The
NOMA
Story
page two

Once the patent was granted, everyone using almost any form of a festoon-to-festoon connector now had to purchase licenses from C.D. Wood Electric in order to incorporate the device into their Christmas lighting strings. One company, the M. Propp organization, challenged the patent and lost. Small companies, who chose not to pay for the license prior to the patent being granted, found themselves strapped for cash as sales plummeted. Many of the companies gave in, and licensed the right s to use the connectors in their strings.

The time was right. The Sadacca Brothers, Albert, Henri and Leon, proposed that a trade organization be started, whereby any company who wanted to would be able to join, reducing licensing and advertising costs to everyone. The brothers, along with Louis Szel were to head up the association, aptly named The National Outfit Manufacturer's Association, and it was officially started early in 1925. Accounts of the number of companies who joined vary from thirteen to fifteen, but I do know that these companies were involved: The C.D. Wood Electric company, Szel's Five Seas Trading Company, The Tinsel Corporation of America, The Matchless Corporation, the decorative lighting division of Deal Electric, Franco, the decorative lighting division of Monowatt and The Henry Hyman Company. The United States Electric Company, better known as USALITE, joined for a short time but then broke away. A major holdout was the M. Propp Company, who continued (for a time, at least) on their own.

The Association was a great success. Smaller companies enjoyed the influx of cash brought by Association membership, and business for the Christmas selling season of 1925 was very good for everyone. Though the companies were members of the association under the NOMA name, they continued selling under their own identities. Late in 1926, it was proposed and accepted by the association members that they officially merge into one company, and the famous NOMA Electric Corporation was born. The American Christmas lighting industry was to be changed forever.

1927 Box of NOMA brand Christmas Lights	Inside view

In Christmas of 1927, NOMA Electric sold products under that new name for the first time. Aggressively marketed and advertised, the company enjoyed stellar sales. In 1928, the M. Propp Company finally agreed to merge with NOMA, and interestingly, Morris Propp, the owner and founder of that company, became the president of NOMA Electric in 1929. He held that position until his untimely death of a brain tumor in 1933.

1927-1928	1940	1948	1955	1958
A few examples of NOMA catalog covers through the years

The formation of NOMA Electric dramatically reduced the number of decorative lighting companies in business in 1927. As the market leader, NOMA began to offer a huge variety of electrical decorative accessories and lighting outfits to the public, and set the competitive example for other lighting companies to follow. Through their years of operation, NOMA Electric developed and/or marketed many "firsts", including the Tri-Plug connector (this differs from the Tatchon devices in that the Tatchons are typically found at the end of the string rather than on the wall plug itself), the adjustable berry bead fasteners to allow proper positioning of lights on the tree (acquired in the merger with Propp), intermediate base outfits for outdoor decorating, bubble lights, and the safety fuse plug (still in use today). Below is a brief timeline of some of the important events in the history of NOMA Electric Incorporated:

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