Small consumer-oriented industries employed workers to produce specialized items for local or regional markets. At the Whitworth Company in Edmonton, these women dipped and packed chocolates in a windowless basement. Plumbing on the rear wall and heating pipes overhead subjected them to cool, damp conditions in the summer and oppressive heat in the winter. Their task was tedious and repetitive; it kept them up to their wrists in liquid chocolate and had to be performed while sitting on uncomfortable stools. Undoubtedly there were other businesses that exploited workers in sweatshop conditions more reminiscent of those prevailing in the more heavily industrialized areas of the country, but these were rarely photographed.
The illumination of the work area by a single shaded bulb attests to the revolution created by electricity, space previously unusable could be brought into service for production. Electric light also extended the length of the workday when daylight was limited during the winter. The result was a constant workday, usually from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., throughout the year.
Courtesy: Provincial Archives of Alberta, E. Brown Collection (B 1146)
