William Paul Yoerg
Portrait of William Yoerg as mayor, 1936
32nd Mayor of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts
In office
1936–1939
Preceded byHenry J. Toepfert
Succeeded byHenry J. Toepfert
Executive Director of the Holyoke Housing Authority
In office
1939 - 1940
Personal details
BornOctober 16, 1883
South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedSeptember 26, 1957(1957-09-26) (aged 73)
Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeSt. Jerome's Cemetery,
Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
SpouseMary G. Dugan
Children1
Signature

William Paul Yoerg (October 16, 1883 – September 26, 1957) was an American politician, businessman, and the 32nd mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts. A tire salesman and garage proprietor prior to his political career, Yoerg established his company, Yoerg Tire & Rubber Company in 1909, reportedly selling more U.S. Brand tires than any other New England competitor during his time in business, overseeing it in some capacity until his retirement in 1954.[2][3] During his tenure as mayor, he presided during several WPA projects, including the expansion of Mackenzie Stadium, completion of the city's War Memorial Building, and the construction of flood controls in the downtown and Springdale.[4] He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for Lieutenant Governor in 1938.[1]

Personal life

Yoerg sitting in a service car in front of his Chestnut Street garage, 1922

William Paul Yoerg was born in South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts, on October 16, 1883, to Michael John, a mill supervisor, and Nellie Yoerg (née O'Brien). Yoerg would attend public school in South Hadley until he was 13, when he took up work as an errand boy and eventual clerk for the J. Russell & Company Hardware Store in Holyoke. At 18 he became a clerk and eventual manager for the Revere Tire Company on Main Street, beginning his automotive business career, and by the age of 23 was serving as a travelling sales representative for Diamond Rubber. On November 17, 1907, he married his wife, Mary G. Dugan of Ware at St. Patrick's Church in South Hadley, and on April 19, 1909, went on to open his own tire business.[5] Initially across from City Hall at 496 Dwight Street, Yoerg would gradually build his business over the next three decades with the phrase "Call Yoerg, 804", capitalizing on the still-relatively new telephone system.[6] He would change locations several times to accommodate his growing business until he eventually settled Yoerg Tire and Rubber at 158 Chestnut Street in 1915, where it remained until his retirement in 1954; his former garage building still stands at that address today. Prior to his election he would also serve as the president of the Holyoke Automobile Maintenance Association and on the board of directors of the Tri-County Automobile Club.[7][8]

Mayoralty

The Reynolds Mfg. plant in Springdale during the Flood of March 1936. Yoerg would advocate for the construction of the levies in Congressional hearings following the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936;[4][9] Yoerg presents an award by the United States Rubber Company to Charles Duryea for being the first to use pneumatic tires on an automobile, effectively starting the American automobile tire industry[10]

In 1934 Yoerg would run for the first time against incumbent Mayor Henry Toepfert, but this first campaign proved unsuccessful.[3] On October 30, 1935, Yoerg again took out nomination papers.[11] Although his father, a mill supervisor, had been active in Democratic politics, Yoerg's campaign and subsequent win in the throes of the Great Depression were reported as unexpected by the Boston Herald.[12] Yoerg managed to successfully posture himself as a more responsive alternative to the incumbent Henry Toepfert, with his campaign chairman labeling the mayor "dictatorial" for his refusal to enforce traffic orders passed by the board of alderman for new stop signs and traffic patterns. He would go across the city appealing to many of its clubs and groups across ethnic and class lines, reportedly holding 10 rallies in a single day, criticizing the incumbent administration's actions as opaque and unresponsive.[13] Ultimately by characterizing his opponent as autocratic, chastising Toepfert's hold over the welfare commission, and using accident statistics and appealing to his experience in the automotive industry, Yoerg was able to win over voters.[14][15] He won in an electoral upset by a margin 1,203 votes on December 3, 1935.[12]

Holyoke mayoral election, 1934
Candidates General election[16]
Votes %
Henry J. Toepfert (inc.) 10,160 45.9%
William P. Yoerg 7,163 32.4%
Simon A. Flynn 3,704 16.8%
Edward S. Alden 1,004 4.5%
John B. Donohue 65 0.4%
Holyoke mayoral election, 1935
Candidates General election[12]
Votes %
William P. Yoerg 11,216 52.1%
Henry J. Toepfert. (inc.) 10,013 46.5%
Emile P. Chasse 301 1.4%
Holyoke mayoral election, 1936
Candidates General election[17]
Votes %
William P. Yoerg (inc.) 12,369 60.6%
Robert E. Cleary 7,534 36.9%
Charles Breen 511 2.5%
Holyoke mayoral election, 1937
Candidates General election[18]
Votes %
William P. Yoerg (inc.) 9,607 47.7%
Henry J. Toepfert 7,086 35.2%
William E. Kirkpatrick 3,440 17.1%

During his tenure Yoerg would work directly with President Franklin Roosevelt, meeting with him in Springfield on August 1, 1936, on behalf of the mayors and selectmen of Western Massachusetts, and testifying before Congress, to rally for WPA funding of new infrastructure projects for flood controls, utilities, and recreation.[19][20] In 1938 he was credited with successfully lobbying for nearly $1.5 million in Works Progress Administration funds for several streets and sewers projects, equivalent to $26.7 million dollars in 2019 US Dollars.[21] Influenced by Roosevelt's fireside chats, in 1939 Yoerg would also spend a series of radio broadcasts outlining the housing, infrastructure, and other issues that needed to be addressed by the city and its counterparts in state and Federal government.[22]

Yoerg would go on to win two more elections, defeating Toepfert-favorite Dr. Robert Cleary in 1936, and Toepfert a second time in 1937, marking the beginning of the first 2-year term in the city's history. Two months before the election, in October 1939, Yoerg would drop out of the race to lead the newly-formed Holyoke Housing Authority as it planned its first project, Lyman Terrace.[23] He would perform his duties as executive director of the agency without salary until September 1940, when he would resign to resume his full-time duties managing his garage.[2]

Later life and death

Following the end of his term as director of the housing authority, for much of the remainder of his life, Yoerg would remain involved in his garage business, and as a field representative of the local Tri-County Automobile Club. He would later offer public support for controversial Mayor Edwin A. Seibel in the 1950s, who in return would appoint him to the board of the department of public works from 1953 to 1956. After a period of illness, Yoerg died at the age of 72 on September 26, 1957; he was interred in St. Jerome's Cemetery.[2]

Legacy

The former home of Yoerg's Garage, as it appeared in 2019; the building was designed in 1915 for Yoerg by Holyoke architect George P. B. Alderman.[24]

Yoerg's relatively brief tenure, left a considerable legacy in Holyoke, through the many WPA projects that he and his administration pursued, including the War Memorial Building, modernization projects of Mitchell Field and Mackenzie Stadium, modernizing of sewer systems, construction of the city's levy and pumping station systems, the implementation of modern school lunch programs, and the building of Lyman Terrace and Holyoke Housing Authority.[2][25] With Yoerg's extensive ties to the automobile industry, serving as a director of the Tri-County Automobile Club, he would however assure that the Holyoke Street Railway Company completely dismantled its tracks on city streets with the termination of trolley service in 1937.[26] Yoerg's Garage still stands today at Chestnut Street, as does Yoerg Circle in Beaudoin Village, the latter memorializing his pro bono service in helping to establish the housing authority.

References

  1. 1 2 Annual Report of the Town Officers of the Town of Tewksbury for the Year Ending Dec. 31, 1938. Lowell, Mass.: Balfe Service Co. 1938. p. 45. Democratic Party...Lieutenant Governor...William P. Yoerg of 9 Liberty Street, Holyoke
  2. 1 2 3 4 "William Yoerg, Former Mayor in Holyoke, Dies; First Chief Executive to Serve Two-Year Term Succumbs at 73". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. September 27, 1957. pp. 1–2.
  3. 1 2 Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. (1960). "William P. Yoerg". Encyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XXX. New York: American Historical Society. p. 252. OCLC 4366867.
  4. 1 2 "Statement of William P. Yoerg, Mayor, Holyoke, Mass; Comprehensive Flood-Control Plans". Hearings Before the Committee on Flood Control; House of Representatives, Seventy-Fifth Congress, Third Session on Report of the Chief of Engineers. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. 1938.
  5. ↑ "Bill+Yoerg"+Holyoke "[Unknown; shown in Google Books Snippet view]". India Rubber and Tire Review. Vol. XXVIII. 1928. p. 92.
  6. ↑ "Service and Publicity This Tire Dealer's Selling Tools; Customers Stand by Him When Price Cutter Threatens Competition". Motor World. Vol. LXXIII, no. 9. Philadelphia: Chilton Company. November 29, 1922. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "William Paul Yoerg; Executive and Civic Leader". Men of New England. New York: American Historical Company. 1941. pp. 54–55.
  8. ↑ Johnson, Clifton, ed. (1936). "William Paul Yoerg". Hampden County, 1636-1936 - Individual and Family Records. Vol. III. New York, The American historical Society. p. 68.
  9. ↑ Hearings before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors; House of Representatives, Seventy-Sixth Congress; First Session on the Improvement of the Connecticut River Between Hartford, Conn., and Holyoke, Mass. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. 1939.
  10. ↑ "New England in Motor History; 1890 to 1916". The Automobile Journal. 41: 9. February 25, 1916.
  11. ↑ "W. P. Yoerg Takes Out Nomination Papers". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. October 31, 1935. p. 12.
  12. 1 2 3 "Two New Mayors Elected". Boston Herald. December 4, 1935. p. 9. Yoerg polled 11,216 votes against 10,013 for Toepfert, while Emile P. Chasse ran far behind with 301.
  13. ↑ "Yoerg Criticizes License Board's Acts; Promises if He is Elected Licenses Will Not Be Granted Near Churches". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. November 27, 1935. p. 13.
  14. ↑ "Garvey Assails Mayor Toepfert; Yoerg Chairman Says He Is Too Dictatorial—Traffic Policy Criticized". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. November 20, 1935. p. 9.
  15. ↑ "Yoerg Declares Mayor Runs Welfare Board; Candidate Says Majority of Board Does as Toepfert Wishes". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. November 24, 1935. p. 24.
    • "Yoerg Continues Attack on Mayor; Takes Up Welfare Slip Question and Says 'Fault Lies Entirely in Mayor Toepfert's Relief Department'". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. November 26, 1935. p. 17.
  16. ↑ "Mayor Toepfert is Reelected as Holyoke's Mayor; Yoerg Second and Flynn Third - Bonvouloir Wins From Shea in Contest for Treasurer". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 5, 1934. p. 2.
  17. ↑ "Holyoke". Boston Herald. December 2, 1936. p. 8. The vote was: Yoerg, 12,369; Dr. Cleary, 7,534; Breen, 511
  18. ↑ "Toepfert Second and Kirkpatrick Runs Poor Third". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 8, 1937. p. 1. Mayor William P. Yoerg was reelected today over former Mayor Henry J. Toepfert by more than 2500 votes, the figures being 9607 to 7086. Representative William E. Kirkpatrick ran a poor third with 3440 votes
  19. ↑ "August 1st, 1936". Franklin D. Roosevelt, Day by Day. The Pare Lorentz Center at the FDR Presidential Library. 2011. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Yoerg Will Talk to the President on Flood Control; Holyoke Mayor Delegated to Other Valley Executives to Express Fears of Floods Unless River Is Dredged". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. August 1, 1936. p. 2.
  21. ↑ "Yoerg Gets $1,476,299 Slated for WPA Projects; Will Permit Employment of 2385 Persons During the Coming Year—Sewer Construction Work, the Largest Item". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 28, 1938. p. 10.
  22. ↑ "Mayor W. P. Yoerg 'Goes on the Air'". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. February 1, 1939. p. 8.
  23. ↑ "Yoerg Quits Race to Head Holyoke Housing Project; Mayor Sees New Job Important to Democracy and Has Found Official Life Wearing". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. October 3, 1939. p. 1.
  24. ↑ "Holyoke, Mass". The American Contractor. Vol. XXXVI. October 22, 1915. p. 47.
  25. ↑ "Plans are Completed for Opening of Field". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. July 27, 1937. p. 7.
  26. ↑ "Street Railway to Remove Tracks". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. July 13, 1937. p. 10. At a conference held this morning between Mayor Yoerg and L. D. Pellissier, president of the Holyoke Street Railway company, the latter agreed to co-operate with the city in any manner desired by the mayor.
External videos
video icon Civic Holyoke by Albert Labonte, silent film, March 22, 1937; Yoerg shown signing papers in "Room 1" from 2:12 to 3:10
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