Fruit production in the Niagara Region is featured. Young women dubbed “Farmerettes” love the job of fruit picking. Their demeanor suggests nothing of the exploitation discussed in Carmela Patrias’s work on the Niagara Fruit Region on the period. Fresh fruit is sold at market, while some is processed into jams, which are in turn sold throughout the region in various venues. Children love fresh fruit! A government refrigeration facility is referred to, raising interesting questions of how the State supported this industry.

“Where Nature Smiles”, 1921, film, 6 minutes, Graphic Consultants collection, accession number 1972-0105, Item number ISN 201473, Library and Archives Canada.

Film editing by Annie Slotnick. Musical direction by Ewen Farncombe. Songs:

Arkansas Blues - Yerkes’ S.S. Flotilla Orchestra-composition: Lada; Williams (1921)

Cutie - Moulin Rouge Orchestra-composition: Adolph Trial (1921)

Further Discussion

Patrias, Carmela. "More Menial than Housemaids? Racialized and Gendered Labour in the Fruit and Vegetable Industry of Canada’s Niagara Region, 1880–1945." Labour/Le Travail, no. 78, Fall 2016, pp. 69–104.