To help employees identify with the organization, larger businesses adopted the common practice of holding annual picnics or sports days. Athletic and recreational events were organized either for enjoyment and camaraderie or into formal competitions for prize money. Following the sporting events, the company would usually lay on vast quantities of food and refreshments. Company officials were conspicuously present to accept praise for the event, but when times got tough or when workers contemplated joining a union, such frills were pointedly eliminated.
Regardless of their employers' motives, employees undoubtedly enjoyed the opportunity to mix with coworkers and their families. All ages were present at this 1914 picnic for employees of Regina's largest retailer, R.H. Williams. Here two men box while standing in barrels, a safe form of pugilism that at times proved as hilarious as other outdoor games, such as log rolling or trying to catch a greased pig.
