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Empire Stove and Furnace Company |
Details |
The Canadian Heating and Ventilating Company was established in 1903 by Mr. W. J. Christie of Owen Sound, Ontario. Some of the C.H. & V. Co. products had the word "Empire" in their model names. In 1917, the company was re-organized and re-named as "The Empire Stove and Furnace Company". Reportedly the baked enamelling plant was added in 1929. There was a fire in the 1940s at the factory. The company was sold in 1950 to the Moffat Bros. Melba Croft's book GROWTH OF A COUNTY TOWN, has several references to the C.H. & V. company. They made Empire stoves and ranges, hot air furnaces and "Holloware". V. A. Harshaw was the President, W. S. Middlebro' was the Secretary, W. J. Christie was the Manager, and 80 people were employed by the company three years into its operation (p. 82). In 1922, the Empire Stove & Furnace Works at Owen Sound added a 55 x 88 foot stone addition to their stove works. The owner and manager at that time was Mr. E. W. McQuay. There were over 100 workers at this factory. Reportedly an enamelling plant was added in 1929. The Sunera line of kitchen ranges began in 19__. There was a Sunera kitchen range with a warming closet above it, that had enamelling on the exterior (post-1929). In the 1937 Owen Sound telephone directory, the factory was located at 2362 3rd Avenue East (Phone 130). The phone contacts were J. Willard Christie and G. Atkey at that time. In the 1946 directory, the phone contacts were J. W. Christie, R. H. Christie, and V. M. Christie. In 1938, there was a newspaper article in the OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN-TIMES, dated January 8, 1938, entitled "Empire Company Had Good Year '37". During the Second World War, the company had a disastrous factory fire on July 22, 1944 (see the book SIRENS ACROSS THE SOUND: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE OWEN SOUND FIRE DEPARTMENT, by John Christie, 2006). In addition to stoves, heaters and ranges, the company is remembered in diminuitive cast iron miniature frying pans, that advertised the company. These apparently were give-aways. They were small enough to act as toy frying pans, so they were likely popular with children. One example in the Grey Roots collection survives with its original slotted toy lifter (no lettering present on it). In 1950, the company was sold to members of the Moffat family (of the Moffat Bros. plant at Weston). They had hoped to have their own stoveworks at Owen Sound, but eventually closed down the former Empire Stove & Furnace Works in 1952. Some employees over the years: -Gordon Jackson (was working there c. 1947) -William Irvin Henry Booey worked there for a while. Born 1881. -Clarence LaPierre was employed at the Empire Stove & Furnace Co. before he enlisted in Jan. 1943 with the 48th Highlanders. He became a paratrooper and was wounded on the second day of the invasion. He died in France on June 7, 1944. -Russell Green worked at the Empire Stove & Furnace Co. (d. 1979) -Moses Earll worked there -George Briggs worked for the company from 1930 until it closed. -Vernon Directories over the 1930s years could provide the names of more employees, as they usually listed where someone worked -There is an Owen Sound directory from 1951 (at the Grey County Archives) that lists where people worked, and Stan Radwanski was listed as a Draftsman at the Empire Stove & Furnace Co. Ltd., Roy Brainard was a "Crater", William Beard was a "Sprayer", Harry Hilts was a steelworker there. Likely other employees will be listed there as well. There was a 1947 employee group photograph taken of the plant's workers and there were male and female workers at that time. A private collector owns the image in 2016. -------- Croft, Melba Morris,GROWTH OF A COUNTY TOWN, pp. 40, 43, 49, 54, 66, 81, 82, 126, 165, 206, 229 and 246 (re CH& V Co.) |
