Linemaster
Lensmaster®s roots can be traced back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. With a generous gift of $500.00 from his aunt and a business machinery loan from the Reynolds Company of Providence, Rhode Island, Albert Simonds founded the Simonds Machine Company in Southbridge, Massachusetts in 1937. From this humble beginning, he produced the Lensmaster line of optical machines to grind lenses of various sizes. As the business grew, he saw the need for a good, reliable foot switch to operate his equipment, which required the operator to be hands-free at all times. So he invented the foot switch, and Lensmaster® was born. His first foot switch, the Elder, was made possible by selling Als optical machine to a Chicago company called New Era. Management at a tool shop in the same building saw it and asked if they could acquire some of these switches. This request was forwarded back to Al at Lensmasters, and the ball began rolling. World War II interrupted the growth of LensMaster and delayed the development of LineMaster® however, in the early 1940s, the Junior and Duplex models were added to the Senior line and expanded Als offerings. The switch housing was made of cast iron manufactured in a Connecticut foundry and the internal switch mechanism was designed and developed by Arrow-Hart and Hegman in Hartford, Connecticut. At the end of the war, the Stepping Stone, Compact and Electric quickly followed and Mr. Simmonds felt that LineMaster® was now well positioned to fulfill its commercial destiny. LensMaster was growing rapidly and LineMaster® needed to move to a quieter and more desirable location. In November 1951, when Al Simmonds married Nancy Blakely in Woodstock, Connecticut, they began looking for a future home for LineMaster® in the Woodstock area. Bald Mountain Acres became available and was purchased on April 11, 1952 as their home, office and manufacturing facility. On May 1, 1952, Linemaster Switch Company was officially incorporated as a privately owned manufacturing plant in Connecticut. Soon, the Simmonds family needed additional space and added the first of many structures to the small wooden carriage house on the property. The mansion served as Als and Nancys home and office until 1964.