This series includes textual records and photographs on subjects ranging from corporate history to history of specific events that involved the company. The Steel Company of Canada showed an interest in its history, particularly for its 25th, 40th and 50th anniversaries. Records include images and sketches of drawings used for publications. At every occasion, the company took photographs showing its facilities and employees at work. In 1935, Stelco published the book entitled "The 25th Milestone, A Brief History of Stelco 1910-1935". At the 40th anniversary, Stelco published a special edition of its internal magazine "Stelco Flashes" entitled "40 Years of Service to Canada" (see Vol. 14 file No. 6).
The 50th anniversary was a very important event for Stelco. In 1960, the company was one of the largest steel companies in Canada. Hamilton and Montreal areas were the centers of this predominant industry. The main way that this occasion was celebrated was through the use of a variety of media. Staff were encouraged to feel strongly tied to the company, and a variety of participatory communications tools were used. Therefore, the series contains the following records relating to: slogans, open houses, visits of students and general public, family tours, receptions, articles in newspapers and magazines, interviews on radio and television shows. The main purpose of this public relations activity was to present Stelco employees at work, showing mills facilities in normal operations, and its greater successes. The company published visitor booklets describing the company's history and its place in the up-building of Canada.
The 50th anniversary committee made two special suggestions to commemorate the event. The first was to write a book on the company history. Stelco commissioned Dr. William Kilbourn, an assistant professor of history at the McMaster University and the author of "The Firebrand". Drafts and final texts of his book entitled "The Elements Combined" are available in this series. Notes of his researches, transcripts of employee interviews, minutes of meetings and managers' biographies are also available.
The second suggestion from the committee was to engage Crawley Films Inc. to produce a film. Entitled "Bright Century" it was designed to show to groups of customers at receptions, to societies, to employees, students, and other groups in a great many distant places from Halifax to Vancouver. Presented as a tribute to Stelco, the film highlighted its corporate image, its progressive company as well as the company's position in the industry, and its economic obligations to Canada. This series also contains the correspondence, the agreement with Crawley Films Inc., the script, a list of sequences, lists of shots and lists of costs.
This series also contains records on the subject of "wartime history records", and were accumulated and identified on this title prior to when being sent to LAC. It was decided to keep these records together because they were used by Dr. Kilbourn to write his chapters in his book. Files consist of documents related the involvement of the company in the First World War and the World War II. They include records covering Stelco property insurance, comparative statements from December, 1914 to December, 1915, files on the erection of a Roll of Honor for employees who served overseas in the Great War, correspondence pertaining to the manufacture of munitions, statements on plant investments, correspondence about new plant facilities (government plan), new military equipment and correspondence with John Inglis Company. There are also correspondence on Stelco's employees killed in action, sympathy letters, clipping, texts on steel production, lists of war products, a description of labor conditions and a list of Stelco personnel loaned to Canadian Government during war.
