BY SHAUN MORIARTY
NEWS STAFF WRITER
SOUTHBRIDGE

Dick Whitney's Walking Weekend historical tour of the American Optical (AO) may have been a wet one but it was well received. More than a dozen interested people, some were children while others were old enough to remember missing the Great Flood of 1955, braved the wind and rain Saturday morning to take a walking tour of the old AO grounds. All but a handful of those in attendance traveled north from Connecticut, armed with slickers, hooded sweatshirts and umbrellas, to listen to the area¹s leading AO historian talk about everything from William Beecher¹s first shop, secret tunnels and the demolition of what once employed more than 5,500 locals.

The tour, held as part of the 15th annual walking weekend series of tours in the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor, started underneath the gazebo on the Southbridge Town Common, land that was donated to the town by the AO. Whitney then led participants down East Main Street, over the Quinebaug River and into the old AO campus where he talked of buildings full of workers making lenses, spectacles and much more.

Whitney stopped at several buildings to discuss what operations took place in each and what, for those that are still active, is done presently. Many of the buildings are no longer affiliated with the AO but are filled with employees of Aearo, Stonebridge Press and the hotel and conference center. Whitney, an AO employee since 1974 and curator of the AO's Optical Heritage Museum, showed numerous photographs, many taken by his late father Don Whitney, an AO employee for several decades himself - showing the buildings in their heyday and the aftermath on the campus after Hurricanes Connie and Diane caused massive flooding in the area as the Quinebaug River overflowed onto the streets and into homes.

This area was devastated, Whitney said while walking down Mechanic Street towards East Main Street. This particular part of town was the hardest hit.
He showed several photographs and noted that stockholders of AO were hesitant to put money into rebuilding after the flood until they lobbied the government for Westville Dam to be built in hopes it would prevent future devastation.

Whitney also showed the entrance ways to a couple of tunnels, now blocked off from entrance and exit, that led from one AO building to another. There were also tunnels, he said, that led from the main plant to the residence of the company¹s president and owner, George Wells.

AO Founded 1833
The history of American Optical begins in 1826 when William Beecher came to Southbridge and opened a jewelry and watch shop on the corner of Main and Central Streets. Four Eyes Joke Shop currently occupies the building, somewhat fitting that the building later made famous for its spectacles would currently be occupied by a business named four eyes.

In 1833, Beecher and three apprentices began making silver eyeglass frames in the rooms above his jewelry shop  - this, Whitney maintains, is the ³birth² of the AO.
Among Beecher¹s accomplishments was the invention of machinery used to manufacture the country¹s first pair of steel spectacles and the fabrication of the nation¹s first gold frames.

Beecher¹s gold framed specs, 14-18 karats, sold for $7.50 a pair in 1850. In 1852, less than 20 years after first starting to work with eyeglasses, Beecher sold nearly 15,000 pairs nationwide. Several years later, in 1864, a 17-year-old boy George W. Wells came to Southbridge with just $100 in his pocket. Within five years, Wells was offered partnership in the business and in 1872 became the general supervisor of a new plant. In 1891, Wells, 44-years-old, became President of the AO.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history. For more information on the past and stories of the American Optical log onto www.opticalheritagemuseum.org or www.dickwhitney.net.

News Staff Writer Shaun Moriarty can be reached at (508) 909-4142, or by e-mail at smoriarty@stonebridgepress.com.

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