The History of the Marshall Building

Landmark on 11th Street

In the early years of Montgomery Place, before the schools and the church were built, families enjoyed Fred Mendel’s hospitality as he opened his plant offices for Montgomery Place Ratepayers meetings and family Christmas gatherings. Community summer gatherings were held in the park west of the plant.

Mendel established Intercontinental Packers in 1940, locating in the former Marshall Building built in 1913 as an assembly plant for agricultural equipment. The building was then used to assemble Derby cars for a short time in the 1920s, then sat vacant for many years. When Mendel established his meat packing business on 11th Street West in Saskatoon, it soon became known for its “Olympic Fine Meats” brand, shipping bacon to Britain during the Second World War as part of Saskatchewan’s war effort.

On Fred Mendel’s death in 1976, his grandson Fred Mitchell took over and in 1998 renamed Intercontinental Packers to Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods. Fred Mitchell died in 1998 and in 2002 his widow sold to Schneider Corporation. Maple Leaf Foods purchased Schneiders in 2006 and announced the following year that the plant would be shut down. The last day of operation was June 1, 2009.

In April 2010 the wrecking crew arrived, tearing down the 11th Street landmark to make way for Circle Drive.