Images and information below have been copied without permission from, Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada Limited. from a booklet produced in 1971 titled Kitchener a meat packing centre.
This booklet included stories and photos of downtown Kitchener, the downtown Kitchener market and the sorounding area, it was used as a educational information guide in schools. I scanned and edited only J.M.Schneider photos and information.

If you can identify the departments, locations and employees, → → PLEASE ← ← let me know so I can fill in the blank spaces.

Thank you and enjoy.

Hover your mouse pointer over any photo image, a little window by your pointer will indicate the photo number.

The booklet follows a day in the life of Don Raines.

The plant on Courtland Ave.

Courtland Ave Employee Entrance.

Don Raines and family starting the day with a good breakfast.

Photo taken in the third floor pork cutting, this was my first job at JMS hooking loins on the moving table hooks.
Otto Lemke believes on the left with glasses is Percy Steinke, Reinhard in the middle with back to camera, and Ed Pearcy across the the table wearing glasses.
Thanks Otto for your help. Walter Tschirhart and Lloyd Cook also worked in this area.

Don Raines on left, I think this photo was taken at the beginning if the second floor orderfill department shipping conveyor.

Order Fill Department Second Floor.

Is that Paul Hurlbut on left ?
photo on right the operator is at the control panel switching the conveyors to direct the flow of product.
Bob Karn designed the Electrical Prints and control console complete with intercom.

Shipping and truck loading area. This photo was taken from the “BIRD”.
The BIRD was a nickname for the operator that sat up high ”on his perch” were this photo was taken, and the BIRD operator would switch the conveyors to direct the product to the designated truck route.

A look inside one of the highway trailers, notice no skids, all hand loaded and unloaded at the destination.

Truck loading area enter off Courtland Ave.
The truck loading was moved to the Distribution Building and this area became the West Block Extension.

This was the Hog buying machine located at the livestock office "the barn", there was a Red button that was pushed to purchase hogs from the surounding livestock sales areas. The buying system was refered to as the dutch auction where the price per pound for hogs started high then would go lower and lower and he would push the button when the price was where he wanted to buy.
When the new office was built that TTY machine was relocated there. The buyer of the day asked if there was some way he could filter out who the hog bidding buyers where so he could let some of the smaller buyers bid on smaller lots thinking this would be more fair since Schneiders could manage large lots.

This is a image of the Hog marketing board sheet indicating many of the local livestock yards.
On your computer, press and hold the ”Ctrl” then tap the +” key to Zoom in , or the - key to Zoom out .

Image of the plant area layout. This is a very basic ground floor layout.
Every colum in the plant had a identification attached to it, as example the corner of the building further East and at Courtland Ave. the first column was tagged 1A1 the next column towards Palmer Ave would be tagged 1A2 if you were on the third floor in the cafeteria the tag on a column could have been 3 C 6 third floor, third row of columns from Courtland and the sixth column towards Palmer Ave.
A very simple system, however some still got lost.

Close up of the above map indicating column 3C6 if this was the third floor.

Poultry unloading area.

Poultry processing department first floor.

Beef Holding cooler. Beef was aged here as well.

Pork Cutting department third floor, shoulder trim table.
In the background is the beginning of the moving table where the hogs would be lowered on then proceed through the operations, about 150 people worked in the pork cutting room.

Ham hanging on the rack in the smoke house.

Cans of product waiting to be cooked, Schneiders also produced Spot dog food and Wiskers cat food.

Weiner stuffing Frank O matic machines.

Stuffing product into casings from one of the stuffing machines then sealing the ends with a hanging string and clip.

Weighing product before blending.

Unloading product after blending.
Employee on the left, is that Ken Barron ?

Freezer storage with boxes of turkeys. The weight of the bird is marked on the box.

Office employees. Second floor.
Type writers and NO computers.

A shipping invoice for the Royal Canadian Legion 48 Ontario Street.
May 26 1969, 11.8 pounds for $9.58.
That would include delivery to the Legion.

Computer Room. Data information was stored on magnetic tape, like a 8 track cassette but large reels as you see on top of the machines.
These IBM 360's were the state of the art in 1966, it replaced rows of desks and people doing the bookkeeping by hand, it improved the speed and accuracy.

Cafeteria.
To the far right would have been the cash register, ”Vera McClenaghan ” the window would be the Laboratory . You could get a great meal for under $2, and 7 layer
WAS THE BEST.
A coffee break budget of $2.00 a week was all you needed.

Bill Dobb in the laboratory , out the window would be the corner of Courtland Ave. and Kent street, Laboratory was on the third floor.
So I have been told that one day at noon unnamed persons filled a rubber glove with gas and oxygen and touched it to a bunsen burner flame,the resulting explosion made everyone in the cafetira scream followed by complete sirence. The rest will remain secret.

Part of the Lard and Shortning canning operation, this could have been on the forth floor ?