Well, I was raised with Margarine... Mom's Margarine in a brick when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed your historic mention of it all also Matt, thanks. Dad did like Butter though and he had butter where we had margarine. Now, looking back, mom made Butter Icing for Cakes and used Margarine :o) Butter was saved for company that came, such as Gramma or Grampa from Newfie or other relatives. As for canned Milk, Carnation Canned Evaporated Milk is great with coffee or tea and still common amongst some of my friends. When I was growing up, we would use Canned Milk over Jello or Rice Pudding with Raisins that mom made and we also diluted it if we ran out of powdered milk for our cereal. I still love it and when I had my daughter, Carnation came out with Carnation Good Start formula and that was the best in my eyes. Thanks for starting an interesting topic as always Matt, Lori-Ann ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Mullaly" <2matt@rogers.com> To: <NFLD-LAB-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 5:33 PM Subject: [NFLD-LAB] Margarine vs. Butter > While it may be difficult for non-residents to believe, many Newfoundlanders > PREFER margarine to butter. Me too. > > Matt > > A piece of history 8/5/03 > By Richard Foot, CanWest News Service —Halifax > > > > When food giant Unilever Canada spread word last month it was shutting down > its St. John’s margarine plant, only a solitary sentence in its announcement > hinted that the closure will bring an end to a historic Newfoundland icon, > with its own special place in Canada’s Constitution. > “Established in 1925 as the Newfoundland Butter Company by the Crosbie > family,” Unilever said, “the St. John’s margarine facility was purchased by > Unilever in 1937.” > > It turns out Newfoundland was built on more fodder than fish. The > Newfoundland Butter Co. — which never once made butter — became not only an > economic force in St. John’s but also Canada’s original margarine maker when > the province joined Confederation in 1949. > > At the time margarine was outlawed across most of North America to protect > the continental dairy industry. But in Newfoundland, where dairy farms were > scarce, people had been eating and enjoying margarine since the 19th > century. > > When Canada and Newfoundland began working out the colony’s entry into > Confederation, negotiations bogged down for a while over whether the St. > John’s margarine factory would be exempt from Canadian dairy rules. > > The result was a special clause in the Terms of Union — Newfoundland’s > constitutional rights and obligations in Canada — allowing “oleomargarine” > as it was then called, to be manufactured in the province, but forbidding > its export beyond. > > “There’s a nostalgia for this company among Newfoundlanders,” says Roger > Crosbie, a former company president. > > “It’s been a respected and recognized part of the fabric of Newfoundland for > a long, long time. I hate to see it go.” > > Crosbie and his better-known cousin John, the former federal Tory cabinet > minister, are members of a family dynasty with deep business roots in > Newfoundland, dating back to their grandfather, Sir John Crosbie. > > Sir John was a successful fish exporter, sending ships around the world > carrying, among other things, cargos of seal and whale oil to margarine > manufacturers in Europe. > > It was there in 1870 that Frenchman Hippolyte Mege-Mouries created > margarine. > > Responding to a challenge from Emperor Louis Napoleon III for a substitute > to butter, Mege-Mouries made margarine out of margaric acid — so called > because the acid’s lustrous oil drops looked like pearls, known in Greek as > margarites. > > Margarine turned out to be the perfect condiment for Newfoundland. The > colony was poor in dairy cattle but rich in seal and whale oil, which were > key ingredients in the making of early margarine. > > Two Newfoundland companies were producing local margarine by the late 1800s, > but none lasted as long as the oddly-named Newfoundland Butter Company, > founded by Sir John in 1925. > > Sir John bartered margarine for fish in Newfoundland’s outports until he > died in 1932. > > Five years later the Butter Co. was bought by Unilever, but the Crosbies > continued to manage the firm until Roger Crosbie stepped down as president > in 1999. > > Curious Newfoundlanders came from far and wide to gape at the amazing sign. > During the Second World War, however, authorities ordered the lights turned > off as part of war-time blackout rules, and the cow was taken down. > > In 1949 the business earned its special status in the Terms of Union, and > soon after changed its name to the Newfoundland Margarine Co. — although > Crosbie says Newfoundlanders continued to call margarine butter. > > Canada now had its first margarine maker, a lucrative business with more > than 150 workers. And although St. John’s margarine couldn’t be exported to > other provinces, it wasn’t long after Newfoundland joined Canada that the > national dairy rules were changed and Unilever began making margarine in the > rest of the country. > > The international food giant now says the St. John’s plant and its 17 > workers are too small a concern to be maintained in a world of large-scale, > centralized manufacturing. > > After making margarine for almost eight decades, and introducing the product > into Canada, Newfoundland will now get its margarine shipped out from > Unilever plants in Ontario. > > “Everybody hates to see our old companies disappear,” says Crosbie, “but > time marches on.” > > > ==== NFLD-LAB Mailing List ==== > Roll Call Page for Nfld-Lab Mail List: > http://amoose4.tripod.com/ >