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| Arthur Asselin (front left), Chicopee, Massachusetts, November 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Group of workers in Dwight Mfg., Co., Joseph Polchlopek, (tallest
boy in middle, front), 37 West Front St. Last night he gave his name as Joseph Waraszy, 19 Dublin St. To-day he corrected
it. Joseph Ciosek, Next to Joseph P. (to the right), 74 School St. Works in spinning room. Andrew Stefanik, next to Joseph
P. (to the left), 4 Exchange St. Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts, November 1911, Lewis Hine.
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| Photograph taken from same spot in 2009. |
According to the 1910 census, the Asselin family was living at 118 Front
Street, the address Hine attributed to Arthur in his photo a year later. The parents indicated that they were married in 1892,
had nine children still living, and eight deceased. Arthur's father was a moulder in a brass mill, two adult daughters were
working in the Dwight mills, and one son was working for the street department. Their home was one of the many row houses
across the street from the Dwight mill. Some, including the one occupied by the Asselins, have since been replaced by a small
shopping center. Arthur married Matilda in 1919. In the 1920
census, they were listed as boarders in a home at 20 Depot Street, in Chicopee. He worked as a polisher for an undetermined
company, and she was a twister at the Dwight mills. By 1930, they had moved to 189 South Street, also in Chicopee. Arthur
was listed as a carpenter, and he and Matilda had four children, including four-year-old Lillian, who I subsequently found
still living in Chicopee. I interviewed her and her daughter, Theresa, neither of whom had seen the Hine photos.
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| Dwight Mfg. Co. & houses where Arthur once lived. Date unk. Courtesy of Agawam Hist. Assn. |
Interview with daughter and grandaughter, and more photos
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