Truck, Barter, and Trade

Flavelles Ltd. Cold Storage building built in 1888. 1898.

 
In the early mercantile business, mid-1800s, it was common for shoppers and farmers to trade goods and produce in exchange for goods sold in stores. Dundas & Flavelle Bros. was no exception and J. D. grew this practice was unparalleled to any across Canada.

William Flavelle. 1894.

Originating in the basement of the dry goods store before being incorporated as Flavelles Limited in 1904, William and J. D. would store butter and other produce for exportation, either by trading with or buying directly from farmers across the area east of Peterborough. This practice continued to grow yearly, eventually causing some of the produce collected to spoil due to lack of adequate refrigeration and space. Seeing continued losses of eggs and butter, the Flavelle brothers built a cold storage and egg house on King Street to store their produce and eggs in 1888.

It is here in winter where a 45 foot long and 15 foot wide freshly cut block of ice from the Scugog River kept over 2,500,000 eggs, hundreds of thousands of pounds of butter, chicken and turkeys preserved and chilled year round ready for British export at a moment’s notice.

Audio Interview with Stuart Flavelle. Enjoy this audio clip with an English transcript.