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| Arthur Asselin (left), 13 yrs old, Dwight Mfg. Co., Chicopee, Mass., Nov 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Andrew Stefanik, (on right hand). Arthur Asslin, (on left) 118 Front
St. Been working here one year. May be 14 or 15. Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts, November 1911, Lewis Hine.
"The mills of the Dwight Manufacturing Company are at Chicopee,
three miles above Springfield, and embrace the Cabot mills, organized in 1832; the Perkins Company, in 1836; and the Dwight
Company, in 1841. These mills were consolidated in 1856, under the present name, and now have 130,000 spindles, 3,400 looms,
and upward of two miles in length of floor space. They form one of the finest plants in New England, and its goods have a
world-wide reputation. Its heavy Cabot sheetings find a market in China and Turkey, Africa and South America, while its Anchor
sheetings, Dwight Stars, and other brands of which a large variety are made have a leading reputation with the trades."
-King's Handbook of the United States, 1891 "The Dwight is an early instance of combination, absorbing the Perkins and Cabot Mills and united their factories
to its own by building in between them, till now their mill presents a frontage but a few less than a third of a mile. One
of the beautiful sights from the north side of the river is this long mill with its thousands of lights shining in the darkness."
-New England Magazine, March 1898
************************** Arthur Asselin apparently started working at the Dwight Manufacturing Company
in the year that the first photo below was taken. According to the 1901 Canada census, he was born in Quebec on February 10,
1898, to Joseph and Delia Asselin, who reported six children living with them. When the family entered the United States,
through Newport, Vermont, on October 12, 1909, they had three additional children with them. Their destination listed in the
immigration manifest was Chicopee.
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| Dwight Manufacturing Co, 1910. Courtesy of Agawam Historical Association. |
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| Old map of Dwight Manufacturing Co. Courtesy of Cabotville Industrial Park |
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