This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Canada Dry Barrie — Innisfil Street
Barrie has had multiple soda companies over the years.
Joshua Clarkson, proprietor of the Clarkson House hotel, ran a soda factory on John Street (now Maple Avenue) from 1881 until 1893. Charles Kilkenny and Donald Sutherland opened the Kilkenny Soda Water Manufactory in 1889, which closed in 1894.
Also in the soda water business was James Walsh, who opened his factory in 1893 on a triangular lot located at Sophia and Clapperton streets. He was later joined in the business by his brother, George, who took the business to new levels, forming a new company with Chris Horsfield.
Horsfield had come to Barrie from Lancastershire, England in 1883. In addition to his soda water collaboration with Walsh, Horsfield spent 19 years in the ice business and sat on town council in 1906.
Their new company, Imperial Soda Water Works, produced high-quality soda water, mineral water, ginger beer, lemon sours, and ginger ale. Their modern equipment, superior products and a reputation for cleanliness put the Imperial Soda Water Works company ahead of the competition, possibly contributing to the closure of other local soda water manufacturers.
Flash forward to 1949. Recognizing soft drinks as a growth market, Albert Empke, a local businessman, was appointed an authorized bottler of Canada Dry and founded the business Canada Dry (Barrie). The new bottling company was located at the northwest corner of Innisfil and Brock streets.
Empke was born in 1900 in Elmwood, Ont. In the early 1930s, he moved to Detroit and opened a hardware store. While living and working in Detroit, he met his wife Winnie, of Glencoe, Ont. Together, they moved to Barrie in 1932 and Empke opened a hardware store at 78 Dunlop Street East, called Empke's Hardware.
Mr. and Mrs. Empke were busy and active members of the community. Mrs. Empke was much involved in the Red Cross Hospital Auxiliary, Barrie Golf and Country Club events, and was judge of the 1954 Barrie District Collegiate Institute Grad Queen competition. Mr. Empke was a charter member of the Barrie Rotary Club, an elder at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, on the 1951 Barrie city council and sat on the Barrie School Board in the 1950s.
But Albert Empke was not in the ginger ale business for long — a limited company, managed by A.L. Robinson, purchased the business in 1950.
