The Top Boler Internet Myths & Folktales - at a glance
The 'Septic Tank on Wheels' folktale.
One of the most popular internet generated folktales is the fabled story that the boler trailer was designed by inventor Ray Olecko and Sandor Dusa to resemble a septic tank, or that Olecko's septic tank patent drawings of 1966 were the inspiration behind the boler's rounded design.
By all accounts the iconic Canadian boler trailer should have held its rightful place and recognition alongside other intercontinental moulded fibreglass trailer creations of its day. By examination and comparison, the boler’s shape, dimensions, features and characteristics were all quite obviously inspired by earlier 1950s & 1960s European styled moulded fibreglass trailer models having similar and shared designs.
Boler perhaps may have been more justly described today as being “Of Canadian origin and European style", however through a series of unwitting early internet conversations that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the boler became unfortunately described as the “Upside down Septic Tank” or the “Septic Tank on Wheels”. At the time of early internet forums it seemed all but too convenient to speculate that the boler's shape was somehow connected to drawings of Olecko's septic tank improvements of 1966. Today however, it is widely recognized and known that the boler trailer is in fact a later descendant and near replica of several earlier known European fibreglass moulded trailers each sharing similar exterior/ interior design features and manufacturing processes. None of which were remotely associated with septic tanks. Boler's European Heritage.
It is worthwhile noting that in all of past history's numerous archived newspaper interviews with Ray Olecko and factory partners, including press clippings and archived 1960s and 1970s articles written about the boler, no where has any written evidence ever been produced that remotely suggested that the boler trailer was connected to a septic tank shape or design. In fact, it wasn't until the dawn of the internet that this particular folktale surfaced. The terms "septic tank on wheels" or, "upside down septic tank" have only been traced to references made on the internet but never once in historical archived printed materials from the past.
Remarkably this folktale is still being retold and referenced in modern day writings on the internet which is indeed an unfortunate and unjustified occurrence and should be updated.
Boler ensolite insulation and the 40 boler unit recall folktale
In the mid to late 1990s an internet myth surfaced that was shared on several websites suggesting that the insulation used to line the boler's walls (known as Ensolite) was a new space aged material that was introduced around the time of the boler in 1968. It was further suggested that this insulation was only available in a 2 inch thickness and that inventor Ray Olecko somehow convinced Uniroyal to shave it down to 3/16 for his bolers. Where this folk tale claim falls short is in the fact that Ensolite Insulation had actually been around since the 1950s and was readily available in several thicknesses including 3/16 inch. The boler recall story also falls short of belief with recent testimonies from boler owners showing unit numbers as high as #099 that have never had Ensolite insulation installed by the boler factory. Polls and testimonials. It can be deduced, that if the first 40 units were in fact recalled, the following flat top boler units built (40 and up to #099) would then have factory Ensolite insulation installed. As this is not the case, the 40 unit recall story can be simply viewed as a fabricated internet folktale. Further evidence from archived boler advertisements clearly indicates that Ensolite insulation made its boler debut in mid-year 1969. This would be approximately one year after boler production began. Up until this point, bolers were being built without insulation, having only raw smooth and painted bare fiberglass interior walls.
The two-sided seam tape and talcum powder folktale
This folktale was first introduced in the late 1990s on a now defunked website where claims were made that inventor Ray Olecko had allegedly used two-sided 3M tape to cover the boler ensolite seams, and upon removing the inside paper backing of the tape, then applied talcum powder over the exposed sticky side to make it non-sticky. This particular folktale has been swirling around the internet for nearly twenty years under the guise of an alleged interview with Ray Olecko. It should be noted that the original posting of this alleged interview carries no date, location or actual words in quotes by Ray Olecko himself, making this 3M tape story a very suspicious one and considered here to be yet another folktale story.
It should be noted however that there has long been evidence of boler owners, including generations of owners who have made their own repairs to ensolite seams by applying various types of taping methods including two-sided tape and then dusting the sticky side with talc or baby powder (source: fiberglass rv forum). Perhaps this is how this tape tale began. The reader should ultimately decide.
The Bowler hat folktale
Another popular internet folktale story about the boler trailer is the claim that it was designed by the inventor to resemble the shape of an English Bowler Hat. Once again this folk story seems to have been spurred on by decades of internet chat room and website discussions in yet another effort to reconcile the shape of the trailer. Today's research however finds no boler related archived newspaper articles, advertisements, brochures, marketing materials or published quotes by the inventor or by boler factory representatives that mentions its shape being fashion after an English bowler hat. Adding to the general embellishment of this fabled story are references that still propagate on some boler history websites that cite Lucius Beebe's 1957 article in the Salt Lake City Utah Deseret Newspaper entitled,
"The Hat That Won The West". In his article Beebe explains the popularity of the English bowler hat specifically in reference to the frontier days of the American Wild West which, put into context, has no real relevance whatsoever to the Canadian boler story and serves no practical purpose other than to confuse and contradict known facts about the boler travel trailer's actual name origin.
The boler name folktale
Before it became widely known that the boler name originated with the inventor's very first invention - the Boler Slingshot in 1963, past enthusiasts via several early internet chat rooms attempted to reconcile the boler name by suggesting that the 'w' in bowler (as in bowler hat) was dropped intentionally by the inventor to create the name 'boler'. This claim however is now widely recognized to be an early internet generated folktale. Fortunately however with the aid of new research, the actual origin of the boler name was revealed in February 2018 and proved conclusively to have nothing to do whatsoever with a bowler hat.
Ray Olecko and the famous Manitoba Orbit Trash Receptacle. Connection? Or simply a folktale.
It's been asserted in some history circles that Winnipeg inventor Ray Olecko helped to design the famous fibreglass Orbit trash receptacles that once appeared along Manitoba highways in the 1960s and 70s. However to date, there is no supporting documentation or any evidence whatsoever that supports this particular assertion.
The Orbit trash receptacle, in fact, was originally designed solely by a man named Peter Boychuk, a provincial traffic sign technician who worked for the Manitoba Highways Department. The 1.3 meter diameter orbs were manufactured by Duraplex Products Ltd. of Winnipeg which went out of business in 1968 and the original Orbit moulds went up for public auction along with other equipment. It appears that for a period of time after 1968, Structural Glass Ltd. (a former employer of Ray Olecko) continued manufacturing the Orbit, however this would be around the time Olecko and partners started their Boler trailer company. It could be possible that Olecko helped to re-design the Orbit in some shape or fashion but no evidence to date has come forward that makes this fact or connects Ray Olecko with the Orbit Trash Receptacle in any way other than an interesting folktale. Here is a link to a YouTube video about the Orbit's true designer Peter Boychuk
The internet folktale that only 100 flat-top bolers were ever made
There is an old internet folk tale that started decades ago that suggested that only the first 100 bolers were made with a flat roof design. Today's research into testimonials from owners of flat top bolers, some who have submitted photos of their boler unit # stamp, indicate that close to 200 or more bolers were actually built with a flat roof. In fact, an archived boler advertisement (Winnipeg Free Press - photo left) shows that the raised roof bolers were first introduced and advertised in early-mid 1970 after nearly two years of flat top boler production (40 units at Higgins Ave. factory in 1968) & (approx. 150 units at 770 Dufferin Street factory in 1969). The advertisement (photo left) along with testimonials from actual owners of flat top bolers proves conclusively that this old internet story is simply a fabricated folktale.
The folktale that Bolers were manufactured in Wichita, Kansas
Some boler enthusiasts have come to believe that some American built bolers were manufactured and assembled in Wichita, Kansas due to the mention of Wichita on some Boler American registration stamps. In actuality, no bolers were ever built in Wichita, Kansas. Wichita was the city location of Eleanor International Offices and Headquarters. Eleanor (correctly spelled with an 'a') was a hotel and convention center developer that entered into an agreement with Boler Winnipeg in 1971 to build bolers in the United States. The name 'Boler American' was a subsidiary of Eleanor International. Research indicates that U.S. bolers were manufactured and assembled in Tripoli, Iowa and Backus, Minnesota, never in Wichita.
Critique of the web's alleged 'My interview with Ray Olecko'
Real? Or early internet prank.
Upon scrutiny, the following article titled - "My Interview With Ray Olecko", ( you can find several excerpts published on several websites ), unfortunately contains a great deal of inaccuracies which bolertrailerhistory.ca has identified and carefully fact checked. This old internet article from the late 1990s has also been a subject of discussion in popular forums such as fibreglass RV where its validity has been questioned.
Considering the overwhelming number of flaws and the absence of interview date and location of this alleged interview, bolertrailerhistory.ca recommends to readers and researchers that they should consider it to be suspicious when they happen upon it. It is also worthy to note that this alleged interview appears void of any direct questions to, or quoted responses from Ray Olecko himself as the interviewee. Readers and researchers should ultimately decide its validity or worthiness to be taken seriously as a genuine interview that actually took place.
The alleged interview begins:
"I met this week with Ray Olecko, the designer and original manufacturer of the Boler Trailer. He seems to have been an inventor of several products, and proud, but modest about his many accomplishments."
"He was selling cars, when he became fascinated with the potential of fiberglass, and his first invention was a fiberglass septic tank." (Fact check: Ray Olecko’s first marketed invention was the fibreglass Boler Slingshot in 1963 and not the septic tank patent).
"His design was light weight and easy to ship by comparison with the steel and concrete tanks of the day - a quality later to be evident in the Boler development." (Fact check: Fibreglass septic tanks were already being manufactured and sold as early as 1961 by a number of companies including Owens Corning and Structural Glass Ltd. )
"His patented design quickly became an industry standard. It was while camping with his family, that he started to envision a lightweight trailer, and his design was based on his own family's need -2 adults and 2 children -hence the small bunks. He says that he never made any drawings, but carried the design around in his head, and when it came time to get down to work with the mold maker- Sandor Dussa (Comment: Correct spelling is Dusa.) he simply drew out the basic lines of the trailer on a large piece of cardboard mounted on the wall, and said ' Make it like this' !! . "(Comment: There is another internet story that writes, quote -" Ray spent countless hours working out the design and measurements for the boler trailer. He meticulously labored over graph paper designs, and explained the graph paper were actually to help with the measurements for fitting everything into the design." - end quote. The subject of how the Boler's design came into existence remains a mystery. Blueprints for similar and earlier European trailers were likely obtainable and certainly adds to the mystery.
The alleged interview goes on - "He was looking for an unusual name for the trailer, and thinking that it looked a little like a bowler hat, he decided on Boler!" (Fact check: Boler was the name Olecko gave to his fiberglass slingshot in 1963 which ultimately became the name of his company in 1963 long before the idea of a trailer came to his mind. The trailer was simply given the 'boler' company name which had nothing to do with a bowler hat).
"Initially, he met with dealer resistance, as the Boler price of $1400 was thought to be high at a time when you could still buy an aluminum trailer for $895 (1968). When he simply picked up the hitch and pulled the trailer across the parking lot by himself, dealers were quickly convinced that a lightweight trailer would be popular with the owners of the newer breed of smaller cars that were coming in to vogue at the time, and from that time on, the trailers sold easily."
"The initial run of 40 units had no insulation, but as condensation was a problem, he recalled all 40 to retrofit them with the Ensolite material." (Fact check: There are past postings on Fiberglass RV forum where owners have reported boler numbers as high as #99 that have bare walls having never had ensolite insulation installed. Ensolite made its debut in boler advertisements in September 1969 over a year after production started.)
The alleged interview continues - "This product had been developed by Uniroyal and was being used in the cockpits of airplanes. It was available only in a 2-inch thick size, but he persuaded them to shave it down to 3/16 of an inch, and he cut it into sections to fit the curves of the Boler." (Fact check: Much earlier than 1968, Ensolite was readily available in many sizes and thicknesses including 3/16 inch. It was commonly used in the 50s and 60s to line the back interior floors of station wagon cars for camping comfort).
" He says that the seam tape was a 3M 2-sided tape. When the inside paper backing was removed, of course the surface was sticky, and he solved this problem by simply rubbing talcum powder over it!!. This tape should still be available."
"The first 100 units were made with a flat roof, but Mr. Olecko realized that he could create more headroom by adding the arched extension to the roof. This should make it easy to identify those first Bolers." (Fact check:The extended head room roof was introduced in 1970 meaning that all 1968 and most 1969 models were flat roofed models approx. 200 units.)
"Production increased steadily, and a new facility opened at 770 Dufferin in Winnipeg. About 150 units were produced in the second year -1969- , and another 400-500 in 1970. In 1971, franchises were sold to companies in Earlton, Ontario and in Peace River, Alberta." (Fact check: Peace River was actually franchised in 1970 and not 1971)
"By 1972, 4 trailers a day were being built, 220 days a year, with a staff of 23 , at the Winnipeg shop ( 880 per year), with similar numbers at the other sites." (Fact check: Peace River and Earlton franchises did not have similar numbers produced in 1972. Peace River produced only about 220 units in 1972 and Earlton produced only about 200 units in 1972. The 880 per year reference to the Winnipeg shop is highly exaggerated. After building 1000+ bolers in Winnipeg over the course of 5 years, Ray Olecko was on record of saying in 1972, ”There's been such a demand for the trailer that we can't hope to manufacture many more than those needed in our immediate market area. "We're now setting up several franchise manufacturers who will produce the trailers in both the United States and other parts of Canada”, he said.
"Franchises were awarded in the U.S, but Mr. Olecko is uncertain of the numbers produced. He sold the company to Jim Pattison (Neonex) in 1973, and his involvement mostly came to an end. Production continued in Canada to at least 1978, so a very rough estimate for total Canadian output MIGHT be 7000-10,000 units." (Comment: New evidence suggests that a range of between 7,000 – 8,500 bolers were produced overall.)
"A 17' Boler was built in Calgary, but Mr. Olecko was not involved, and feels that his design was severely compromised. Some trailers were also produced by someone in Kelowna. Mr.Olecko and Sandor Dussa were presented with a Design Award in the 1970's by the Manitoba Government Department of Industry and Commerce." (Fact check: The design award date was actually June 13th, 1969. Boler began adding this news to their mid-1969 advertisements.)
(Added insight: Eleven firms won awards on this date. The top award – ‘Award of Excellence’ – went to Canadian Aviation Electronics Limited. Additional awards of Design Merit went to nine other Winnipeg companies including Boler Manufacturing Ltd. )
The alleged interview goes on to say -"The actual 'plaque' went with the company when it was sold." (Fact check: There were no actual plaques offered by the Department of Industry of Commerce for this award at the time. The awards were referred to as ‘certificates’ on the official Ministry press release.)
( The article concludes):
"Later, he invented a slim-line ceramic element heater with a fiberglass shell that saw very limited production. He did seem surprised at the current values for Bolers, as he sold them for $1695 in the 70's, and current prices are often more than that. I suggested to Mr.Olecko that perhaps he would like to become involved with this forum , as the resident 'guru' for 'Boler Preservationists' , but he is busy working on his new invention and does not have time. Perhaps we should respect his wishes and not start calling him with Boler problems. He is going to try to track down an early brochure and newspaper article for me to copy, and I will post these when I can."
U.S. Rubber Co. (Uniroyal) invented Ensolite in the 1950s
Ensolite insulation was a popular product readily available long before the boler came along.
There have been many folklore stories on the internet that have suggested that Ensolite insulation was a revolutionary new product that happened to arrive on the scene around the time of the boler in 1968.
Some folklore stories go as far as to suggest that Ensolite insulation only came in 2-inch thick sheets, and that Ray Olecko had to convince Uniroyal to "shave down" the sheets to 3/16 inch to be used for boler trailer insulation. Truth be told, Ensolite was a readily available consumer product that could be ordered in several thicknesses and sizes. It was commonly used in 1950's airplanes, automobiles and even used to line the boots of Korean War soldiers. By the early 1960s Uniroyal's Ensolite vinyl coated foam was being used in many popular ways including athletic mats for school gymnasiums, boat cushions and several other consumer products. It also was used in the aerospace industry primarily as cushioned mats to protect U.S. Astronauts while practicing maneuvers they would later make in weightless space.
Photo right is from a 1959 camping magazine showing the convenience of Ensolite as a comfortable floor padding for use in the rear of station wagons for family camping excusions.
The description of the bottom photo of the article explains, "Ensolite safety pad, tailored to fit floor of wagon. Less bulky than most wagon mats, yet with excellent cushioning qualities. Protects small fry from bumps. Rolls into small package".
One of the first boler advertisements to ever mention Ensolite insulation as a feature, was an ad placed in the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper on September 11th, 1969. This suggests that bolers built before the fall of 1969 were not likely insulated.
Boler Production Numbers Revisited
Thousands of bolers were made, however 10,000 was a bit exaggerated.
It would be an erroneous statement of past history to claim that, "in 1972, 4 trailers a day were being built, 220 days a year, with a staff of 23 , at the Winnipeg shop ( 880 per year), with similar numbers at the *other sites". (*other sites meaning Grand Prairie and Earlton).
New information gleaned from a newly found archived newspaper article indicates that Glass-Fab Industries Ltd. of Grand Prairie actually produced only 70 boler units from 1970-1971 and only about 150 more in 1972 for a total of about 220 units. This makes the reference to ‘similar numbers’ produced by Winnipeg of 880 to be grossly incorrect.
Also relatively small in number was Earlton Manufacturing’s 1972 production count which was only about 200 units and nowhere near to 880 as previously reported.
Upon further study:
From 1971 – 1974 Glass-Fab would produce just over 500 bolers. Earlton would produce just over 1,030.
In the 1974 production year, Glass-Fab would produce an additional 655 more units. Earlton would produce about 500 more to their running total.
In the 1975 production year, Glass-Fab would produce another 850 units bringing their total units to approximately 2,000 bolers made by the franchise.
By 1977 Earton produced about 2,050 bolers in total and only 250 more by 1982 bringing their total franchise production in at 2,300 units.
Additionally, Midhurst Fibreglass Ltd. in Ontario produced only about 200 units from 1983 – 1988.
This puts the approximate Canadian boler franchised manufacturer’s production count in at approximately 4,500 units in total.
Adding to this will be the U.S. Boler American franchised units which were short lived with production presumably small in numbers due to the company closing in 1972.
In all, this would place the total boler franchised units (Canadian and U.S.) built from 1970 -1988 to be in the estimated order of about 5,000 – 6,500 units.
Adding in Winnipeg’s production numbers which are largely unknown, but thought to be around 2,000, this would place the estimated bolers built 1968-1988 to be in the order of 7,000 – 8,500 units. This would be a generous estimate.
Why did the partners sell in 1973?
In past accounts of history, and as told on several boler history websites, Ray Olecko and partners eventually became “disinterested” in the Boler Manufacturing company and together they made the decision to sell the business in 1973. It is quite possible that the notion of losing enthusiasm and interest, particularly in that year, could have been due largely to slumping RV sales as a result of the 70’s decade long recession, rising interest rates, and gasoline shortages brought upon by the oil embargo crisis.
According to the estimated boler production numbers by 1973, and at the time of the company’s sale, only approximately 2,000 bolers had been produced over the span of the first five years in business.
It was reported in 1971 that sales for that year reached $500,000 however this would loosely translate to approximately 400-500 bolers sold by Winnipeg and Grand Prairie combined. The forecast of a struggling nation-wide economy, rising interest rates and on-going gasoline shortages likely could have been the real impetus for the partners to sell the business in 1973.
In hindsight, and with Ray Olecko often referred to as an astute businessman, this was likely a good decision. After 1975 boler sales and production numbers across the country started to plummet with only handfuls of units being produced near the end of the decade. By 1982 it was all but over.
The boler borrowed earlier U.S. and European trailer design.
The Boler was of Canadian origin and European heritage having little to do with septic tank design.
It's interesting to note that the Boler is a near replica of an earlier Czechoslovakian trailer, W4 Dingo, that was launched nearly ten years before the Boler was introduced (as seen in the photo above). The Boler's design and manufacturing process is a near match to the original 1958 blueprints of the W4 Dingo. The boler is also a close replica of a moulded fibreglass trailer known as a Cloud. The Cloud trailer was built in St. Cloud Minnesota U.S. perhaps as early as 1961 and featured most of the boler's interior layout, features, approximate dimensions and weight.
It's easy to assume that because the Boler's creator Ray Olecko and his business partner Sandor Dusa both worked for a fibreglass septic tank manufacturer, that they designed the Boler to resemble a "septic tank on wheels". Or, that the Boler was somehow derived from Olecko's fibreglass septic tank improvements. This would be considered folklore today in light of new research.
It is interesting to note that in all of history's numerous newspaper interviews with Ray Olecko including old-time written articles about the boler, no where is to be found any reference made to connect the boler's design to that of a septic tank. One could argue that the suggested connection between the two started to become popular folklore in the post internet world. This possibly resulted from an old vintage boler brochure that mentioned the trailer's "Patented aerodynamic styling". Truth be told, no patents were ever filed for the boler trailer's aerodynamic design. Perhaps this was simply a bold marketing claim that attempted to marry together the septic tank patent to the boler's shape. This of course is quite a marketing stretch as the septic tank needs no aerodynamics being itself buried in the ground.
Both Olecko and Dusa once worked for a company called Structural Glass Ltd. in Winnipeg. Structural Glass was established in 1961 and began its business manufacturing fibreglass septic tanks.
Research has uncovered that the concept of fibreglass resin septic tanks and patents for such has evolved since 1956. Owens Corning, one of the first commercial fiberglass manufactures in the U.S., patented and sold moulded fibreglass underground liquid holding tanks in the very early 1960s, years before Ray Olecko's septic tank design was submitted to the patent office. While Olecko didn't come up with the original idea of fibreglass moulded septic tanks, he did make design improvements to *previous patents. Olecko patented the idea of creating a fibreglass septic tank that could be transported and installed in sections and that could be bolted together on the job site. The sections were designed to nest together for easier transport and storage.
*The earliest known patent for a fiberglass/resin septic tank design is credited to Richard L Weiler & Ray E Benedict in the 1962 U.S. patent office. records.
Over the years internet folklore has unfortunately connected in the minds of the reader a correlation between Olecko's septic tank drawings and the Boler travel trailer which he introduced to the north american market in 1968. When one truly examines Olecko's septic tank patent drawings it is easy to see that they are far removed from that of the Boler. And besides, the boler highly resembles earlier known European designed fiberglass moulded trailers in terms of its construction and shape both exterior and interior.
It seems more palatable to assume that both Olecko and Dusa at some point became familiar with earlier European trailer designs and manufacturing processes which led to the Boler's ultimate design rather than making it simply in the image of a septic tank.
The reader should ultimately decide.
Egg Trailer History
The boler raised roof was introduced in the 1970 model year.
Close to 200 flat top bolers were likely made from 1968 to end of 1969.
It's reasonable to assume from this newspaper ad that an announcement was made that the boler roof will be raised up in the 1970 model year to create more headroom. It would then be logical to assume that all '68 and all '69 bolers were flat tops. We know from archived news ads of the day that approx. 40 units were built in 1968 with production tripling in 1969.
The highest flat top boler unit number reported from an owner is 195.
More boler folklore stories that don't hold up to scrutiny.
Stories of the first 40 Boler units being recalled to fit them with ensolite insulation is folklore.
This story has circulated the internet for well over a decade now and appears to have come from a single post from an old Oo.cities.org website. Oo.cities was the internet's very first social media blog that started in 1999. The site was dismantled quite a few years ago. The story that appeared in the blog said that the initial 40 Boler units made were later recalled to be fitted with ensolite insulation due to condensation.
Recent research has found an owner of #99 unit build who reports via a Boler Group Forum that ensolite insulation was still not installed on his #99 unit Boler. Further research on Fiberglass RV forum displays a member post that reads, quote - " I'm new to the boards so thought I would say a quick hello. Along the right side of the frame (along the tongue) shows a metal plate displaying 081. There are no other no.'s anywhere else on the frame or inside the Boler. Would this be the vin number? What I do know is, my grandparents were the 2nd owners, it has a flat roof and was built with no insulation. It has always been registered/insured as a '69.
Maybe someone else out there has a similar style of number and if so, is it registered as a '68 or '69?"
Any feedback helps
Cindy
The very same Oo.cities article went on to say that Ray Olecko convinced Uniroyal (the ensolite manufacturer) to "shave" down their 2 inch thick ensolite to 3/16" so that it could be installed in the Boler. Our research of ensolite shows that it has been around since the 1950's and used in Korean war U.S. military boots. In addition, ensolite was easily made available to owners of late 1950's station wagon cars in order to line the bed of their wagons for camping purposes. It came in various thicknesses including 3/16".
This highly suggests that the recall story and the ensolite 'shave down' story are likely to be folklore.
Reports that Boler moved from a 4,000 sq. ft. facility to a 30,000 sq. ft. facility is a mystery.
Some internet sites you might visit will say that Boler Manufacturing moved from a 4,000 sq. ft. facility on Higgins Avenue to 30,000 sq. ft. at 770 Dufferin Avenue. The more accurate account is that Boler moved from 4,000 sq. ft. into a 30,000 sq. ft. building at 770 Dufferin but occupied 8,000 sq. ft. of it. The move from 4,000 sq. ft. to 8,000 sq. ft. is referenced in a Winnipeg Free Press news article of the day.
This makes logical sense as Boler Manufacturing would not require 30,000 sq. ft. to triple production at the time. They would need about 8,000 sq. ft. We put this story in the folklore/mystery category.
Ray Olecko and the famous Manitoba Orbit Trash Receptacle. Connection? Or simply folklore.
It's been asserted in some history circles that Winnipeg inventor Ray Olecko helped to design the famous fibreglass Orbit trash receptacles that once appeared along Manitoba highways in the 1960s. However to date, there is no supporting documentation or any evidence whatsoever that supports this particular assertion.
The Orbit trash receptacle, in fact, was originally designed solely by a man named Peter Boychuk, a provincial traffic sign technician who worked for the Manitoba Highways Department. The 1.3 meter diameter orbs were manufactured by Duraplex Products Ltd. of Winnipeg which went out of business in 1968 and the original Orbit moulds went up for public auction along with other equipment. It appears that for a period of time after 1968, Structural Glass Ltd. (a former employer of Ray Olecko) continued manufacturing the Orbit, however this would be around the time Olecko and partners started their Boler trailer company. It could be possible that Olecko helped to re-design the Orbit in some shape or fashion but no evidence to date has come forward that makes this fact or connects Ray Olecko with the Orbit Trash Receptacle in any way other than an interesting folktale. Here is a link to a YouTube video about the Orbit's true designer Peter Boychuk
The claim that the last Boler was built by Advanced Fibreglass Ltd. is folklore.
In regard to any internet claims that Advanced Fibreglass Ltd. was a manufacturer of bolers in Ontario, it appears to be a highly questionable account of history and cannot yet be verified as a fact. This is why it appears here in the folklore section.
The source of this internet claim appears to have originated from a Fiberglass RV forum comment that was connected to this unofficial looking registration plate. The plate appears to be a generic blank that has the information entered in by hand using a pen marker rather than a stamp.
The correct name for the company that built the last Ontario bolers in 1988 was Midhurst Fiberglass Ltd.
Other boler folklore on the web
This is a photo from Fiberglass RV forum from a member post. It describes what the owner believes to be a bogus 1991 stamped plate that someone had previously attached to his 1988 boler Voyageur.
Midhurst Fiberglass Ltd. closed it's doors in 1988 when the last boler Voyageur was built, making this plate highly suspicious, but fun folklore none the less.