M.W. Graves takes over

The M.W. Graves Company of Bridgetown, encouraged by the Berwick Board of Trade, became the owners of the buildings left vacant by the former developer of the Berwick Distillery.

In the summer of 1939, the company constructed a new building which would be used for the canning of apples and pears. Contractor W.A Hills was able to finish the building in time to install the new modern equipment, and operations were started in the fall of 1939. A second building, for shipping and storage, was started and connected with the old distillery buildings to give the plant a 630-foot frontage.

Berwick Fruit Products Limited was the name under which the new plant would operate. The company was continually adding new high class products to its list, the latest being apple sauce and apple juice.

In March 1940, Britain announced a ban on imports of canned fruits. The apple industry of the Annapolis Valley, already described as a “war casualty” (Britain stopped importing fresh apples and pears early in the war), faced yet another severe blow if the restrictions extended to beyond the next crop. Sources close to the apple canning industry of Nova Scotia declared, if the British import ban continued, the apple canning plants in the province probably would not open their doors in the fall.

With the installation of their up-to-date dehydrating equipment, Berwick Fruit Products did very little canning of apples in 1941. Almost all the available apples were needed for filling the large order of dried apples for the British Food Ministry. When the federal government placed a contract for processed potatoes, carrots, turnips and cabbage for the British Ministry of Food, the Berwick plant was one of five selected for processing of the order.

It would appear, with a good knowledge of food processing, plants like Berwick Fruit Products could process just about any fruit or vegetable on the market. The same could be said about dehydration.

The fruit industry in Berwick during the war had a couple of setbacks for the plant operators to deal with. The first was a severe storm that caused a fair amount of damage to both the crop and the buildings. The following year, 1942, a fire broke out in the coal shed of Berwick Fruit Products at 5:30 a.m. and threatened to destroy parts of the factory. The coal shed and boiler room were badly damaged.

The following is from a letter written to the Berwick town office: “My purpose for writing to you is to let you know how efficiently your town fire department operated at the fire. There can be no doubt that these men did a fine job at fire fighting at this plant. I thought you would like to know this, Yours faithfully, S.S. Wright, Fire Marshal.”