By: Rénald Fortier
Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
“Like our ancestors the Normans, let us drink cider!” A brief overview of the history of Christin Limitée, a Québec soft drink producer which lasted for more than a century, under various names, Part 3
A sketch of the new factory of Christin Limitée of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “–.” Le Mouvement ouvrier, 1948. (Montréal : Éditions de la L.O.C., 1948), 4th cover.
I offer you a very sparkling hello, my reading friend.
Are you ready to complete our exploration of the history of Christin Limitée, a soft drink producer from Montréal, Québec, and the firms which preceded it for over a century? Wunderbar!
J. Christin & Compagnie Limitée changed its name in December 1946 to Christin Limitée. It did not seem to have suffered from the small scandal surrounding its illegal acquisition of granulated sugar mentioned last week.
In September 1948, that firm inaugurated a large part of a brand new factory, more spacious and more modern, in Montréal of course. The city’s mayor, the well-known Camillien Houde, a gentleman mentioned in a September 2023 issue of our amaaazing blog / bulletin / thingee, participated in the event, which was very understandable.
The presence of the rector of the Institut catholique de Toulouse, in… Toulouse, France, Archbishop Paul Marie Bruno de Solages, a theologian / university professor who had distinguished himself during the Second World War for his opposition to the collaborationist Vichy government and the persecution of people of the Jewish faith, was a little less easy to explain.
While it was true that de Solages was in Québec for about a month, it was equally true that he had come to North America to teach at the Université de Montréal, in… Montréal, not to attend the inauguration of a soft drink production plant, as modern and well-equipped as it might have been.
The presence of a member of the Societas Jesu / Society of Jesus, the director of the École sociale populaire and founder of the Semaines sociales du Canada, Joseph-Papin Archambault, was not easy to explain either. Anyway, let us move on.
Err, you do not know what we were talking (typing?) about, do you, my reading friend? Sigh… Know then that the École sociale populaire was an organisation founded in 1911 whose clerical and lay members aimed to apply in Québec the social doctrine of the roman catholic church. The doctrine itself aimed to improve the fate of the urban working class and curb the rise of socialism / communism in industrial and urban settings.
The Social Weeks of Canada / Semaines sociales du Canada, on the other hand, were cultural symposia organised, very often in Québec, between 1920 and 1964, by said church to publicise its social doctrine
Said doctrine, for its part, drew its origins from the encyclical Rerum Novarum, published in May 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, but back to our soft drinks.
The new Christin plant could fill 15 000 or so soft drink bottles per hour. A fleet of 30 or so trucks delivered those products throughout the island of Montréal. It also delivered them within a radius of 80 or so kilometres (50 or so miles) around it.
Given the changes which had affected Christin for many years, one was entitled to wonder whether members of the staff and / or management noted the deaths, in February 1950 and May 1952, of two former presidents of the firm, Albert Hudon and Joseph Adolphe Christin, aged 77 and 79 respectively.
Always aware of the need to remain present in the minds of as many people as possible, Christin collaborated with the Montréal radio station CKVL no later than April 1948 as part of its weekly musical program Article Douze. To attend the recording of the show, one simply had to show up at the parish hall of the Saint-Stanislas de Kostka church in Montréal with 5 bottle caps of Christin soft drinks.
That show was hosted by the well known Québec singer / host Fernand Robidoux, one of the first promoters of Québec song and spouse of the Québec actress Jeanne d’Arc “Zézette” Couet, a lady mentioned in the second part of this article. The Québec actor / announcer / comedian / monologuist Gilles Pellerin filled the role of master of ceremony.
Article Douze seemingly remained on the air until the spring of 1950.
Christin also collaborated with the Montréal radio station CKAC, then owned by the major daily La Presse, also from Montréal, to launch the Radio-Concours Christin in October 1950.
The eponymous show, yes, yes, Radio-Concours Christin, on the air in the morning, Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, offered pleasant music to its male and female listeners. The host, Louis Bélanger, chief announcer at CKAC, also gave the definition of a mystery word, taken from a dictionary, that those people had to identify.
People who wished to participate in the contest simply mailed their name and address to the offices of CKAC. Any winner whose letter contained 5 Christin product labels would see her or his prize double.
Bélanger was happy to award a prize at each show to the person whose name was drawn at random and who had the correct answer. He also awarded a special prize on Fridays.
The spouse of J. Aurélien Raymond of Montréal, Québec, accepting the grand prize of the Radio-Concours Christin from the hand of Louis Charles Gascon, a member of the senior management of Christin Limitée of Montréal. Anon., “Montréal.” Radio Television ‘51, 21 July 1951, 4.
The spouse of J. Aurélien Raymond of Montréal won the grand prize of the Radio-Concours Christin, awarded in June 1951 by a member of Christin’s senior management, Louis Charles Gascon. The prize in question was worth $ 500, a sum which translates to around $ 5 525 in 2024 currency, which was not too shabby at all.
Always aware of the need to remain present in the minds of as many people as possible, Christin joined forces with CKVL to launch the weekly radio show Le Ralliement Christin. That show intended to help young (under 21?) artists went on the air in November 1953.
Its host was none other than the Québec radio and television host Roger Baulu, the prince of announcers and a giant of Québec radio and television mentioned in November 2019, August 2022 and May 2023 issues of our invaluable blog / bulletin / thingee.
Many of the young people who came to the CKVL auditorium were obviously hoping to win one of the magnificent bicycles supplied each week, I think, by Majestic Bicycle and Supply Company Limited of Montréal.
Close to 65 young artists were featured between November 1953 and March 1954.
The big finale of the 1953-54 season was held in June 1954. About 45 participants were in the running. The director of Le Ralliement Christin, the Québec producer / director / bassist / actor Paul-Émile Corbeil, played the role of master of ceremonies.
The fifteen winners then shared 10 scholarships with a total value of $ 1 000, an amount which corresponds to approximately $ 11 200 in 2024 currency.
Prizes also rewarded 20 or so young participants. One of them returned home with a bicycle while more than 15 others won a watch. Better yet, two young people went home with both prizes.
Some of the scholarship recipients went on to have remarkable careers in music. Let us mention for example the Québec accompanist / pianist / repetitor / teacher Marie Marthe Monik Grenier (21 years old in 1953), the Ontario singer / teacher Claire Grenon (20 years old) and the Québec violinist Edward Kudlack (17 years old).
Mind you, other people there that day also did very well. Just think of Quebecer Boris Brott (9 years old in 1953), who won a bicycle. Brott subsequently became a conductor. That gentleman was among the most internationally recognised Québec and Canadian conductors of his time.
Speaking (typing?) of internationally, did you know that Kudlack played for the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper and the Wiener Philharmoniker of Vienna / Wien, Austria, during the 1970s?
Christin’s staff certainly could not fail to note the firm’s centenary, an anniversary which made a lot of noise in May 1955. After all, it was not every day that a Québec firm, nay, a Québec firm owned by francophones, reached such an advanced age. Indeed, would you believe that the Montréal weekly Le Petit Journal devoted 8 pages (!) of a May 1955 edition to Christin, its history and its operations? I kid you not.
Come to think of it, Christin might well have been the oldest soft drink producer still in existence in Canada in 1955. Kudos!
Indeed, a plaque commemorating the event and attached to the new factory was unveiled in the presence of a large crowd, which included the mayor of Montréal, Jean Drapeau. Yes, yes, Jean Drapeau. The Drapeau of the Exposition internationale et universelle de Montréal, or Expo 67, which took place from April to October 1967, in… Montréal, an amaaazing universal exhibition mentioned in many issues of our wonderful blog / bulletin / thingee since November 2020.
Yours truly was fortunate enough to make a brief visit to that universal exhibition in 1967, thanks to the kindness of an uncle and aunt who are unfortunately no longer with us.
An overview of the mezzanine and ground floor of the Christin Limitée soft drink bottling plant in Montréal, Québec. The tanks on the mezzanine and two bottling machines on the ground floor are clearly visible. Anon., “Christin célèbre ses 100 ans.” Le Petit Journal, 15 May 1955, 68.
An overview of the bottling room on the ground floor of the Christin Limitée soft drink bottling plant in Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Christin célèbre ses 100 ans.” Le Petit Journal, 15 May 1955, 69.
The final phase of soft drink production by two employees of Christin Limitée of Montréal, Québec: placing the bottles in cardboard bottle holders which had been used, I believe, for a relatively limited period of time. Anon., “Christin célèbre ses 100 ans.” Le Petit Journal, 15 May 1955, 68.
As proud as he was of Christin’s achievements, Charles Auguste Gascon noted with sadness, words translated here, that francophone Quebecers “remain dazzled by English names and their powerful advertising machine. Coca-Cola, Gurd, etc. amaze them and give them confidence. Christin leaves them cold. It seems impossible to them that a French-Canadian house could have a value equal to, and sometimes greater than, the houses of other races.”
“What can we add to those words?,” emphasised, in translation, Roland Lorrain, a Québec journalist / pioneer of ballet in Québec who wrote a long article on Christin published in the Montréal daily Le Devoir in August 1955. “They go without comment, because everyone feels their truth.”
And yes, according to Gascon, it was that lack of support from the francophone majority of Québec which explained the fact that the factory inaugurated in 1948 was not yet completely complete in 1955.
Yes, again, the use of the term races may surprise, or even shock, but the fact was that it was still widely used in the Québec francophone press of the time: at least 300 times between January 1951 and December 1955 in the expression race canadienne-française compared to at least 900 times between January 1931 and December 1935 and at least 95 times between January 1971 and December 1975.
Would you believe that Québec was the leading producer of soft drinks in Canada in 1955? No less than 192 750 000 or so litres (42 400 000 or so imperial gallons / 50 900 000 or so American gallons) of those products were produced there in 1953 for example, at a time when the population of this province was approximately 4 270 000 people.
Given those numbers, every year, every person in Québec, from the youngest newborn child to the oldest living person, theoretically tossed back the equivalent of 60 (!) wine bottles filled with soft drinks, a sacrilege I will admit.
If the name Coca-Cola Company is probably familiar to you, that of Charles Gurd & Company Limited of Montréal is probably not as familiar, and that is a shame. That producer of soft drinks actually saw the light of day in 1868. Its story deserves to be told in this place and I hope to be able to offer you an article before the end of the century.
Please note that the following was quite horrific.
Yours truly would be remiss if I did not mention that Christin’s expert advisor on product quality in 1955 was apparently none other than Paul Zareh Bedoukian, born P’vol Zareh Petukean, an Armenian Canadian who, barely out if diapers, survived the genocide committed in 1915-17 against his people by the monstrous yahoos / criminals who then ruled the Ottoman Empire.
Bedoukian and members of his family who had survived the massacres arrived in Canada around 1926. He began training in chemical engineering at McGill University in Montréal in 1932. Bedoukian obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1936. McGill University awarded him a doctorate in organic chemistry, I think, in May 1941.
Over the years and decades, Bedoukian became a world authority on the chemistry of perfumes and flavours. He also became a world authority on ancient Armenian coins.
In 1955, Bedoukian had already been based in the United States for several / many years.
An advertisement from Christin Limitée of Montréal, Québec, for the competition launched in December 1962. Anon., “Christin Limitée.” La Presse, 22 December 1962, 6.
Christin continued its journey without being talked a lot about until December 1962. The firm then launched a competition in which consumers were invited to take a look under the cork of the bottle caps of Christin soft drinks.
Anyone finding a gold disc under said cork simply had to mail it to Christin’s head office and the firm would send her or him $ 1, in cash or in the form of a check (or stamps?) I cannot say. Anyone who found a Golden Lion, on the other hand, would receive $ 25. Those amounts correspond to approximately $ 9.90 and $ 247.50 respectively in 2024 currency.
That competition seemed to continue until around February 1963.
In December 1963, Christin launched a new competition. Anyone who found a token, called capsucado, under the cork of a Christian spruce beer bottle cap simply had to pop up to a retailer to obtain 6 bottles of Christin beverages for free. Five types of beverages appeared to be available for that competition, including Orange Pampa and Pampa Cola.
A potentially awkward digression if I may. Could Christin’s interest in sales-boosting contests have been caused by financial difficulties? Just sayin’.
Dramatic twist in June 1966: Allan’s Beverages Limited of Montréal acquired certain assets and trademarks from Christin. That producer of soft drinks founded in 1882 also acquired all the distribution rights for that firm’s products. Incidentally, said products would be distributed by the Nesbitt division of Allan’s Beverages.
Actually, yours truly wonders if the Nesbitt in question was not in fact Nesbitt’s Orange (Montreal) 1961 Limited of… Montréal, but I digress.
The management of Allan’s Beverages partly explained its decision by the fact that the consumption of soft drinks per person in the Montréal region was said to be higher than that of any other region on Earth. Wah!
The aforementioned Gascon, yes, Charles Auguste Gascon, survived that drastic turn of event by a few years. He left this world in July 1975, at the age of 89.
Less dramatic twist in July 1986: Cott Beverages Limited of Montréal, the Canadian subsidiary of the American soft drink producer Cott Corporation, announced its intention to resurrect two soft drinks very popular in their time, Christin’s sparkling nectar and spruce beer, two products eliminated by Allan’s Beverages at one point because it sold similar beverages.
How was this possible, you ask, my reading friend? A good question. You see, in the weeks, months and years following the purchase of the rights to produce, sell and distribute the products of Allan’s Beverages, err, Allan Beverages Limited at the time in fact, by Cott Beverages, in March 1981, several / many firms had wished to acquire the rights to Christin’s sparkling nectar and spruce beer. Sensing a good deal, the management of Cott Beverages decided to relaunch their production.
Yours truly cannot say when that resurrection ended.
Christin was officially dissolved in 1989.
Take good care of yourself, my reading friend, because winter is coming. It will be here in… 279 days.
Rénald Fortier
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