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History of William J. Denver
Chapter # 20
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On December 27, 1922, 11 years
after the 1911 founding of the Telephone Pioneers of America in
Boston, a group of 25 New England Telephone Company employees, located
in the Western Division, were granted their Charter from John J. Carty,
then president of the Telephone Pioneers of America.
The first full meeting took place
at Springfield, Mass., on April 27, 1923 with employees present from
Western Mass., Vermont and New Hampshire with Charles H. Tasker,
General Plant Superintendent presiding. Thus was the founding of
the William J. Denver Chapter, which was set up to serve two-thirds of
the State of Massachusetts and the State of Vermont.
An outstanding and interesting
paragraph in the Charter reads as follows:
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"Reposing
special trust and confidence in your loyalty to the Telephone Service
and your devotion to its ideals and in recognition of your valuable
participation
in the development of the Telephone Arts."
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The Chapter is named in honor of
William J. Denver of Springfield, who with a pioneering spirit devoted
the greater part of his life in development of communication
facilities, not only in the Western Division, but throughout a large
segment of the New England States. He was drafted from the ranks of
the telegraphers at Western Union Telegraph Company.
From this humble beginning, Mr.
Denver went on to become Assistant General Manager of the New England
Telephone and Telegraph Company, which position he held until shortly
before his death, at Florence, Mass., on January 18, 1913.
In 1963, the jurisdiction served by
the Chapter was comprised of four councils: |
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w
Berkshire at Pittsfield
w Pioneer
Valley at Springfield
w Worcester
Council at Worcester
w Monachusett
Council at Fitchburg.
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The State of
Vermont was being served by the Vermont-New Hampshire Chapter which
encompassed the two states.
1969
Reorganization of Chapter - On
July 1, 1969, the boundaries of William J. Denver Chapter were
rearranged to cover the state area, with the exception of the
Metropolitan Boston Area, which is still served by the Thomas Sherwin
Chapter. Four of the councils of the Sherwin Chapter and their
respective Life Member Clubs, were absorbed into the Denver Chapter.
These councils were: |
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Framingham (Headquarters was in
Framingham)
w Merrimack
Valley
w North
Shore
w Southern
Mass
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1989 Reorganization
of Chapter - In May 1989, the
William J. Denver Chapter was comprised of six councils and eight Life
Member Clubs. The Councils were: |
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Berkshire
Framingham
Monachusett
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Pioneer
Valley
Trico
Worcester.
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The Life Member
Clubs were: Athol/Gardner, Berkshire, Fitchburg/Leominster,
Framingham, Greenfield, Mt. Tom, Pioneer Valley and Worcester.
1994 Reorganization
of Chapter - More changes were
made during 1994. The Alexander McLellan Chapter, which was the
state of Rhode Island, was absorbed into the Denver Chapter to be
known as the McLellan Council. The Monachusett and Worcester
Councils were combined and renamed the Central Mass Council.
Trico and Pioneer Valley Councils also combined and were renamed the
Western Mass Council. The Athol/Gardner Life Member Club was
combined with the Worcester LMC, and the Fitchburg/Leominster Life
Member Club was combined with the Monachusett LMC.
Later on, the Mt. Tom Life Member
Club was absorbed into the Pioneer Valley Life Member Club. On July 1,
1996, all active At&T Pioneer members were assigned to a chapter
in their respective new company.
Today we have five Councils: |
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Berkshire
Central Mass
Framingham
McLellan
Western Mass
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| and 10 Life
Member Clubs: |
Berkshire
Framingham
Greenfield
Monachusett
Newport |
Pioneer
Valley
Providence
South County
Woonsocket
Worcester |
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