Filling Bottles, circa 1930; 96.X1.28.
Filling Bottles, circa 1930; 96.X1.28. |
Once a product was aged and blended, it was pumped to the bottling room for bottling and packaging. The bottling line consisted of five distinct functions; bottle washing, filling, capping, dressing (labelling, ribbon tying) and packing. During its peak period of production in the late 1970s, the Seagram distillery operated five different bottling lines, to accommodate different bottle sizes and products, at a rate of between 120 and 135 bottles per minute.
The bottling room was the domain of women. "The girls", as they called themselves, took pride in their ability to keep pace with the fast moving lines, measuring their success in terms of how quickly they could tie a ribbon on a bottle of "V.O.", twist on a bottle cap or apply a silver "5 Star". Speed was of the essence on the bottling line, and employees were required to remain alert to ensure that the bottles were "dressed" with care. To relieve the monotony of repetitive work, the employees were rotated by the forelady to perform different jobs on a daily basis. While working, they shared stories, sang songs or played word games to help pass the time.
 Packing Crates, circa 1930; 96.X1.29. |
The forelady was responsible for assigning jobs and preparing and checking the lines at the beginning of each day. Along with her assistant, she assumed a position on the line where and when she was needed. Although each worker had her favourite job on the line, each step in the process had to be completed with the same care and attention to detail. Quality control check points were located along the line and visual inspections were conducted to ensure that bottle standards were consistently met.
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