The Drummer's Snack
A common visitor to small towns a century and more ago was the travelling salesman, often referred to as drummer. These men, representing importers, distributors and manufacturers, travelled the country, calling on stores with the goal of signing them up to a shipment from their company, and hoping to form a long-term relationship.
Initially, the salesmen would rent display rooms that the larger hotels set up to cater to their trade. By the 1870s, as the rail network reached maturity, the salesmen would call on individual retailers, renting buggies in the larger towns in order to call on rural stores. The heyday of the drummers was from the 1870s to World War I.
The major organization for travelling salesmen was called the Drummers’ Snack Club. Organized in the early 1890s, it served as both a professional group and a social club. The Drummers’ Snack Club had its origins in the mind of a man called Bill Algie, from the hamlet of Alton, east of Erin. He came up with the idea of forming an association of travelling salesmen, who would come to Alton for a couple of days of games, eating and socializing, and in the process boosting the local economy.
The fall 1907 issue of Hardware Merchandising published an extensive account of the Snack held that summer. By then the program varied little from year to year. Friday afternoon began with some games and socializing, as visitors arrived in Alton. Volunteer residents took in many of the visitors for the night.
The evening concert was a mixture of professional entertainers and salesmen, who were invariably extroverts, and anxious to join in the spirit of things. Drummers offered songs, recitations, and other entertainment for the benefit of the locals and their colleagues.
Saturday’s program consisted largely of competitions and races, some of them humorous, and many that were open to local residents as well as drummers. Local organizations and charities ran various refreshment stands. For them, the event was a major fundraiser. Crowds began to disperse in late afternoon, in time for people to catch the trains out of town. The railway obligingly added extra cars to accommodate the rush.
The size of the event in 1907 and 1908 made plain the fact that it had outgrown the hamlet of Alton. In 1909 the Drummers’ Snack moved to Erin, to Oakville in 1910 and Georgetown in 1911. Towns competed for the honour of hosting the event.
The Drummers’ Snack seems to have been discontinued during World War I, As well, Bill Algie, the founder and the main organizer of the event, died in 1914.
It appears that the Drummers’ Snack Club did not hold another big event after 1923.
Initially, the salesmen would rent display rooms that the larger hotels set up to cater to their trade. By the 1870s, as the rail network reached maturity, the salesmen would call on individual retailers, renting buggies in the larger towns in order to call on rural stores. The heyday of the drummers was from the 1870s to World War I.
The major organization for travelling salesmen was called the Drummers’ Snack Club. Organized in the early 1890s, it served as both a professional group and a social club. The Drummers’ Snack Club had its origins in the mind of a man called Bill Algie, from the hamlet of Alton, east of Erin. He came up with the idea of forming an association of travelling salesmen, who would come to Alton for a couple of days of games, eating and socializing, and in the process boosting the local economy.
The fall 1907 issue of Hardware Merchandising published an extensive account of the Snack held that summer. By then the program varied little from year to year. Friday afternoon began with some games and socializing, as visitors arrived in Alton. Volunteer residents took in many of the visitors for the night.
The evening concert was a mixture of professional entertainers and salesmen, who were invariably extroverts, and anxious to join in the spirit of things. Drummers offered songs, recitations, and other entertainment for the benefit of the locals and their colleagues.
Saturday’s program consisted largely of competitions and races, some of them humorous, and many that were open to local residents as well as drummers. Local organizations and charities ran various refreshment stands. For them, the event was a major fundraiser. Crowds began to disperse in late afternoon, in time for people to catch the trains out of town. The railway obligingly added extra cars to accommodate the rush.
The size of the event in 1907 and 1908 made plain the fact that it had outgrown the hamlet of Alton. In 1909 the Drummers’ Snack moved to Erin, to Oakville in 1910 and Georgetown in 1911. Towns competed for the honour of hosting the event.
The Drummers’ Snack seems to have been discontinued during World War I, As well, Bill Algie, the founder and the main organizer of the event, died in 1914.
It appears that the Drummers’ Snack Club did not hold another big event after 1923.