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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Detailing the working lives of the people of Saskatoon, Saskatoon Works celebrates local employment and employers. These photos exemplify the communal effort and solidarity among Saskatoon’s workers as well as the pride and commitment we have for our work. In a province that has seen so many firsts in labour standards and movements, it comes as no surprise that this solidarity exists. Through Boom and Bust, the Depression, and the World Wars, Saskatonians have been a devoted part of the labour scene in this province. Union history here has been a colourful and at times discouraging endeavour involving many firsts, and in some respects has paved the way for the rest of the country’s workers.
Although the majority of these photos celebrate the working lives of Saskatonians, we must keep in mind the hard work and struggles that have also happened over the years to secure our labour force. The struggles of Saskatonians, and in fact Saskatchewanians, have made it possible for women to work and win pay equity, the 40 hour work week, and workers' rights, among many other contributions. These pictures celebrate the accomplishments of ordinary heroes that were a part of some of the greatest moments in our history.
Original Gallery Show, titled "Saskatchewan Works" (1991), curated by: A. Kagis
With the assistance of: R. Millar and the Local History Room Staff
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers in overalls load bags of flour onto a rail car at the Robin Hood Mill. By 1966, some years after this photograph was taken, about 3,000 carloads of flour were shipped from the mill annually.
Date: [between 1930 and 1949]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers clamber up ladders and scaffolding on the Bessborough Hotel’s uppermost turret. When this photo was taken, in October 1931, the hotel was almost complete, but tough economic times delayed its opening until 1935.
Date: October 16, 1931.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers pack “Quick Quaker Oats” at the Quaker Oats plant. The plant was at Avenue N and 18th Street for 60 years; it shut down in 1972.
Date: [192-]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Kitchen workers at the Bessborough in March, 1949. In the foreground is the chef at the time, Mr. Schmidt.
Date: March 1949.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers at the University of Saskatchewan clean freshly-shorn sheep wool to prepare it for sorting and grading. The wire mesh tables allowed clumps of dirt and manure to fall to the floor.
Date: [ca. 194-]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
The composing room at the Star Phoenix in 1942. Sam Campbell and Bryce Brown are two of the linotype operators; Eric Iveson does page makeup in the left background.
Date: July [1942 or 1943]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers in the sausage kitchen at Intercontinental Packers in the late 1940s use an air powered “Buffalo Stuffer” to stuff casings with bologna sausage.
Date: [1945 or 1946]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Women at Waldman and Paul, a local clothing manufacturer on Alberta Avenue. Many immigrant women worked for this company where, as the clutter and overcrowding evident in this photo suggest, working conditions were less than ideal.
Date: April 19, 1951.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Long distance operators at Sasktel’s Saskatoon toll room in the late 1950s. “Cord Boards” such as those shown here are now used only by mobile operators; long distance operators work at computer work stations.
Date: September 1959.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
A smiling carhop makes change at the Dog ‘n’ Suds on 8th Street in 1960. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, carhops were an integral component of Saskatoon’s teen scene – cruising 8th Street. That pastime endures, though intercoms and drive-throughs have replaced the carhops.
Date: February 27, 1960.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Construction workers carve Victoria Avenue out of the hill between the Traffic Bridge and 11th Street. By December 1911, concrete retaining walls shored up the hill on both sides.
Date: [before 1911]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Doukhobor men and women in tandem, from the Blaine Lake District, haul a load of wheat to Rosthern for gristing. Human power was sometimes used by that sect if they lacked financial resources to buy horses or oxen.
Date: [ca. 1904]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers pose inside the partly constructed Knox Church on Spadina Crescent. Construction began on October 17, 1912 and the church was officially opened May 3, 1914. The debt for the construction and furnishings was not paid off until 1955.
Date: [between 1912 and 1914]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Workers pose on a partly constructed building. The Great Western Furniture sign in the right background places the building in downtown Saskatoon. The pipes in the foreground suggest that the photo was taken in 1912, the year the city planned to install 14 miles of sewer and water lines to keep up with the building boom.
Date: 1912.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Excavating the basement for the Eaton’s Store – later the Army and Navy – at 3rd Avenue and 21st Street. Begun in March 1928, the excavation was the largest in Saskatoon’s history; it took 100 workers, 40 horse teams and one caterpillar shovel a month to complete. The building is now occuppied by the Saskatoon Board of Education.
Date: [ca. 1928]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
The Canadian Pacific Bridge under construction in 1907. A crew of 60 men worked at the site in August 1907, some hastily erecting a temporary wooden pile bridge for the fall harvest, others pouring the massive concrete piers for the permanent structure.
Date: 1907.
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Youthful employees of the Capitol Theatre line up at the back door. The Capitol opened on May 11, 1929 and employed many staff to serve its large clientele - the theatre capacity was 1,561. The two gentlemen wearing long dark coats are Manager Carl Yule (left) and his Assistant Manager Reg Plumb.
Date: [ca. 1929]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Metalworkers at John East Iron Works pour molten metal into a mold. This photograph was probably taken shortly after John East arrived in Saskatoon in 1910 and built his one room foundry on Avenue C where, years later, the Iron Works plant covered an acre of land.
Date: [ca. 1910]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Horses and teamsters working for Jackson the Building Mover haul a house east along 33rd Street about 1916. The whole outfit paused – and posed – at Avenue A so that linemen could loosen the telephone wire to allow the house to pass underneath. Proprietor W.W. Jackson and his son Harvey are on the roof.
Date: [ca. 1916]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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1991 - Saskatoon Works: Vintage Images of Saskatoon Men and Women at Work
Railway workers “ice” a train around 1930. Huge blocks of ice were harvested from the river, stored in railway warehouses and later used to cool refrigerator cars and the drinking water in passenger coaches.
Date: [ca. 1930]
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| Copyright © Local History Room, Saskatoon Public Library |
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