Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana July C.O.T.M. "McColl Frontenac" ~ (The Red Indian Brands)

Its my privelage to be asked to host July's C.O.T.M. I'll be covering one of the greatest companies in Canadian Gas & Oil History, McColl Frontenac, and their famous "Red Indian" brands. I'll start with a company history later today, and then lots of pictures throughout the month. If anyone has pictures, stories or suggestions, please email them to me at pogogas@telus.net . I'm not sure I can match Rex's awesome job last month, but I'll do my best to come close!

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Good Luck on the Hunt
Lance / The Pogo Man

[This message has been edited by PogoGas.com (edited 07-02-2005).]

As promised, my first submission, the companies history. Special thanks to my daughter Bridgette for composing this for me, the information is the best compiled history I've ever come accross, it is taken from "The Garage Door News" Fall 2002, which is the quarterly magazine published by the Canadian Service Station Memorabilia Association.


The company had its origins at the beginning of Canada’s oil history in the Ontario oil fields of Oil Springs and Petrolia where it started as McColl and Anderson in 1873. That was when Jon B. McColl and William Anderson formed a partnership to go into the lubricating oil business in Toronto. The company name was changed in 1876 to McColl Brothers and Company and the McColl family continued to operate under this name until the end of the first world war.

The McColl Brothers and Company primarily provided oils, greases, paints and varnishes to the railways presently under construction. As the Grand Trunk, Michigan Centre and later the Canadian Pacific, moved westward, McColl built plants at Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver as well as to the east at Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Realizing the potential of the fast growing gasoline market, the company reorganized and re-capitalized and in 1916, began importing gasoline from the United States to supply to motorists through its marketing network.

On December 12, 1918, the old McColl Brothers and Company partnership of John W. McColl was converted into a private limited liability company under Dominion charter effective January 1, 1919. The company’s new name was McColl Brothers Ltd.

In the early 1920's the company’s gasoline marketing business was confined to Ontario and Quebec. In 1925, a new refinery was built in Toronto which started operations on August 1, and by 1927, had expanded gasoline sales to Winnipeg. Lubricants were marketed across Canada under the brand name “Red Indian.”

Early in 1927, the Montreal financial house of Nesbitt, Thompson and Company purchased all the outstanding stocks of McColl Brothers, and in late 1927, merged the company with Frontenac Oil Refineries of Montreal, a company they also owned which had emerged from the bankrupt Nation’s Oil Refineries. The company’s newly acquired Nation’s Oil Refineries of Montreal was the second largest in Quebec, and crude oil was supplied from Trinidad through a wholly-owned subsidiary Antilles Petroleum Company. In 1929, the company purchased perfection Petroleum company of Toronto.

During the depression and because of stiff competition in Quebec from B-A and Shell, the company began to struggle, and in 1936, the predatory Texas Corporation of the United States secretly began buying up shares of McColl Frontenac. By 1938, the company owned enough shares to muscles out the McColl Frontenac board of directors and set up its own slate of directors.

Through this new board of directors, the Texas Corporation purchased the Texas Company of Canada, a company which had been marketing in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. At this same time the company purchased the Empire Oil Company of Winnipeg. The company furthered its position in British Columbia by buying, in 1940, the majority interest in BC. Fuel Co. Ltd. had changed its name to McColl Frontenac Oil Co. (BC) Ltd.

McColl Frontenac marketed gasoline and other products across Canada through some 4,000 retail outlets of which 85% were owned by others. In 1941, “Sky Chief” was the first Texaco brand name introduced and gradually the “Red Indian” and other McColl Frontenac brands were replaced by those of Texaco.

In 1957, McColl Frontenac sold its Antilles Petroleum Co. to the Texas Corporation for $11 million and at the same time, purchased a refinery in Toronto from Regent Refining in exchange for a block of shares worth some $15 million. Since Texaco had previously purchased Trinidad Laeseholds Ltd., the parent company of Regent Refining, it received most of the shares issued by McColl Frontenac for the Toronto refinery, further increasing its own partnership of McColl Frontenac.

In 1959, McColl Frontenac changed its name to Texaco Canada Limited.

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Good Luck on the Hunt
Lance / The Pogo Man

[This message has been edited by PogoGas.com (edited 07-02-2005).]

We'll start out with the most common Station ID signs. These signs came in various sizes from 24" all the way up to 60". The main difference you'll see is the variation of the indian head, the earlier version (Pre 1927, McColl Bros I believe) had black braids, black reliefs in the headress, and a white eye.



After the creation of McColl Frontenac in 1927 the logo became more stylized with white braids, white reliefs in the headress and a black eye.



The earlier signs read GASOLINE ~ MOTOR OILS as shown above. The later versions read both GASOLINE ~ MOTOR OILS or McCOLL FRONTENAC PRODUCTS as shown below.







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Good Luck on the Hunt
Lance / The Pogo Man

great info lance, cheese

Cool Lance. looking forward to more

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Hubba: GAS GEEK , OIL FREAK and humble moderator

Today we will look at keyhole signs. I only have a few photos of 2 variations, McCOLL FRONTENAC PRODUCTS & McCOLL FRONTENAC OIL CO LTD. I'm quite sure these also came with the dealer's name on them, if anyone has a photo of one, please send it to me to post pogogas@telus.net









Everyone have a great 4th of July and we'll see you again tommorow, I'm off to finish building my sundeck.

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Good Luck on the Hunt
Lance / The Pogo Man

[This message has been edited by PogoGas.com (edited 07-04-2005).]

[This message has been edited by PogoGas.com (edited 07-08-2005).]

hey lance who owns the nice keyhole sign now?
rick

There will be a bit of a pause before Pogogas posts some more pics on the topic.

A member of his family had an accident at home in the yard and he is tending to matters. Everything is under control..

Anyone wanting to post pics or info on the Red Indian company please do so, Thanks.

BAD NEWS, EH DODO? LANCE, HOPE EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT AND YOU CAN KEEP US POSTED AND BE BACK SOON.

THE ONLY THING I CAN POST IN RELATION TO THE THREAD IS MY OWN HANDPAINTED 26" X 72" REPRODUCTION OF THE SELF-FRAMED PORC 1930'S SIGN. GRAPHICALLY SPEAKING ANY SIGNS HAVING THE INDIAN LOGO IS RIGHT UP THERE ON THE TOP OF MY LIST!



DOC @ THE AMERICAN GARAGES!!

hope everything is ok lance take care

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. My wife took a serious fall off a ladder, 17' to the ground right onto a big tree root. She is still in intensive care, and in pretty tough shape. Luckily there was nothing broken but they were very concerned about a blood accumulation above her heart, a possible tear in her the aeorta, quite possibly fatal. They did several Cat Scans, then an ultrasound from her esophogus and finally an angio-cam into the heart to inspect it from the interior. Thank God everything came up negative, it is probably a broken blood vessel just outside the heart, but its not critical anymore. Anyway, we are in recovery mode now, so I'll be around to continue in the next day or so.

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Good Luck on the Hunt
Lance / The Pogo Man

Lance, sorry to hear about your wife and I wish her a full recovery. Please don't worry about this thread at this time and be with your wife.

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Scott Shipers
WANTED: Quart Picture Cans
Kansas City, Missouri 64152

HEY LANCE, THANKS FOR FILLING US IN ON THE TRAGEDY WHICH HAS TURNED OUT FOR THE BETTER. HOPE EVERYTHING FOR YOUR WIFE HEALS AND SHE GETS BETTER REAL SOON.
AS FOR YOUR OLDGAS TIME....WHAT SCOTT SAYS....BE WITH HER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT COTM.....IT'S A LONG MONTH!
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DOC @ TAG.WEST

Lance we are praying for your wife. Hope she has a full recuvery. As Scott & Doc say tend to your wife she is more important than this post we can catch up later. Take care!!!

thoughts and prayers are with you take care of family first were not going anywhere