For any small business, surviving 85 years is an astounding achievement.
But listen to Frank Halpin, second generation owner of Ansonia’s Ever Ready Press, tell the story of his own company’s history and you realize the Clifton Avenue business’ longevity is nothing short of miraculous.
The family-owned business opened on Ansonia’s Main Street in 1929, on the cusp of the Great Depression.
The business survived those hard times, but after 15 years its founder, Frank Halpin’s father, George, and his brother, Joseph, had to shut it down — to fight in World War II, no less.
They returned after service — George with the Army Engineers in Europe, and Joseph in the Navy in the South Pacific — but the company soon faced another stiff challenge, this one from Mother Nature.
The disastrous Flood of 1955 washed the company out of its original Main Street location — where Service Auto Parts and Ralph Mann and Sons stand today — so they relocated to higher ground on Clifton Avenue, where Frank Halpin is still at the helm.
“It wasn’t easy,” Frank Halpin said of the company’s early days. “We have it real easy now compared to what they had.”
And not just because there aren’t as many wars or cataclysmic weather events these days.
“It was very manual. His first presses, they didn’t have motors on them,” Frank Halpin said. “Now we have all automatics that feed 6,000 (copies) an hour, at the slow speeds.”
The business offers a range of services — “basically anything printed on paper,” Frank Halpin said — menus, fliers, brochures, business cards, letterhead.
The company also does a lot of municipal work, printing things like official forms and envelopes.
Frank Halpin has run the business since his father retired in 1974. In a few years he said he’ll hand it over to his own son, Andrew.
Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti dropped by the business Thursday (March 20) to congratulate the company on still going strong 85 years after its founding, reading a proclamation lauding the Halpins’ achievements.
After doing so, he approached Andrew Halpin to inquire whether the business’ prospects could extend another generation.
“Now, are you married?” Cassetti asked.
“Yes,” Andrew replied.
“Children?”
“A son and a daughter.”
“We’ve got the fourth generation ready then!” Cassetti said, clapping his hands.
“I’ll call you back for the 100th (anniversary),” Andrew joked with the mayor.
