SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charlie Hogan RECORDED: Steveston (B.C.), 1976-02-26 SUMMARY: Charlie Hogan arrived on the west coast in 1923, and got off the steamboat at Bella Bella where the Gus Mallard Cannery was. Worked at the machine shop at Bella Bella, Rivers Inlet at 13 years of age in the summer time. Discusses engines, and how hard salt water is on them. Some canneries kept their boats up very well, others just kept their boats running. Did a lot of work for any cannery boats that were fishing in the area. Spent 33 years in Bella Bella in engine machinery repair. There were up to 3,000 boats at Rivers Inlet at one time. Believes a lot of canneries closed down because of overhead costs. Discusses old canning methods. Canneries used to have wooden floors, that you could see the beach through. Back in the 1920s and 1930s the seine boats were very old, but as long as they could float and hold a net, they went out. Discusses living quarters. Discusses linen nets and caring for them. Discusses different engines used. Discusses the 1920s and 1930s when there seemed to be a wealth of fish; at night you could hear them splashing all over the bay. Overhauled engines in the wintertime. Discusses fish prices. Names all the different canneries along the coast. Indian men worked on the fish boats, while Indian women worked mostly in the cannery washing fish and filling cans. Namu had two large bunkhouses for women at that time. Namu had bowling alley, shows, dance floor; was very nice. Started working at Imperial, mostly maintenance work, was shop-foreman. Believes the canneries would look after their fishermen; if the fisherman needed money in the winter, the company would advance it to them.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-25 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Mac McLean RECORDED: White Rock (B.C.), 1976-03-08 SUMMARY: Mac McLean started to work for Canadian Fish Co. in 1928 for 2 years. Then went to work for California Packing Co. where Richie Nelson was superintendent. It was located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Went to the Albion Plant situated in Ucluelet at Barkley Sound. Spent several seasons there, then went to Canadian Packing Co. (a reduction plant) and stayed there for 5 years. Explains the process of reduction. Built a fish reduction plant for B.C. Packers at Namu in 1936. In 1937, built a reduction plant at the Imperial Cannery. The first reduction plants in B.C. were what you call the old hydraulic type of plant that reduced dog fish; there was one on Pender Island. The continuous reduction plant didn't come to B.C. until 1927. These reduction plants were seasonal. In 1929 there were 32 reduction plants on the west coast. By 1931 they were all gone. From 1930-1935 there was very little profit made from the reduction plants. It started to improve after 1935, and from then on there were good or reasonable profits made. Discusses a population of pilchards that got trapped at one of the northern inlets. So instead of processing herring that year they did pilchards which was much more profitable. Did up to 10-15 thousand tons of pilchards that year. Explains the technique of fishermen finding fish with piano wire. At the Namu reduction plant they had electricity but didn't use electrical driven motors. For power, the cannery used a steam engine to a line shaft and then wire belts off of a line shaft to each individual machine. Plants were rated based on the number of tons you could put through in an hour. Namu was a 5 ton an hour plant, which by today's standard is very small. The Imperial Plant used to have 50 tons an hour. They used to catch and reduce about one quarter of a million tons of herring a year. Discusses fish prices. Speaks on canning herring during the war years. Japanese herring saltery on the Gulf Islands. Describes and explains trolling.