South Boston is home to countless Irish-American families who settled here when they first came to America. It is also the hotbed of Beantown politics and their famous St. Patrick’s Day breakfast roast of everybody and anybody who wants to play in the local or national arena. Tradition is steep in South Boston and if you have any desire to hold public office, you had better show up down there for the parade and breakfast, or just don’t bother running.

Another great tradition on Old Colony Avenue in South Boston is the Cole Hersee Company. This is a third generation family business that to this day follows the sound principles established when they first founded the company: develop new and innovative products and manufacture only the finest, solidly reliable products.

The company’s rich history dates back to the dawn of the automobile age in America. The Henry Cole Company was founded in 1914, as a manufacturer of lamp sockets and the FC Hersee Company was an old established machine shop. The companies were combined in the 30’s, and the name was changed in 1941...a name that is synonymous today with high quality and reliable electronic switches and related products.

The $50 million dollar company now specializes in high quality, long-lasting, specialized products for industries that require higher quality tolerances and can be customized to unique applications. One of the industries they serve is the RV industry. Don Mayer, Vice President of Marketing, says, “We probably only do 5% of our business in the RV industry and should certainly be doing more, given the manufacturing expertise A privately held business built on reliable and durable products. that we can offer to quality conscious OEM’s. We market our products direct to OEMs and through a series of distributors who service the RV industry. Our sales team calls on customers to introduce them to the company and the products that we can manufacture for this industry.”