A look at the Fine Foods Plant, at Tecumseh & Lacasse in Tecumseh. I’ve been meaning to post about this place for a long time, and the postcard above has finally pushed this post into becoming a reality.
A neat view of the old sign that was once out front. I’ll admit to being woefully ignorant about the processes used here, but I anyone know what the octagonal section is used for?
A view along Lacasse Boulevard today.
This is the section seen the crop above. The only difference looks to be the smokestacks….
The factory was opened in 1931, and was designed by Albert Lothian. If you look at the brickwork here, you can see similarity to some of his other buildings.
A pair of ad’s from the Border Cities Star, June 27, 1931 the one above offering a visit to the kitchens, and the one below for Albert Lothian.
From the Border Cities Star - December 6, 1924, almost a century ago to the…
Built in 1929, the house at 2177 Victoria Avenue was originally numbered 1545 Victoria, pre…
Crescent Lanes first opened on Ottawa Street in 1944 at 1055 Ottawa Street, opposite Lanspeary…
Above is a photo of the home of Mr & Mrs Oswald Janisse, located at…
in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on…
View Comments
The octogonal section houses the can cooking area where the cans are feed through huge cookers in a corkscrew fashion.
I worked in that area one summer. My job was to oil and grease the cookers, take temperature readings and brine samples. Every ten minutes if I remember correctly. Made for an extremely long day watching the clock for a whole 12 hour shift. You also had to watch the can lines to make sure none got jammed. If you didn't notice and they started backing up the foreman would come out yelling and screaming at you. Good times.
I've always liked this place. Thanks for the info on that part of the building Chris, it always made me wonder.
Your right Andrew, aside from the stacks, even that oil tank is in the same spot! Too bad it isn't served by rail anymore, but it is nice, new information for me regarding what was rail served in the area.
Chris is correct about the octagonal building. Aaron, you could also add to your list of industries served by rail. The lumber yard (Poisson Lumber) which was across Lacasse (at one time named Victoria) from Fine Foods had rail service. I imagine that the brewery located in the same general location also was served by rail.
In the 50s and 60s, when the Green Giant corn was ready, Seneca Chief, beautiful sweet yellow corn, they sold it in a roadside stand on their property , just on the side of Tecumseh road. people lined up and bought it by the dozens, because if your neighbour knew you were going, they asked you to buy for them also. the next time they'd go and buy for you. back then, sweet corn season wasn't much longer than a couple of weeks, and we pigged out for those weeks. The sweet corn today just doesn't have that seneca chief flavour.
Aaron i believe CN served them by rail i worked there one summer in the early 70's my job was hand bombing cases of veggies into refrigerated box cars nice work on a hot summer day what surprises me is the variety of freight cars on the siding tank cars and gravity flow cars when i was there it was empties in loads out i guess the siding was long enough that canadian national used it for car storage at times
Gary, I don't think that's a tank car in the drawing. I'm pretty sure it's an oil tank for the powerhouse.There's a tank in the same spot today. Looks like there's 3 reefers and a hopper. Was it only outbound shipments or did they receive anything via rail....even at the time you worked there that you can recall? I would assume all the veggies coming out of this place were locally grown?
JBM, thanks for the info!
when i worked there i think they got box car loads of clean metal cans from where ever they were manufactured because they used such a high volume of cans i'm pretty sure i helped to unload a box car load of them a time or two
ya Aaron your right all the produce was locally grown the 2nd canning season i worked there i got a job driving a pea combine we harvested peas from kent county as well as essex county i had an aunt one of my mom's sisters was a forelady in the freezer plant for about 25 years
Beginning with my grandmother and Mom who worked at Fine Foods, a whole generation of women in the family, at one time or another, worked on the huskers or the can lines or whatever job they put you on that day. My grandmother, my Mom, her sisters, & eventually myself and my sisters all worked at the factory when it became Green Giant. It wasn't fenced in the way it is now. The grounds were beautiful and had picnic areas where the staff could go to eat their lunch. I must say though it was the worst job of my life. Very hot, stinky & sticky. Phew !!!
i)Two Smoke Stacks versus one, prior to 1961, two coal fired boilers were used, then the west boiler was replaced with a Gas fired boiler capable of generating the total steam required.
The far stack to the east would eventaully be removed due to age and for safety reasons, while the closer stack to the west (Lacasse Blvd.) would be replaced and sized for the new boiler and later would be insulated to enhance the uptake draft.
ii)The Tank on the outside was used for a boiler feed reserve water supply, then abanded after the new boiler was installed, however reinstated in later years for heat reclamation and water conservation when a new water cooled Screw Type Air Compressor was installed. This warm water then was used as boiler feedwater makeup in the Dearator Heater.
Note:The Plant never burned oil however when the New Foster Wheeler Boiler was installed it was dual fired having the capability to burn light oil should the need arise and two small home heating oil tanks were installed on west side of Power House. These would in an emergency be kept filled by a local supplier with advance arrangements having been made for he to keep an oil truck on site for a continuous transfer of oil to those small tanks. To-day, with the dual firing burner having been replaced in circa 2000, only Natural Gas can be burned.
iii) The single rail siding in early years was used quite extensively for incoming cans and some outgoing product, while this waned over the years as truck transportation become more viable.
iv)The octagonal structure was a Retort Circle with as I recall ten retorts to cook various canned products. The round metal retort crates (4 used per retort) with their cans would be lowered/raised into or out of the retort by a a horizontal steam cylinder operated hoist, the manuallly pushed around the circle to be lowered into a long cooling canal, then each crate attaced to an overhead rail would be pushed to the opposite end for removal to the warehouse where it would be emptied. As production increased, use of retorts would be replaced by horizontal automatic continuous rotary pressure cookers and coolers, and the retorts although used for a few years after for certain zize cans eventually would be removed.
vi)The Postcard with an apparent office building illustrated near Lacasse Blvd. was the original main office for Fine Foods and later for the Plant Office of Green Giant and had a truck scales on the east side of it in the early days. Green Giant of Canada would build an office circa 1961 for their Canadian Corporate head quarters to the north west extremity of the property and after approximately 1966 and their relocating to three floors of the Kent Trust Building on Ouellette Ave., in Windsor, this building would be used as a Plant Office.
The original building would be used for storage and for some years as a location where an employee mailed promotional items from to various customers requesting such, then finally demolished to tidy the area as the front steps did encroach on the street.