Ellis Canning, the first canning company on North Street, opened in 1937. By 1942, D'Arcy Cropp had purchased the business, which he expanded over the years. In 1950, he sold the buildings to Gerber-Ogilvie Foods Limited, and the production of Gerber Baby Food began in Niagara Falls.
Gerber brought in thousands of dollars worth of machinery, and produced sixteen varieties of strained baby foods plus three types of cereal. Half of the employees were women. The company's plan was to dominate the baby food market in Canada, which had been held by Heinz. Most of the fruit and vegetables they used were grown in the Niagara Peninsula, and demand was so high that major expansions occurred regularly.
After forty years in the city, November 30th, 1989 brought terrible news - the Niagara Falls plant was closing. Production was transferred to the Michigan facility, and by 1991, part of the Gerber plant had been demolished.
Today, Lapennaco Super Centre sells brand name appliances, electronics and clothing from part of the site.
Niagara Falls Public Library. 2017. Niagara Falls - Then & Now: A Photographic Journey Through The Years. [Gerber Baby Food / Lapennaco Liquidation Super Centre].
Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by
Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.
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