Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — Once again, we take a peek inside Jim Malley's outstanding book of his dad Ed's photos, entitled Enfield: 1950-1980, and for the second straight week, we find ourselves on Moody Road, this time on the south side of the street in 1965 at the former United States Envelope manufacturing plant.

The company was a major employer upon opening in Enfield that year. The plant produced envelopes, stationery, school supplies and paper cups. Of particular interest in this shot are the cars, most containing trunks and hoods big enough to host infield practice.

In 1989, the company name changed to Westvaco, and continued to produce envelopes for billing, financial services and direct mail advertising. However, the advent of the internet and email turned most companies into electronics and away from the mail. Consequently, in early 2009, the MeadWestvaco Corp. announced it would close the Enfield operation, eliminating all 134 jobs there.

According to Enfield land records, the property was acquired in late 2011 by Diversified Info Tech of West Pittston, PA. A few companies have had short tenures in the building since then, but no tenant is believed to be there at this time.

Here is some contemporary pictures of the property, taken by me last week.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Who was the sponsor of my Thompsonville Little League championship-winning team in 1977, and no, it was not Chico's Bail Bonds." The answer is I goofed - it was Thompsonville Farm League in 1975, and it was Alan Drug, a pharmacy formerly located on Route 5. Kudos to Jason Healy, who guessed McDonald's, and he was right; they did win the Little League title in '77. Hopefully this week I'll get the question right...

This week's trivia question:
Alphabetically, who was the last member listed in the final ninth grade class at Kosciuszko Junior High School before the merger with JFK? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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