General Info

In lieu of expense moneys owed to him by his employer, Emerson A. Morse Sr. accepted some V. T. Borax hand soap and dispensers and went into business for himself. The year was 1938. The newly christened "E. A. Morse & Co had its headquarters at the Morse home in Middletown, where the garage served as a warehouse. Winifred Morse took care of the company books while her husband peddled soap in and around the Middletown area. Morse's soap distributorship was just becoming established when gasoline rationing during the war years hampered his requisite trips to New York City for supplies. Ever enterprising, Morse leased a gasoline service station on Academy Avenue in Middletown in 1943. Enlisting the help of this wife and children, he was able to pump gas, service cars, and continue to sell his soap products on the side. At the end of World War II, Morse relinquished the gas station to purchase an 800 square foot building on the other side of town. Though vastly extended, it is still the site of E. A. Morse & Co., Inc today.