Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. fonds 1955-1990, n.d. (non-inclusive)

In March 1931, Captain Bruce Angus was sent to Sarnia by Gordon C. Leitch, general manager of Toronto Elevators. He was sent to inspect the Sarnian to ensure it was still seaworthy. Leitch was a savvy business man, who had been active in the business community for a number of years. Leitch began his career with a partner in the lumber business. When that went under he moved into graineries and worked for the Winnipeg Wheat Pool for 12 years. After Winnipeg he moved to Toronto, which was closer to his home town of Ridgetown, Ontario. In Toronto Leitch became manager of the Toronto branch of the Canadian Wheat Pool. While managing the wheat pools in Toronto Leitch became aware of huge costs associated with shipping the grains from the praries into the Toronto area. He felt that there was no need for such costs and decided to do something to make them better and cheaper for the business. Originally the grain was loaded onto Lakers that would bring the grain from the praries to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. It was stored there until needed by the Toronto graineries and then hauled across land by either truck or train. The land journey was the most expensive and the one which Leitch wanted to eliminate. This was a fine plan except for 2 obstacles that were quickly overcome. First of all the Welland canals were not large enough to accommodate the large carriers that were bringing in the grain. This was changing as the expansion and widening of the canals was already underway. The second issue was the lack of storage in Toronto for the grain. The grain elevators had been destroyed by fire in the late 1880s and never replaced. Leitch propsed his company built its own storage elevators along the water front to allow not only for easier access to the grain, and more timely production of products. The elevators would aslo create a reduction in shipping costs and an overall more competitoive price for the customers of the grainery. The company refused, so Leitch went elsewhere to friends and contacts within the grain industry. The elevators were built and Leitch quit his job with the Canadian Wheat Pool and became the general manager of the elevators. Although the elevators were built and ready for storage the next issue was filling them. None of the carriers wanted to do business with Leitch because the competition in Georgian Bay threatened to cancel their contracts if they did. Leitch saw no way around this, but to provide his own transportation. This is when he sent Captain Bruce Angus to scout out potential ships. The ship was purchased for $37,000 and after another $30,000 was spent to fix it up, it was ready for business. The need for transportation and the finding of a seaworthy ship, lead to the beginnings of the Northland Steamship Company. The Sarnian proved to not be enough for the business underway. Leitch decided another ship was necessary. He joined forces with James Norris the owner of the Norris Grain Company. He proposed they join forces to create a more economical means of transportating their products.

The Influence of Male Diet on Life History Traits of Female Mosquitoes

In the field, mosquitoes characteristically feed on sugars soon after emergence and intermittently during their adult lives. Sugar meals are commonly derived from plant nectar and homopteran honeydew, and without them, adults can only survive for a few days on larval reserves. In addition to sugar, females of most species rely on blood for the initiation and maintenance of egg development; thus their reproductive success depends to some extent on the availability of blood hosts. Males, on the other hand, feed exclusively on sugars. Consequently, their sexual maturation and reproductive success is largely dependent upon access to sugar sources. Plant nectar and homopteran honeydew are the two main sugar sources utilized by mosquitoes in the wild. Previous laboratory studies had shown that differences between nectar sources can affect the survivorship and biting frequency of disease vectoring mosquitoes. However, little is known on how sugar composition influence the reproductive processes in male mosquitoes. Male mosquitoes transfer accessory gland proteins and other hormones to their mates along with sperm during mating. In the female, these seminal fluid constituents exert their influence on reproductive genes that control ovulation and vitellogenesis. The present study tests the hypothesis that the mates of males consuming different sugar meals will exhibit varying levels of induction of vitellogenin (a gene which regulates the expression of egg yolk precursor proteins). Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to investigate how each sugar meal indirectly influences vitellogenin mRNA abundance in female Anopheles stephensi following mating. Results indicate that mates of nectar-fed males exhibit 2-fold greater change in vitellogenin expression than the mates of honeydew-fed males. However, this response did not occur in non-blood fed controls. These findings suggest that the stimulatory effect of mating on vitellogenesis in blood meal-reliant (i.e. anautogenous) mosquitoes may only be synergistic in nature. The present study also sought to compare the potential fitness costs of mating incurred by females that do not necessarily require a blood meal to initiate a reproductive cycle (i.e., exhibit autogeny). Females of the facultatively autogenous mosquito, Culex molestus were allowed to mate with males sustained on either nectar or honedyew. Mean lifetime fecundity and survivorship of females under the two different mating regimes were then recorded. Additionally, one-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to verify the transfer of male accessory gland proteins to the sperm storage organs of females during mating.While there was no significant difference in survival between the test treatments, the mates of nectar-fed males produced 11% more eggs on average than mates of honeydew-fed males. However, additional data are needed to justify the extrapolation of these findings to natural settings. These findings prompt further investigation as the differences caused by diet variation in males may be reflected across other life history traits such as mating frequency and insemination capacity.

Report of Directors to the Shareholders, 1970

The report reads: "The year 1970 saw many significant changes in our Company. Sales were higher than in any previous year showing an increase in gallons of 8.8% and in dollar volume of 9.7%. The new offices and warehouse are fully operational, the fermenters installed prior to vintage assisted in holding our labour costs to a reasonable level, and the use of liquid sugar proved very successful. We added two representatives to our sales staff during the year and direct contact with our customers will be intensified. Product development is continuing and the addition of new lines and better distribution will be receiving priority. Our venture in the product supply for Valley Rouge Wines of Manitoba will, we trust, increase our sales volume and assist in lowering our fixed overhead. Capital expenses in 1971 will continue at a high level. Our co-operation with the various Government departments in respect to pollution, will obligate our Company to install facilities to satisfy the strict requirements in this regard. Preparations must be made now to handle bulk harvested grapes, the addition of storage and fermenting capacity and the replacement of production equipment, will be under constant review, thus enabling us to maintain production and efficiency. With the continued dedicated service of our personnel and the support of all our Shareholders, we are confident the challenge will be met in 1971."

Certificate for One Hundred Preference Shares in the Tait Storage Battery Company, Limited

Certificate for 100 preference shares in The Tait Storage Battery Company, Limited to the estate of Hamilton K. Woodruff, March 2, 1934.

Certificate for Twenty Shares of Capital Stock in The Tait Storage Battery Company, Limited

Certificate for 20 shares of capital stock in The Tait Storage Battery Company Limited to the estate of Hamilton K Woodruff, March 2, 1934.

Clipping from a Town Council meeting at which estimates of the costs of Railway Line no. 1 and Line no. 2 were submitted by the office of Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway

Clipping from a Town Council meeting at which estimates of the costs of Railway Line no. 1 and Line no. 2 were submitted by the office of Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway. The estimate was submitted by S.D. Woodruff and George Rykert, president. There is also a disclaimer in which Calvin Phelps claims to have resigned as director of the Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway when he discovered that the company had no intention to adhere to the original plan for building and running the road, Aug. 1854.

Report by Jacob Misner on setting contracts for deepening and clearing ditches and estimates of quantities and costs of marsh drainage

Report by Jacob Misner on setting contracts for deepening and clearing ditches and estimates of quantities and costs of marsh drainage (3 ½ pages, handwritten). This is marked as a copy, July 14, 1855.

List which includes costs, plans and receipts for amounts received between S.D. Woodruff and Boyd and Schurr

List (8 pages, handwritten) which includes costs, plans and receipts for amounts received between S.D. Woodruff and Boyd and Schurr, Dec. 3, 1875.