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
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409 Main St.
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HAIR FASHIONS
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fine
two generations
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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