NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Our subject for today was a local businessman who really did issue a $1,000 challenge — a fortune at the time — secure in the knowledge that no one would ever collect on it.
As it happened, he was absolutely correct, though perhaps this was due to the wording of the challenge rather than the superior quality of his product. Nevertheless, like all great advertising schemes, it brought him success on a grand scale ... for a while, anyway. His end was tragic and his legacy is limited to North Adams.
Who was he? His name was Harry R. Hamer.
The Hamer 'Perfect Washer' that was once produced in the city.
Hamer was born in Newtown, North Wales, in 1856. Four years later his parents emigrated to the United States, settling in North Adams. At the age of 19, he entered the business world, working for 15 years as the general agent (local manager) for the Domestic Sewing Machine Co. In 1879, he married a young lady from North Pownal, Vt., and began raising a family, producing three sons and as many daughters.
It was during this period that he had an idea for a business of his own and he began developing plans for a washing machine. In 1890, he took out a patent, styling it the "Hamer Perfect Washer." He had two styles, one for use in the home and a larger model for general laundry and hotel use.
By 1898, he was selling them nationwide and on the statement that they gave "perfect satisfaction" and relieved "washday of all its drudgery."
Which brings us to the challenge:
"One thousand dollars will be given to any person who will furnish a soiled garment that can be washed clean by hand that cannot be washed equally clean with the Perfect Washer without the least injury to the fabric. The machine is simple, durable and very easy to operate. It is a labor-saver and a time-saver."
Note that he does not pit his machine against a competitor's, but against someone washing by hand; neither does he claim the machine will wash faster than by hand, only easier. And looking at an engraving of the machine, one is moved to wonder exactly how much labor it actually saved. It was not run by a motor, but by working a handle back and forth.
Be that as it may, the Perfect Washer brought him enormous success. In 1890, he bought 60 acres of land near Notch Road, high up on the hill, where he built a factory that soon proved too small to meet demand; it was quickly replaced with a two-story stone mill.
Nearby he built a mansion, which he named "Grand View," an apt name considering its location. Not far from the house, a large stone barn and stable were erected.
Active in civic affairs, he served for a year as an alderman from his ward, resigning in 1897 to run for mayor, hoping to succeed Mayor Houghton. He lost to H. Torrey Cady.
And this was not his only loss. Despite the great respect afforded him by the community in both business and civic circles and his apparent success in manufacturing, he died by his own hand in 1902. No one knows why. He is buried beneath a granite monument in Hill Side Cemetery.
Today, his Perfect Washer is remembered nowhere, except here in North Adams and by the occasional collector of antique washers.
This series is an attempt to help us get to know a particular community of neighbors, without whose vision and efforts this city would not exist. These neighbors are the residents of Hillside Cemetery. As part of our effort to restore and maintain this, the city’s oldest municipal cemetery, we hope to generate interest, funding and volunteer labor in an effort to restore it. This work is an important step in maintaining our city's heritage and civic pride. But more than this, it's a way in which we can help our neighbors; neighbors who laid the foundations of North Adams and paved the way for us.
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