Fraser-Brace and DIL signs from the original employment office in Chalk River

Artifact Number:

2019-134

Two hand-painted signs believed to have been used on the original “employment office” used by the Fraser-Brace Company (F-B) in the village of Chalk River in 1944. The building was originally a barber shop and was located at the junction of the Plant Road and Highway 17. Next door to it was a garage, known as “Harper’s Garage” that was also taken over by F-B and Defense Industries Limited (DIL). DIL, a Crown Corporation, were assigned the task of setting up the laboratories at Chalk River as well as the town of Deep River. They subcontracted the actual construction to Fraser-Brace, a Montreal-based construction company. The “employment office” was located a short distance from the Chalk River train yards and station where workers from Ottawa, Montreal and other locations would arrive. Both signs are painted on nominal ½ inch thick particle-board. The Fraser-Brace sign measures 25 cm by 137 cm while the DIL one measures 20 cm by 36.5 cm. No photograph is known to exist of the building in its original location, but it was found and relocated at the Deep River campus for the 25^th anniversary celebrations in 1970 for a short while. Its final fate is unknown.

Keywords:

signage; crnl; pioneers

Notes:

J.A. “Jac” Cropley was a very early DIL employee who often was sent on weekly recruiting missions as far as Montreal to entice scarce construction workers to come to Chalk River. In 1945, Jac became the Welfare Officer in Deep River and then served for many years as the Executive Secretary of the Deep River Community Association. In this position, he was involved with almost every recreational organization in the town. Jac rescued these two signs from the tiny building and kept them at his cottage for many years. In later life he passed them on to a neighbour, who donated them to the Society in 2019.