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Alberta
Clay Products owed its origins to American capital, and to the
experience and confidence of the Iowa group represented by
Warren Overpack. Left to its own devices, it is unlikely that
the community of Medicine Hat would have initiated an industrial
enterprise on the scale of the Alberta Clay Products. As the
Medicine Hat News pointed out after the fact, "there were
hundreds of croakers who could not foresee success and... made
dismal prophecies" regarding the venture. The principal
exception to this characterization was Harry C. Yuill, whose
motto was "Put Medicine Hat-made money back to work in Medicine
Hat." Yuill came to Medicine Hat in 1884 from Nova Scotia, and
built his wealth during the real estate and construction boom
before 1914. One of the principal stock holders in the Alberta
Clay Products, he purchased control of the company in 1919.
Over
the next decade, the company capitalized on unprecedented demand
and prosperity in the Canadian clay products industry. The need
for brick and tile in the developing western provinces continued
to grow, and 1928 saw a record season for the Alberta Clay
Products. The largest staff in the company~ s history was fully
engaged in production, and still the company had trouble staying
ahead of the demand: a report for that year stated so many
orders were received that the plant had trouble keeping up with
them.
Alberta
Clay Products continued under Yuill’s leadership until his death
in 1944. The company fared relatively well throughout the
Depression years, and survived the building restrictions imposed
by the federal government during World War II. The post-war
period saw steady growth for manufacturers of brick, tile and
sewer pipe. Yuill’s two Sons maintained the business after his
death: Harlan became President, and Bill remained a Vice
President. However, it appears that rivalry between the brothers
in the end undermined their ability to continue. In 1955,
Alberta Clay Products was sold to a Vancouver-based construction
company. In 1960, Medicine Hat Brick & Tile bought the company,
operating it until 1961 when it was consumed by a devastating
fire. Of the enormous factory complex, only two beehive kilns
now survive. |