fbpx
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

April 23, 2024

A Bag Full Of History: Ogilvie Flour Mill Memorabilia

Heritage Winnipeg would like to thank Mary and Bill Gulka for their thoughtful donation of Ogilvie Flour Mill memorabilia that once belonged to Tom Moore, a Purchasing Manager at the Ogilvie Flour Mill in Winnipeg. These unique pieces are a tangible connection to Winnipeg’s historic involvement in the Canadian grain industry and to a landmark mill that no longer graces our skyline. Bill Gulka, the General Manager of Bonar Packaging in the 1980s and friend of Tom Moore, recounts the history behind the memorabilia:

To better supply Ogilvie Flour Mills at 55 Higgins Avenue along with other customers, Bemis Brother Bag Company constructed a factory in 1906 which became the first reinforced concrete building in Western Canada at 311 Alexander Avenue to produce cotton and jute bags. A series of mergers and acquisitions resulted in the company’s name changing to Bonar and Bemis Ltd. and eventually Bonar Packaging Ltd. A second factory was subsequently constructed at the corner of Sherbrook Street and Logan Avenue to manufacture small and large multiwall paper bags for flour and sugar.

A young lad, Thomas Albert Moore, born in Durham England, arrived in Medicine Hat, Alberta circa 1928. Upon graduating from high school, Tom immediately joined Ogilvie Flour Mills in Medicine Hat. Soon after, with a young family in tow, Tom was transferred to Winnipeg. Much of his life long career with Ogilvie was spent in purchasing. It is likely not an exaggeration to say that Tom likely purchased flour bags in the tens of millions, if not more, over the course of his 45 years career, the majority from Bonar.

In appreciation of Tom’s support over the decades, in the late 1980’s Bonar hosted a retirement dinner for Tom together with his family. As a memento, Tom was presented with a mounted set of zinc printing plates, both front and back, of Ogilvie 5 Roses flour bags. Cotton bag printing plates were retrieved from the archives and used to produce cotton flour bags which were then sewn into a jacket by the sewers at Bonar. Tom delightfully wore the jacket during the course of the evening.

Thank you for preserving this piece of history and letting us share it with Winnipeg! Learn more about the history of the Ogilvie Flour Mill in our blog: With the Grain: A History of Ogilvie Flour Mill.

logo

 / Recent News

July 29, 2025

A Magical Evening Awaits!

Tickets for Heritage Winnipeg’s 2025 Fall Fundraiser, Magician & The Muse, are now on sale! Join us for a spellbinding event on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 in the magnificent Millennium Centre at 389 Main Street. This year we are excited to be presenting a world class magic show featuring Masters of Illusion Sean Watson and…

July 18, 2025

Our Heritage is Worth it!

On July 4, 2025, the City of Winnipeg’s Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development voted in support of increasing the budget for the conservation of the 1905 Carnegie Library at 380 William Avenue by $3.5 million. The city originally planned to spend $12.7 million conserving the library, but market conditions have driven the cost…

July 15, 2025

Bigger, But Not Better

On July 14th, 2025, Winnipeg’s City Council approved construction of a 168 foot residential tower on King Street as part of phase two of the Market Lands project. It will be built on the site which included of the former 1966 Public Safety Building at 151 Princess Street. While the property is surrounded by built…

July 14, 2025

Another Smiling Face

Heritage Winnipeg would like to thank Robert Baxter for his generous donation of a Tribune Building shard. This shard, salvaged from the facade of the 1914 structure at 257 Smith Street in 1969, is the second of 14 terracotta heads from the Tribune Building to find a home in our office. We hope the two…

June 27, 2025

Portage & Main: Open After 46 Years

Portage & Main officially opened to pedestrians on June 27! This marks the first time in 46 years that pedestrians are allowed to cross the intersection. The prospect of this reopening has long been a topic of debate. For nearly five decades, concrete barriers prevented Winnipegers from crossing the corners of these roads, known as…

June 25, 2025

Meet the Winners of Doors Open 2025!

Results are in, and we’ve found our winners! Heritage Winnipeg is proud to present the winners of Doors Open 2025! A special thanks to all of the hosts and volunteers for their amazing work during the weekend, making it possible to share the stories that our buildings tell. Another thank you goes out to everyone…

Subscribe to Heritage Winnipeg Blog