The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd., 1906-1996
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,f- ,J,-z_ _i•1 r ·,........,, · /u77 ;-;tral Jark ,LL .r ~t :i:, ral i\snnriutintt / -/' ...anit .• .,_.7'1. -.,") rrn' ..Jhrntitute , ·,_"'·.. · 1- C • l ' ·~ A y ~ >FRI DJ:\Y. 15 AND 16;_,1910, ;._.,.._ TheStory of Avalon Dairy Ltd., 1906-1996 Including a brief history of the dairy industry in B.C. by EverettCrowley 4/(J Jean M. Crowley v\/ff The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd., 1906-1996 J Copyright© 1996 by Jean M. Crowley. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or transferred without permission in writing from the publisher, Avalon Dairy Ltd. The author wishes to expressly thank Agrifoods International Cooperative Ltd. for granting permission for Everett Crowley's articles in 'Butter-fat Magazine' to be reprinted here. The author also wishes to acknowledge and thank all those who participated in this endeavour. Editor: Merrilyn (Crowley) Farquhar Cover and Illustrations: Phyllis Greenwood Photo restoration: Va/nor Studios Design: Kim Boutilier Printed and bound in Canada by Nik Cuff, January, 1996 . To the many loyal customers of Avalon Dairy, some of whom have been coming to Avalon for their milk for over fifty years. The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd. Contents Preface i Part I. Looking back:A brief history of the dairy industry in B.C. 1. The beginning of a dairy industry in B.C. 2 11. Chilcotin butter sold in Vancouver shops. 7 111. Railways boost central interior creameries. 10 1v. For half a century Saltspring Island Creameries made prize-winning butter. 12 v. Roots in Comox. 14 v1. Early dairying in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. 17 vii. Problems faced by early dairy farmers. 20 Part II: The Story of Avalon Chapter I: The Avalon Story begins in Newfoundland. 27 Chapter II: The Crowley family arrives in Vancouver and Avalon Ranch Dairy begins . 32 Chapter III: The First World War: Boom - Then Bust - for Avalon. 46 Chapter IV: Surviving the Depression Years. 57 Chapter V: The Second World War brings prosperity and post war problems. 72 Chapter VI: The 1950's are challenging years for Avalon. 87 Chapter VII : The Clyne Commission and the disappearance of the independents. 92 Chapter VIII: Avalon Cheese. 97 Chapter IX : The new Avalon - health food stores and glass bottles. 102 Chapter X: Avalon Today. 106 Appendices: I. The Crowley Family Tree. 108 II. About the Authors. 109 Bibliography 111 The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd Preface As President of the B.C. Dairy Council, Everett Crowley accepted a motion in 1977 that he write a history of the B.C. Dairy industry. Ev was keenly interested in the proposal and visited the Vancouver and Provincial Archives, museums, and libraries for the early papers. It became a joint enterprise and Ev and I travelled the province from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert and the Okanagan for interviews with retired farmers and dairy workers in order to record their memories of the early "creamery" era. Ev understood the pioneer's love of independence and recognized that their hardships were much like the early days at Avalon . These stories, gathered first-hand from such determined pioneers, were originally published in the Butter-Fat magazine in 1982 and 1983 and are reprinted here courtesy of Agrifoods International Co-operative Ltd . Ev thor oughly enjoyed seeing his efforts in print. In 1984 , I promised Ev I would follow his plan to complete his book but, in time, I realized that Ev's original goal of covering the complete history of the B.C. dairy industry might be too ambitious and was not the only story I had to tell. Ev had written his own biography and that, with records from our business and family , provided the basis for the "Avalon Story" from 1906 to 1996. With diligent researching of the early industry, and the uncovering of boxes of musty Avalon papers, the story took shape. There were many highs and lows of fortune throughout the ninety years from buying a brand new Ford in 1916, to losing most of the milking herd to T.B . in 1919. The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd. Some of the Crowley family anecdotes were included by Everett in the "Vancouver Book" by Chuck Davis in 197 6 . Part of Ev's photographic collection is displayed in the "Collingwood Pioneers Book" by Barbara Nielson, 1991. That Avalon survived and eventually even prospered is a testament to the words of Jeremiah Crowley as recorded, in his diary Fate backedby luck and staying power is sometimesrewarded. It has been my good fortune to acquire the talent of Phyllis Greenwood who prepared the art work and the cover. I am very grateful ro my daughter Merrilyn (Crowley) Farquhar for helping me in the preparation of the final manuscript. I hope this book will be accepted as the record of a family business that survived robe included in the "Vancouver Heritage Collection" of 1986 and continues on to this day. January, 1996 JEAN MARGUERITE CROWLEY ii Part I ------ 22:tW-,,J~u11i~ ------ ~ Looking back: A brief history of the Dairy Industry in B.C. The Story of Avalon Dairy Ltd The Beginning of a Dairy Industry in B. C. By In 1778, when Captain James Cook was explor Dr. McLaughlin had a premonition that the EVERETI ing the Pacific Northwest, he landed at Nootka boundary would ultimately be settled in favour CROWLEY Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island to of the USA and, not wishing to be in American Reprintedfrom repair his ships. There is a record that he had territory, he dispatched James Douglas to estab Butterfat cows with him that he had purchased in lish headquarters on Vancouver Island. (In 1846, Magazine, California . We presume that when he left the Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel January - Nootka, he left the cows behind. as the International Boundary.) February,1982, The next mention of cattle in B.C. is in the By 1846, Mr. Roderick Findlayson operated two vol. 5 9, no.7, "History of the Northern Interior of B.C." by farms of 70 cows each for the HBC at Fort pp.9-11 Father Maurice, a pioneer Catholic priest, where Victoria. He is credited with being the first in he tells of cattle being brought over the dairyman in B.C. Rockies in 1837 by the Hudson's Bay Company At that time, Alaska was owned by Russia and to their trading posts at Fort St. James and the Russians were trading down the coast as far Fraser Lake. as California. There are records of Mr. Findlayson Then, in 1843, Sir James Douglas of the doing business with the Russians. In 1858, he Hudson's Bay Company brought a herd of cattle became Chief Factor of the HBC and, when the to Fort Camosun, a settlement later known as Colony was purchased back from the HBC, an Victoria. At that time, Dr. John McLaughlin was "assembly" for the Colony of British Columbia Chief Factor for the HBC with headquarters at was established. Mr. Findlayson became one of Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington, the seven members appointed. Victoria was char USA). The dispute between England and the tered as a city in 1862. Mr. Findlayson was USA over the international boundary was get mayor of Victoria in 1878. ting hotter with a possible outbreak of military Meanwhile, on the mainland, gold had been dis hostilities . covered on the Fraser River and by 1858 there was a tremendous influx of miners from California and even from Australia. 2 - The Beginning of a Dairy Indwtry in B.C. In the 1860's, thousands of pounds of butter moved from the Fraser Valley to the Gold Fields over canyon trails. 3 The Beginning of a Dairy lndu1try in B.C . The demand for dairy products increased propor "Delta Creamery". The same year Evans Bros. tionately and while butter was supplied mainly opened a cheese factory near Chilliwack and in from California, there are records showing a sale 1897, the Wells operation amalgamated with the of some 2500 pounds of butter in 1868 to the Delta Creamery to form the Edenbank Creamery "Cariboo Gold Diggings" by the Chadsey Bros. at Sardis. Edenbank in turn became a part of the of Chilliwack. There was another sale of 6000 FVMPA in 1919. pounds to a dealer in Barkerville who resold it By 1901, there were nine creameries operating in for one dollar a pound.1 B.C. One was on Saltspring Island, another at In 1884-85, the Canadian Pacific Railway was Salmon Arm and one at Mission City called "The completed through British Columbia. This Western Condensed Milk Canning Coffee and opened up large tracts of land for settlement and Creamery Company Limited". It operated a steam mining development. Between 1880 and 1890, boat on the Fraser River picking up as much as the population doubled. Mining had replaced fur five tons of milk and cream a day. They made up trading and lumbering was about to come into to 2500 pounds of butter a month, paying farmers its own. $1.20 per can (100 lbs.) in the summer and $1.30 per 100 pounds in the winter. Because more people were going into agricul ture, the government passed, in 1895, the "B.C. By 1910, there were 23 creameries, one cheese Dairy Association Act", mainly to assist in the plant and a number of dairies throughout the formation of co-operatives . The following year it province. passed the "Creameries Act" and creameries began to spring up. The first creamery was established in 1895 in PHOTOGRAPHS FROM VANCOUVER CITY ARCHIVES.