck Glass Co.

  • Naugatuck Machine and Tool Works

  • Naugatuck Manufacturing Co.

  • Naugatuck Valley Engraving Co.

  • Parsons Screw Products Co.

  • Perry Press, Inc.

  • Peter Paul, Inc.

  • Risdon Manufacturing Co.

  • Roberts Plating Co.

  • J. M. Russell Mfg. Co.

  • Synthetic Division, U. S. Rubber Co.

  • Valley Buffing Co.

  • Walsh Eyelet Company

Another Excerpt from Naugatuck Daily News – Monday, September 15, 1947
Industrial Exhibit Supplement

Last Major Exhibit Held Here In 1924
Chamber of Commerce Sponsored 'Bigger Naugatuck' Program at Former Headquarters.

The theme of the borough’s first public display of what was being manufactured here was—A Bigger Naugatuck. To what extent this plea of the Naugatuck Manufacturers’ Exposition of March 8, 1924, has been fulfilled can be measured by comparing memories and records of that day with the present day industrial index as brought out by the exhibition opening tonight.

The exposition of little more than a generation ago is evidence enough of the fact that Naugatuck was very well on its way to sound industrial expansion. Booths, either displaying the already home manufactured article or housing machines in operation, represented 12 local manufacturers who had a great variety of items to show.

No less than 7,500 adults and children, by a conservative estimate, visited the attractive displays that had been arranged in the North Church street building of the Chamber of Commerce, sponsors of the exposition. (The Naugatuck Glass Co. now occupies the site.)

The many visitors found that the Industrial Exhibit Committee had staged an exhibit that was both instructive and attractive.

Against a background color scheme of red, white and blue banners and bunting for the walls and rafters stood the exhibitors’ booths in Yale blue and gold. A dominant note over the whole scene was the large sign placed over the stage, relating the borough’s slogan. And, during each evening the five-piece Winslow orchestra gave concert music; a short educational film was shown; and lucky ones won door prizes consisting of products made and donated by the participating firms.

Governor Attended

All this was officially opened to the public when Gov. Charles A. Templeton threw the switch that set the exposition machines in operation. The governor was first introduced by Chamber President George P. Young and Warden Harris Whittemore, Jr.

As the visitors moved from booth to booth they caught an industrial panorama that included a Risdon Co. machine making badges for the exposition itself, amid a display of formed metal and wire goods; the recording instruments, belt lacing and radio-products of the Bristol Co.; the display of jersey cloth, bathing suits and shoe net made by the Dunham Mills, Inc.; the malleable iron castings that were used in the many products of the Eastern Malleable Iron Co.; the vats of heavy enamels — showing their place in the industrial world — the booth of the Naugatuck Chemical Co.; the candy specialties of the Peter Paul Mfg. Co.; the many shaped, gleaming, seamless copper floats produced by the Naugatuck Mfg. Co.; the variety of rubber footwear and druggists’ sundries of G.I.R. Glove Mfg. and G.M.R. Shoe Co.’s; the representation of the Rubber Regenerating Co., manufacturers of reclaimed rubber; the Perry Press booth, housing a newly acquired commercial printer in operation; the builders’ hardware and buckles of the J. M. Russell Mfg. Co., Inc.

Largely responsible for this successful exposition was a committee headed by Mr. Whittemore. Working with the chairman were: J. R. Anderson, H. E. Benham, H. M. Billings, J. M. Russell, H. H. Bristol, C. K. Kazanjian, G. P. Young, C. P. Rodenbach, Theodore Bradbury, C. P. Rodenbach, Theodore Russell, M. Adgate, E. A. Andersen.

Another Excerpt from Naugatuck Daily News – Monday, September 15, 1947
Industrial Exhibit Supplement

Naugatuck Is Proud of Its Industries

Message From the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce

To the People of Naugatuck –

The Chamber of Commerce welcomes you to the Industrial Exhibit. For the first time in more than two decades, the citizens of this borough can see, in one place, the vast variety of products made right here in Naugatuck.

These products represent the skill, the energy, and the imagination of our local workers and management alike. They are shipped all over the country – and in many cases, around the world.

This event is not only a display – it is a celebration of Naugatuck’s industrial spirit. We hope you leave inspired and proud.

— The Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce