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Ogopogo and apples go hand-in-hand in the regions surrounding Okanagan Lake. It is appropriate that BC Fruit Shippers would incorporate local mythology in the design of their labels that competed with those from the U.S. apple growing states. There is a rich visual history of apple labels in BC. Many labels were produced outside of BC and there is little documentation on the BC artists, designers, and printers responsible for this colourful part of BC applied arts history
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Ogopogo [is] known to the Indians as N'Haatik, the Demon of the Lake. Legends were handed down from father to son about the monster whose home was between Squally Point and the Island. He had to be appeased or he would churn the waters in fury. Sometimes a dog was sacrificed to keep in his good graces.”
The climate and soil of this district favour the production of the very best varieties of apples and a diverse range of other fruits that the ordinary Canadian never dreams of being grown in his own country.
British Columbian salmon label designs are a colourful reflection of names, places, flora, and fauna bordering the Pacific Ocean and coastal rivers and waterways. The labels were necessary to compete with salmon packers in the United States. “City folk” around the globe were intrigued by exotic salmon species, rendered artistically, some named after places and Aboriginal names. In the 1950s, packers introduced Hollywood-like cartoon images that had little reference to the spirit of the places and environments of the salmon.
“The fishing industry on the West Coast of Canada is inextricably linked to the life cycle of the five species of salmon that mature according to the pattern for each kind.
Initially, all the [canning] work was done by hand. Even the cans were handmade. As the industry grew and canned goods were accepted, machinery was invented or adapted for removing fish heads, cutting the fish, and dealing with large quantities automatically. Skilled workers did much of the cleaning, and all was arranged in assembly-line fashion.”
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