Remnants of the BA British American Oil Company in the Woodlot

During my visit to Area G in the woodlot, I found several rusty oil cans. I thought then that if I was able to determine the dates of the oil cans I would be able to establish when much of the logging activity was carried out. It also would help date the age of the new tree growth.

On several of the oil cans I was able to make out the familiar-to-me BA symbol which stood for the British American Oil Company. The symbol was very familiar to me since as a youth we lived right next to a BA Gas Station in the Montreal outskirts. During our hot summer vacation days, my brother and I often washed car windshields and pumped gas there as volunteers anxiously anticipating a 10-cent tip. We usually made enough for an ice cream at the Dairy Queen which was several miles down the highway. So after making enough money for an ice cream my brother and I would bicycle off for our reward of our labours.

In the interest of dating the cans, I web-browsed and found an interesting and pleasantly designed website about BA memorabilia. I particularly liked the historical essay of BA. To cut to the chase, BA was bought out by Gulf Canada and continued under the same name until 1969 when the Gulf Canada name replaced the BA symbol. Gulf Canada later became Petro Canada which still exists today.

So we can now safely estimate that Area G was logged for its cedar trees before 1969.