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1950
– 1959
On October 2, 1950, CFS purchased MCS's Record
Street facilities, and MCS moved into its new location at the Victory Industrial
Centre on Halifax Street. The site would also serve as home to MCS's first feed
mill, which was built the same year. MCS had purchased land and buildings at the
Centre - a former military base - in the fall of 1946, a full two years after
the organization had outgrown the Record Street space. Although it took almost
four years to relocate, the move gave MCS its own property and its third
location in 24 years, signifying just how much the organization had grown since
its incorporation in 1927.
Despite that growth, MCS faced a number of new and emerging challenges in the
1950s. Perhaps the greatest challenge to the organization was the growing number
and strength of multinationals entering the marketplace. Staying competitive in
the face of increased competition dominated discussion at the 1952 AGM. One
representative said the best way to remain competitive was to survey the people
who do household grocery shopping to get a better sense of how MCS, and the
co-ops it served throughout the region, could better meet their needs. But most
of the delegates at the meeting were men, and they were mainly preoccupied with
the business affairs of the co-ops. It was the wives of the delegates that were
the primary grocery shoppers, and the realization began to dawn that perhaps
management should become more inclusive to better reflect the needs of co-op
consumers and stay competitive.
Moncton
Feed Mill
June 1952
The Faithful,
Hopeful Co-operators
On a more positive note, MCS had grown to 200 employees by as early as 1952, and there were signs that some of the regional
service co-operatives were ready to join or rejoin MCS. Many had fallen on hard financial times in the years since they were formed. While some came back into
the fold, others merged to create large local wholesale co-ops, most notably CBCS and ECS - the regional service co-operatives that started it all - in 1956.
The merged operation, now known as Eastern Co- operative Services Ltd. (ECS), built a poultry killing plant, cold storage plant and marketing facilities in
Sydney.
As the 1950s progressed, McEwen's role began to change, and he became more of an executive officer than a general manager of
MCS. He continued to write a regular column for the Maritime Co-operator, but the column, launched as Funny Business in 1950, changed its name to Serious
Business in 1955. That same year, MCS began to formalize a standard contract for the management agreement that took shape in 1941 when McEwen became manager of
CFS.
The end of the decade brought continued growth
and expansion for MCS. The organization introduced bulk feed in 1958 and built a
new feed mill in Fredericton the following year. There seemed to be a strong
sense that MCS had not only arrived, but that a bright future was in store for
the organization. This was exemplified by a five-year plan McEwen drafted for
MCS in 1958, one that was based on the experience - his experience - of 25
years. The organization was clearly positioned to make major strides in the
decade to come, but not before some major changes took place that signaled the
end of a great era.
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1950s
- 1951 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS.
- 1952 - CBC
Television begins broadcasting, as does Hockey Night In Canada.
- 1952 - Elizabeth of Windsor succeeds to the throne of England when her father, George VI, dies.
- 1954 - CBHT, the Halifax CBC affiliate, produces its first
television program.
- 1955 - The Canso Causeway in N.S. officially opens.
- 1957 - Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Pearson receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1957 - The first Atlantic Premier's Conference is held in Halifax, N.S.
- 1957 - Front Page Challenge begins a 38-season run on CBC.
- 1958 - The Friendly Giant debuts on CBC. It would run until 1985.
- 1958 - 12 men are rescued from the No. 2 Springhill mine on October 29, six days after bump.
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