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Storyboards commemorating Alan and Neil McLean of Blacks Harbour were unveiled at the New Brunswick Military Museum in Gagetown, NB, on September 28, 2024.
The storyboards were sponsored by Clan Maclean Heritage Trust, Clan Maclean Atlantic Canada, Eastern Charlotte New Brunswick, and the New Brunswick Scottish
Cultural Association.
Allan and Neil McLean bought Connors Brothers in 1923 from Lewis and Patrick Connors in 1923.
In 1920, Blacks Harbour consisted of only a few permanent residents. Most of the Connors Brothers employees were seasonal, and left after the
fishing season.
As production doubled, and then tripled, the McLeans needed a larger and more stable workforce. In order to encourage staff to stay year-round,
they built a permanent community. Word spread that the McLeans were good employers and that Blacks Harbour was a good place to live.
The McLeans, the company, and the town prospered.
When the 1929 stock market crash devastated the economies of much of the world many sardine producers went under, but Connors Bros. did not.
The brothers had set aside substantial reserves and, when the depression set in, they told Blacks Harborites that if anybody goes broke,
then we will all go broke together.
The McLean brothers provided not just a company store, but essential services such as housing, police, a fire department, a hospital,
and water and electricity systems. Rents were low, and electricity costs were the least-expensive in New Brunswick.
Besides Neil and Allan, other members of the McLean family held senior positions at the firm, most notably cousins Donald, Dougald, and Murdo. Donald's son, Donald McLean Jr., later became President.
In 1967, Neil and Allan McLean sold Connors Bros., Limited to George Weston Limited. In 1983, Edward McLean, son of their cousin, Dougald, became the President of Connors Brothers under its new owners.
Retiring in 2003, he was the last McLean to be President and CEO of the company.
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