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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-06-28, Page 62Section 3, Page 10 THE EXETER TIMESADVOCATE JUNE 28, 1973 CANNING FACTORY - The first sod of Exeter's canning factory was turned in 1906. It was built near the site of a temperance house which was torn down and the lumber used to build the factory's storage sheds. The masonry on the factory was done by G.K. Heaman and Jimmy Jewell and operation began in 1907 with the pea pack. The brand was known as Excelsior Brand, the company amalgamated with Canadian Canners in 1923. Loan from residents aids canning factory JOTTINGS BY J.M.S. July 11, 1957 It is 50 years since the canning factory in Exeter, now a branch of Canadian Canners Ltd. went into operation and to-day it is Exeter's greatest asset and the amount of money that has been paid out to employees and to the farming community would be a revelation if the facts were known. It was in November, 1906, that the first sod was turned to erect the first factory, but considerable Work was necessary prior to that to get the company in operation. A provisional list of nine directors was formed with Joseph Snell, a banker as the first president: secretary-treasurer, J.H. Jones; directors; C.H. Sanders, A. Marchand, S. Martin, JOTTINGS BY J.M.S. Aug 21, 1958 One of the things that is rapidly disappearing with the march of civilization is the old time ice house. I was reminded of this when recalling the fire of 1920 when two ice houses were damaged by the fire. Artificial refrigeration is one of the more modern inventions and is practically a must in all up-to- date homes. When we first put a refrigerator in our home we considered it a boom for the housewife and as more and more improvements were made and a freezer compartment was added it seems as though the ultimate has been achieved for this kind of household appliance. I have known people who have traded in their old refrigerators for the one reason that they could not keep ice cream satisfactorily in the old. What would grandmother have thought of such an excuse? But speaking of ice houses. Nearly every establishment where produce was kept in the old days had their own ice house. This was true of hotels, butcher shops, restaurants where they made their own ice cream, creameries and private in- dividuals who stored the ice for commercial sale and made regular 'deliveries to the old- fashioned ice boxes, The ice house was a small building well insulated with sawdust, The ice harvest came in winter when it was considered that the ice had formed on river or creek at the most desirable spot and to a thickness of from nine to. twelve inches. Just like John Hunter, W.D. Sanders, Thos. Harvey and Col. Young, of Goderich, the latter being the only outside resident. David Gardiner moved to Exeter from Kingston to act as manager. A by-law was submitted to the ratepayers of Exeter for the purpose of loaning the company $10,000 to begin operation. The by-law received the endorsation of the ratepayers. The next step was to purchase the temperance house, owned by John Mitchell, which stood close to the railway station. This was torn down and the lumber was used for two storage sheds, one 16 x 22 and the other 24 x 48, The factory itself was 170 x 40 ft. with a 75 foot chimney. The masonry work was done by G.K. Heaman and James Jewell. These men every other crop the weather had much to do with the success of the ice harvest. During a mild winter there would be speculation as to whether the ice would be thick enough to be worth harvesting. When the time of harvest was reached the men would go to the river and with a crosscut saw with one handle, cut the ice into blocks, haul from the river to be packed away one layer after another in the ice house. When the required supply was carefully packed away it was surrounded with a fairly heavy layer of sawdust and this usually kept the ice in good condition right up until the last. The ice was paid for at so much a cord. In getting out the ice from the ice house it was sometimes difficult to locate just where the last chunk had been removed as it had to be taken out layer after layer. Then there was the water trough or bucket in which the ice was washed and cleaned and ready for use. In the making of ice cream which was all done locally the ice was cracked up, salt was added to hasten the freezing and the ice packed around the can containing the cream. Inside was a dash that as the cream froze on the side of the can it was scraped off until all was properly frozen, Then the dash was removed and the ice cream scraped from the dash and it was ready for serving. At first the freezer was turned by hand, then by gasoline motor and with electricity supplying the power larger units were installed and the making of ice cream, became a commercial en- terprise. constructed many of the brick homes throughout this com- munity. Mr. Heaman, sometime after, moved to Toronto where he continued his work as a builder. A well was sunk and a good supply of water was secured. In later years with the increased demand for water, both for cooking and cooling, a pipeline was run to the pumping station at the river. A spur line to connect the factory with the railway had to be built. Operation began with the pea pack on July 25, 1907, and the brand was known as the Excelsior Brand. Some 35,000 cans of pears were turned out in ten hours. The first ad- vertisement for help called for 20 men and 30 women, half boys and half girls. A cent and a half per pound for pears was paid to the farmer. There were a few rough years ahead for the newly-organized company. The methods of preserving were very crude compared with those of to-day. Included in the directorate before the company was amalgamated with the Canadian Canners in 1923 was C.H. San- ders, W.D. Sanders, S.M. San- ders, Dan Sanders, R.N. Creech, F. W. Gladman and L.H. Dickson. S.M. Sanders succeeded Mr. Gardiner as manager. The processor Charles Seawright was succeeded by Dan Sanders. Later Mr. L.J. Penhale became processor and in 1924 when S.M. Sanders resigned as manager Mr. Penhale took his place, a position he held until 1928 when he was appointed supervisor for the Western Ontario district and Mr. B.R. Bartow was appointed manager. Mr. Bartow was succeeded by Mr. John Boles, Mr. Boles was succeeded by Mr. E. J. Green and in 1952 Mr. Harry K. Penhale became manager, From time to time additional buildings have been added. For the first ten years the corn was husked by hand by piece work then husking machines gradually came into use. Peas and corn are the principal items canned, Tomatoes and apples were canned for a few years and then dropped. During the last war the main portion of the factory was rebuilt and a dehydration plant was installed. This latter building has been converted to a sauerkraut plant. With the pea pack in progress there are between 175 to 180 employees. The minimum staff at any time runs from 20 to 30 persons. The amount paid by the company to the farmers and employees will run to several hundred thousand dollars a year. We invite , you to have a perfect time at Exeter's Birthday Party * * * For a Perfect Coiffure SEE US AT 235-0251 I x ,...\,,, ... ' nfl''''' ,,,s . ,-- 1 .: >r. _ i - -A . 409 Main St. Sa40-eeetre HAIR FASHIONS 4 --- fine two generations 1 tEE 1 ,1 —ea* longest restaurant Restaurant food for . EXETER Serving Rether's MAIN Exeter's established ST. Sending out our best wishes for a happy centennial • • . , i , \Aitiatt„ Mary Helen Whiting Dave Grilles Joyce Cunningham With our thanks for your patronage during the past 5 years Maryhelen's HAIRSTYLING HURON ST. 235-1482 Old time ice houses gradually disappear