Field Trip to Gulf of Georgia Cannery

In Socials, we have been studying the Salmon Industry and its effect on British Columbia and our region.  We have studied salmon life cycles and the phenomenon of the salmon returning to their very tributary to lay their eggs.  We have also studied the cannery workers and the process of preserving the fish.  Today, the trip to the cannery was a perfect wrap-up to our unit.  It was a great day--a lot of learning, demonstrations, and fun activities.  
What a great looking group!
As you can see it was a little cold and wet, but it didn't diminish our excitement for the day! 
 
 

Before we went in, we got to know the statues outside the Cannery.   Here Sharon and Joseph are with their new....friend!
 
 

Josiah and Joey trying to give the illusion of a man with three heads.
 
 

Once inside, (where it was very cold) we learned that the fishermen were among the best paid workers for the cannery.  However, the work was very dangerous and they would be out to sea in little dories for up to 10 days at a time!
 
 

As we listened to the information about the fishermen, we could look out and see the modern day trawlers in the harbor.
 

Our guide uses a fabric fish to talk about what has to happen to the fish before it can be put in cans--fins, head, tail, guts all gone...The men who prepared the fish this way were fast! Very fast! They could gut and clean a fish completely in 20 seconds!  They also went through several knives a day, taking them home every night to re-sharpen.
 

Joey got to "take out" the guts! YUCK!!
 
 

Here we are at the scaling station where the fish's scales were removed. 
 


Joey thought he would have been an expert at this station of the cannery.  Unfortunately pay is not good and the work is cold, wet, and messy.  Chinese women often did this job and would actually bring their children to work!
 

Here the fish are cut just the right size for the cans by the "Gang Knife" machine.  It was very dangerous and many got hair and even fingers caught in this machine. 
 
 

Now the salmon has been put in the cans and is ready to be sealed.
 
 

This salmon has been canned and sealed.  It is now ready to be labeled.
 
 

We participated in a "History Mystery" and had to use artifacts and clues to figure out the identity and background of a cannery worker.  This group appears to be getting help from Brother Jules.
 
 

This team's "worker" was a native worker who came in to work in the cannery just in the summer months and then returned to her family.
 
 

This group identified their "worker" as a rich cannery owner!
 
 

This group was not treated well at the cannery store which was a clue as to the identity of their character.


 
Michael thought he would make a great Cannery Mechanic.  The Cannery Mechanic was the second highest paid job in the cannery!
 
Due to the rain, we had to come back a little earlier than planned; but it was a great day, and everyone learned a lot!  A special shout-out to our drivers--thank you so much for making the trip possible!
 
--Miss Leonard