Pencils, eh
A virtual museum of the golden age of the Canadian pencil industry.
Census Day in Canada was on May 11, 2021. The census of Canada is taken every five years. Prior to 1971, census data was collected by enumerators going door-to-door conducting in-person interviews. 1971 was the first year that households were asked to complete the census forms on their own. Census packets were mailed to 6.2 million households. Each of these packets contained everything needed to complete the census including a pencil! Eight and a half million census pencils were purchased for the 1971 census. These pencils were made by Eagle Northrite and Empire Pencil. Advertisements and posters called on all Canadians to “count yourself in” for Canada's first "DIY" census. The census pencils also contained this slogan in both English and French.
Pencils were again sent with the 1976 census form. This pencil was round instead of hexagonal and only had the text "Census of Canada". These pencils may have been issued again for the 1981 census. In the newspaper advertisement below, from June 1st, 1976, you can see the new style of census pencil. By 1986, pencils were no longer included in census packages. Despite them being nearly 50 years old, it is not uncommon to find these Canadian census pencils in drawers and pencil cups across the country. A lingering reminder of the census and its wide reaching impact.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2024
Categories
All
|