Hey everyone, welcome to another JAM packed blog post on the Howe Sound Cooperative Cannery!
The area in and around Howe Sound is really great for growing many different things especially berries. This was great until excess berries started to spoil. To solve this issue some members of the Howe Sound farmers Institute decided to start a cannery to deal with the extra fruit.
The official start of the Cannery came on May 16, 1921 when a committee was formed to start and run it. A starting capital investment of $500 dollars was needed to begin the Cannery, that's $8,215 today. The money was raised by selling shares for $25 each and the Cannery was incorporated on December 28, 1921.
The area in and around Howe Sound is really great for growing many different things especially berries. This was great until excess berries started to spoil. To solve this issue some members of the Howe Sound farmers Institute decided to start a cannery to deal with the extra fruit.
The official start of the Cannery came on May 16, 1921 when a committee was formed to start and run it. A starting capital investment of $500 dollars was needed to begin the Cannery, that's $8,215 today. The money was raised by selling shares for $25 each and the Cannery was incorporated on December 28, 1921.
The staff of the Howe Sound Co-operative Canning Association, on Henry (Cannery) Road, circa late 30s. The cannery used berries from local growers to make top rated strawberry, raspberry, loganberry, blackberry and plum jam. SCMA #513
For the Cannery land was originally leased from John Wiren for $1.00 a year (I wish things were still like that) before being bought out entirely for $150 in 1925, that's $2,738.33 today. Construction of the 16' by 20' one-storey Cannery began in February 1922 adjacent to Payne creek which provided it with water. The Cannery was built by 17 volunteers and was ready for berry season that same year.
Over the Cannery's lifespan two cooking methods were used to make its jam. The first method was the Timed Cooking Method used from 1922 to 1929 with this method. The jam would be cooked in large copper pots over an open flame. Once ready, it would be placed in cooling pans, which resembled large troughs with a valve on the end and stirred for a short time to cool. After, the jam would be packaged in 4 lb. tins, sealed, and labeled, then stacked in a pyramid to finish cooling. This method did cause some consistency issues in the jam.
The second method was the Steam Cooking Method, introduced in 1930 and used till its closure in 1952. This method, as the name implies, used steam from a steam plant built outside to pump steam into steam jackets wrapped around very large kettles. There the jam would be cooked to a temperature of 224 degrees Fahrenheit. It would then be cooled in the troughs and processed into tins like before. Perfecting this method of cooking was credited to Jake Hintsa.
The actual making of the jam would last until growing season was over. With the workers averaging 8-10 hour days on one shift. During peak times, like in 1931, they needed to have two shifts to make the jam. This was done in a building with no electricity or plumbing so all work was done by sunlight and coal oil lamps.
Over the Cannery's lifespan two cooking methods were used to make its jam. The first method was the Timed Cooking Method used from 1922 to 1929 with this method. The jam would be cooked in large copper pots over an open flame. Once ready, it would be placed in cooling pans, which resembled large troughs with a valve on the end and stirred for a short time to cool. After, the jam would be packaged in 4 lb. tins, sealed, and labeled, then stacked in a pyramid to finish cooling. This method did cause some consistency issues in the jam.
The second method was the Steam Cooking Method, introduced in 1930 and used till its closure in 1952. This method, as the name implies, used steam from a steam plant built outside to pump steam into steam jackets wrapped around very large kettles. There the jam would be cooked to a temperature of 224 degrees Fahrenheit. It would then be cooled in the troughs and processed into tins like before. Perfecting this method of cooking was credited to Jake Hintsa.
The actual making of the jam would last until growing season was over. With the workers averaging 8-10 hour days on one shift. During peak times, like in 1931, they needed to have two shifts to make the jam. This was done in a building with no electricity or plumbing so all work was done by sunlight and coal oil lamps.
Welton (Welt) Palmer with two pails full of strawberries from his farm on Russell Road near Gibsons. These strawberries would be sold to the Howe Sound Co-operative Cannery for use in making the cannery's "Malkins Best Gibsons Landing Pack" jam. SCMA #1554
Now that you know about how the jam was made you might wonder where the berries came from? And since I can't publish half a blog I'll tell you! Berries for the Cannery came from all around Howe Sound. The Benns, Berdahls, Kullanders, and Rhodes families were a few of the larger producers although there were numerous smaller growers. Farmers would hire locals to help pick and clean berries before sending them to the Cannery, which only accepted the best berries to maintain its high quality jam. Once at the Cannery farmers would be paid 50% upon delivery and the rest at the end of berry season.
So they now have everything they need to make jam so how did it go? Very well! For their first year of sales they sold their jam under the patented "Four Square" brand. With this jam they entered the London exhibition and won the British Empire Trophy. Safe to say it was good jam. Their only problem was marketing it, as they lacked marketing skills and connections to market their product. During this time the W. K. Malkins company in Vancouver was contacted and became their wholesale distributor. They had to make some concessions, the biggest being that the jam would be sold under the "Malkins Best" label. However, Gibsons Landing was added onto the tin so people would know it was their famous jam. We have some recreations of these on display in the Museum so you can come and see them with your own eyes!
On a good year the Cannery could produce 5,000 cases, about 60,000 tins, meaning they made around 240,000 pounds of jam! That is a lot of jam. Of course, this wasn't every year but it shows just how much jam the Cannery was able to produce.
This award winning 4 lb. tin of jam would set you back $1.25, that is over $22 today! If that blew your mind then wait till you hear the wages. Some members of staff were contracted out for the season while others were paid 0.25 cents and hour... that's only about $4.46 today. Prices and wages would change with inflation and other factors but these early numbers show just how much prices have changed in almost 100 years.
So they now have everything they need to make jam so how did it go? Very well! For their first year of sales they sold their jam under the patented "Four Square" brand. With this jam they entered the London exhibition and won the British Empire Trophy. Safe to say it was good jam. Their only problem was marketing it, as they lacked marketing skills and connections to market their product. During this time the W. K. Malkins company in Vancouver was contacted and became their wholesale distributor. They had to make some concessions, the biggest being that the jam would be sold under the "Malkins Best" label. However, Gibsons Landing was added onto the tin so people would know it was their famous jam. We have some recreations of these on display in the Museum so you can come and see them with your own eyes!
On a good year the Cannery could produce 5,000 cases, about 60,000 tins, meaning they made around 240,000 pounds of jam! That is a lot of jam. Of course, this wasn't every year but it shows just how much jam the Cannery was able to produce.
This award winning 4 lb. tin of jam would set you back $1.25, that is over $22 today! If that blew your mind then wait till you hear the wages. Some members of staff were contracted out for the season while others were paid 0.25 cents and hour... that's only about $4.46 today. Prices and wages would change with inflation and other factors but these early numbers show just how much prices have changed in almost 100 years.
A photo of our Cannery exhibit that you should come check out :)
During the depression years the Cannery was a great source of employment and pride for the community. It created work in the fields, at the Cannery itself, and in shipping which helped the community. The Cannery would continue to operate through the Great Depression and World War II.
The post-war boom would bring many changes to the Coast, resulting in there being a shortage of low-cost labour. This increased the cost on growers to the point it was no longer profitable to continue farming, causing a shortage of berries. These factors lead to the decision to close the Cannery at the end of 1952. The liquidation of the Cannery was complete on April 15, 1955 and each member received $24.57 for each of their $25.00 shares.
The post-war boom would bring many changes to the Coast, resulting in there being a shortage of low-cost labour. This increased the cost on growers to the point it was no longer profitable to continue farming, causing a shortage of berries. These factors lead to the decision to close the Cannery at the end of 1952. The liquidation of the Cannery was complete on April 15, 1955 and each member received $24.57 for each of their $25.00 shares.
The Howe Sound Cooperative Canning Association on Henry (Cannery) Road, Gibsons Landing. This is either Nina Chamberlin (later Mrs. McCartney) or Hazel Chamberlin (later Mrs. Skytte) sitting in front of a stack of 4 lb. cans of cannery jam.SCMA #935
Thanks for reading I hope you learned something new and I will see you at the Museum or on the next blog post about local theatre!
Gavin
Gavin
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