Vanishing Sentinels - Grain Elevators

Presently In Estevan, Sask

2010-07-15T22:54:00.003-06:00

Hoo boy... what two days can do to someone... presently in the Motel 6 in Estevan, after a 1200 km 2 day trip to Moose Jaw and here, shooting at least 52 elevators, the remains of the Aylesbury P&GH, and fighting wet gravel roads, nearly getting stuck at Richlea, and holding up to storms, heat, sunburn and wind. But what the heck... it;s worth it!

The new pics can be found on the west sask site at http://web.me.com/difdbs/Vanish_W_Sask/Welcome.html .

Check them out! There's 302 shot so far in West Sask!!!

Cheers!

Jim!

Been working on Saskatchewan

2010-04-13T17:29:00.002-06:00

For the last few weeks, I have been going thru the Saskatchewan library system, and have been nearly driven my self to smashing my head thru a wall in frustration.

At least, I finally found that there are at least 250 books in the main library in Saskatoon, and several more in North Battleford, Moose Jaw and Regina... where I am planning on heading to this summer to start the next phase of the project... RESEARCH!

Oddly though, is the fact that at least 300 places have no info, but I am hoping that some of these books will have info on them as well...

At least the headache is increasing. Now to wait until the weather stabilizes, so I can get back on the road and start again!

Edmonton Grain Elevator Complex

2010-02-18T15:13:00.004-07:00

I decided to do up the Edmonton UGG/Agricore United/Viterra elevator complex, that sadly will be gone forever by the end of February, 2010. After 3 days of work (designing and putting it together), here it is.

The first 4 shots are of the Agricore United elevator (which was of course a United Grain Growers) that was composed of an elevator with some modifications with the original hip roof elevator.

The next four have the UGG (later Agricore United and Viterra) elevator which had modifications done it as well over the years, and also had a large annex added to the north side of the elevator. Photos of this facility can be found on my website at: http://web.mac.com/difdbs/Vanishing_Sentinels/Home.html

The final shot shows what the layout of the three buildings were before they were demolished.

What a week so far

2010-02-10T01:09:00.003-07:00

Geez what a week. Last week I found out that the Edmonton Viterra eleavtor complex (Originally a UGG) was being torn down, so myself and a friend ran up there to get some great shots of the one that was left standing, although it will be down sometime this week.

Then this morning... I got some terrible news. The Fleming, Saskatchewan old Lake of the Woods elevator (which is Canada's oldest standing elevator) burnt to the ground early on Tuesday (Feb 9) morning. I did get some photos from a fellow I met on line from there... and they are horrific. I will have them on the Sask site sometime tomorrow. http://web.me.com/difdbs/Vanish_W_Sask/Welcome.html

Ugh... at least I have a card stock model of the elevator, and am planning on working on the Edmonton complex as well.

Been busy!

2010-01-26T22:45:00.002-07:00

Well, I've been busy selling calendars, a few books, including one to Spain, and getting a lot of information from the Rural Municipalities in Western Saskatchewan. It sure pays to send out a press release looking for information on the hundreds of grain elevators that used to grace the skies of Western Saskatchewan.

I'm also getting ready for an audio-visual presentation of my project in Rockyford, Alberta on February 11, 2010, and have been doing some changes to it as well. .. gotta keep busy while waiting to get back on the road.

I am planning on hitting libraries in Lloydminister, North Battleford, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina, Swift Current and Moose Jaw for major research, and hunting down some missed vators in St. Walburg, north of Shellbrook, near Limerick, and near Mossbank, as well as visiting people in Val Marie, Lumsden, Saskatoon, Hepburn, and several other places in the province, as well as photographing the remaining vators in the west central section that I couldn't get to last year.

So it's gonna be a busy year coming up... and I wanna get back on the road so I can get this sucker done!

Should be fun!

Aylesbury Sask

2009-11-03T00:05:00.001-07:00

This Parrish and Heimbecker elevator was recently destroyed, so here is a model of it!

Fairlight and Herschel Saskatchewan Wheat Pools

2009-10-25T21:03:00.002-06:00

Here's some of my newer elevators... Herschel and Fairlight Saskatchewan!

Saskatchewan Update

2009-10-24T01:07:00.002-06:00

Well, after a lot of work... I managed to get all of the town in Saskatchewan that at least have a history book... not just gave to go to North Battleford, Lloydminister, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Regina, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert... estimate I have about 1000 town in the entire province to search out... with an estimated 200 without any data.

Hopefully I can get this started in the spring, since the weather (as it is) is a bit unpredictable... and I don't want to get stuck in the central part of Sask in the middle of a blizzard!

Check out the main site at: http://web.me.com/difdbs/Vanish_W_Sask/Welcome.html for more info on Western Saskatchewan!

Cheers!

Jim!

Late August update

2009-08-31T23:57:00.003-06:00

Greetings!

Well... it will be a week tomorrow of my quick trip to North Battleford, where I found 4 new elevators, including two that no one had the co-ordinates for... one from Tako, Sk... which is located south of Unity on Highway 21, and two farm elevators near Revenue and Luseland.

Also, I had an interview with the Western Producer newspaper out of Saskatoon after I sent them a press release on the Sask website, and so far have received phone calls from Vancouver BC, Churchbridge, Oxbow, Val Marie, Stony Beach and a couple others from people who read the article and who are willing to help out with info they have on their elevators.

Pays to advertise and put out press releases.

I am also planning on heading to Val Marie on October 2nd, to attend a fund raiser they are having there to raise money to help save their two elevators there, and to watch them release ferrets into the Grassland National Park, which is south of the community. Also, they will be having tours of the elevators by a fellow who was an elevator operator in Orkney... so I should be able to get some info on some of the Sask elevators in the area as well.

I am also planning on photographing vators on the way down there as well, including the Pioneer at White Bear!

Hopefully should be a good trip!

August Update

2009-08-22T02:18:00.002-06:00

Well... I did it again... haven't updated this again in a while... so here's what's been happening!

- Completed a photo survey of Southern Saskatchewan, from Fox Valley to Consul, east to Coronach and Wood Mountain, up to Moose Jaw and Gull Lake (and all points in between), then up to Leader on Highway 32... which is one of the roughest highways I have ever been on.

- Planning to go up to Marsden, Paradise Valley Alberta, and also to re-shoot the Winter elevator, as well as find some elevator near Tramping Lake, and maybe get to the WDM in North Battleford too.

- Been working on two new calendars... one for Western Saskatchewan and another for Alberta.... this time with farm vators and ones we have lost this year!

- And finally... head down to Central Saskatchewan, and get all of the photos from Laporte to Kenaston, down to Moose Jaw again, and to Beechey, Main Center and a farm south of Verlo.

Will update when I get back from the North central quick trip!

Cheers!

Been a while!

2009-06-28T01:33:00.002-06:00

Well... it's been a while since I was on here... but here's a quick update on what I've been doing since March.

- I've designed up a HO scale elevator, and designed up the Rowley, Alberta elevators for a customer near Montreal.

- Designed up an N scale Morinville, Alberta elevator

- did a major photo excursion of NW Saskatchewan, from Fusilier -Rex-Meadow Lake - Shellbrook - Watrous - Biggar - Coleville and other places as well... found at least 161 elevators, which is including the earlier trip in September, 2008. I still have to get to Marsville to find the 2 elevators as well.

- Getting prepared to head down to Southern Saskatchewan in early July for a photo survey down there, and hopefully a quick trip to Fleming.

Other than that, and a planned trip to central Sask as well as Moose Jaw and Regina for research in August... not much else happening.

I will be at the Drumheller Farmers Market on July 1!

Other that that... it's kinda quiet around here! :)

Cheers!

Jim!

Hussar Grain Elevators - 1957

2009-03-13T11:48:00.002-06:00

I just received this photo from Dick Clark, taken in 1957. You can see 2 Alberta Wheat Pools, an Alberta Pacific, Pioneer and one other. I remember seeing Hussar with an elevator row years ago.... but it looked quite different from this!

Thanks again Dick!

Finally... an N Scale Cardstock Elevator

2009-03-10T00:21:00.003-06:00

After about 9 hours of work.... I finally designed up an N-Scale elevator of the now demolished Morinville, Alberta United Grain Growers elevator. I have it next to a Alberta Wheat Pool from Stirling Alberta to show the difference in size!

All in all, I think it turned out pretty good... but I will admit I hate doing hip roof elevators... they can never seem to fit together perfectly!

Enjoy!

Shonts and Poe Elevator Closeup

2009-02-23T13:55:00.003-07:00

This weekend, I was up in Edmonton, and decided to come back home thru the Ryley / Tofield region, and got some new closeup shots of the Shonts and Poe elevators.

This is the Shonts "Hannan and Carver" elevator, but it also has more company names on it as well.

The closeup here shows not only the "Hannan and Carver" name, but two other names (?)... one being Northern Grain Co. and another may have "Co-operative" underneath the "Dirt Shorts"... which makes me think "Alberta Wheat Pool"?

This is one the north side of the elevator, and you can clearly see "Northern Grain Co. Ltd." besides the "Hannan and Carver" name.

This is one of the last standing National elevators in Alberta at Poe.

Once again, you can see "Northern Grain Co. Ltd." on the north side of the elevator.

I was wondering if anyone has any information on these two elevators. When I did the book, I didn't notice these extra names on the elevators, and didn't find anything in the history books... unless I overlooked something. If you can help, please send info to ncc2920@telusplanet.net.

Thanks!

Trochu Elevator Demoiliton

2009-02-14T17:52:00.008-07:00

Trochu UGG grain elevator taken August 27, 2006.

The elevator's annex was taken on February 6, 2009... but I didn't know about it happening until I was notified by a friend in Red Deer about it!

Long shot of Trochu from the east... the Ex-Agricore is to the left, and the UGG is to the right, beyond the steel bins.
Looking at the elevator from the SE.... the bins on the south side are gone!
Looking south.... the annex is gone, and you can see the Ex-Agricore to the left.

Here is the elevator from the west... the whole side has been ripped off!
Panorama view from the west looking at the debris field to the north (left) where the steel bins used to be the south (right)

All the above shots were taken by myself on February 8th, 2009.

Trochu Elevator Demolition Part 2

2009-02-14T17:52:00.007-07:00

Panorama view of where the elevator once stood. The elevator was aprox. dead center in the photo.

Long shot looking SE from the north rail crossing... the UGG is gone, but the ex-Agricore / Alberta Wheat Pool is still up.

Demolition of the elevator is complete, but you can notice the concrete supports to the right of the left backhoe

Trochu's ex-UGG elevator has been torn down. It started Feb. 6 with the demo of the annex... and today, on Feb. 14, 2009.... the cleanup continues.

We are now down to 255 known elevators left in Alberta.

Things are hopping

2008-10-18T01:04:00.000-06:00

Well... after getting back from Saskatoon, and finally getting the picture from High River (Thanks girls!) the calendar is now at the printers in Stony Plain, and I am giving a presentation in Drumheller at the libraries Audio/Visual room on Monday, October 20th.

Plus... with my home town's X-Mas fair in a coupe of weeks and the Drumheller Farmers Market X-Mas stuff as well... it's gonna be a couple of busy weeks coming up.

Still would like to get back to Saskatchewan, and keep shooting vators!

Cheers!

Jim!

Major running around in Saskatchewan

2008-09-17T23:26:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy two days... I'm presently in Saskatoon, after shooting grain elevators from Eatonia to Prince Albert... arrived a day after the fire at Cudworth, and discovered to my shock that the Prince Albert elevator is being torn down.

Tomorrow... heading out to Lloydminister and Vegreville, then onto Legal and Vimy to get the final picture I need for the new calendar for next year!

Plus the train show is in Edmonton on Saturday as well. Like I said... been a busy week... but I'm loving it!

Back from Heritage Acres

2008-08-04T00:18:00.001-06:00

Well... I got back from Pincher Creek with no problems... but did get some pictures from Cayley, Whiskey Gap, and Chin for the new calendar for 2009. I also found out that the elevator at Bow Island suffered some damage during that last major wind storm there... seems the two legs on the roof were torn off... and the driveway suffered some major damage as well.

If anyone can confirm this with pics... please email them to ncc2920@telusplanet.net. I was going to go there... but with another storm on the horizon... I thought I better change course and head for home... only got some rain near Bassano... but got home safe.

I would like to thank the staff at Heritage Acres for the opportunity to go there this weekend!

Cheers!

Jim

Rowley Federal and Brocket UGG

2008-07-31T22:44:00.000-06:00

The elevator on the left is the old Federal that used to sit in Rowley, Alberta. This elevator has long disappeared.

On the right are two versions of the Brocket UGG elevator... a simplier version, and the actual version... which I am going to donate this one to the Heritage Acres museum, located near Pincher Creek, Alberta.

Whiskey Gap Elevators

2008-07-31T22:39:00.000-06:00

After looking at pictures of the Whiskey gap elevators... I decided to do up all three elevators. There is an Alberta Wheat Pool and two Alberta Pacifics. Sadly... these elevators are long gone, as is the town.

Delia's New Card Stock Eleavtors

2008-07-18T23:02:00.000-06:00

I promised the museum in Delia that I would re-do the elevators I did for them last year... those ones were looking in pretty sad shape, so in a major building frenzy last night... I did up all of these in about 8 hours... the only down part was I kind of overloaded my right lower leg... oh well... it's worth it!

These are all seven elevators that Delia had over the years.... the Pioneer at the right is the only one left.

L-R: National, Alberta Pacific, Alberta Wheat Pool (Later Agricore)
L-R: Pioneer #3, UGG (Later Agricore), Pioneer #2
L-R: Pioneer #2 and Pioneer #1

Canada Day Elevator

2008-06-30T22:54:00.000-06:00

Here is an elevator I did up for Canada Day, eh?

More Paper Elevators

2008-06-30T15:14:00.000-06:00

These are some of most recent vattors.

The one on the left is a get well card for my Dad, who was in the hospital in Drumheller, and will be going into the Lougheed hospital in Calgary next week for surgery. He was quite impressed with it.

In the middle is the old Alberta Wheat Pool which was located in Ellerslie, a tiny community which is now part of Edmonton. For years... the owner of the elevator used to put biblical verses on it, and this is the last one that was on it before it was torn down in the 1990's. You would be extremely hard pressed to find it's location now, since it is part of the monstrous Anthony Henday / Gateway Boulevard interchange.

The final one is a special thank you I gave to the Drumheller Library for displaying some of my elevators, photos and maps during June. Thanks again to the staff of the library for this opportunity!

Have a good Canada Day, eh?

Cheers!

Jim!

Dog River (Rouleau, Saskatchewan) Sask Pool

2008-06-23T15:58:00.001-06:00

After a lot of procrastinating, and debating... I finally got the Dog River / Rouleau Saskatchewan grain elevator done. Let me know what you think.

Morningside Card Stock Elevator

2008-06-12T22:47:00.000-06:00

Morningside is one elevator I have always wanted to do... since it was torn down in 2005. I think I got it pretty accurately... although I did have only a few pictures to work from.

Morningside from the south side
From the west
From the East
From the North

Elevator for parents 49th Anniversary

2008-06-10T15:56:00.000-06:00

My parents, Roger and Mary Pearson will be having their 49th wedding anniversary on June 13, 2008, and I came up with this idea for a gift when I was coming back from Hanna, Alberta yesterday. I was looking for photos of some of the local elevators that our museum wants me to make for them for a display, and this idea crept in and exploded in my mind.

So, after working on the Mossleigh elevators, and talking to an old friend on line... I cam up with this!

Roger and Mary 49 Years (1959-2008)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Jim!
My parents have been playing music for years, and used to play for dances all over eastern Alberta, from Calthorpe (east of Consort on the Saskatchewan border) to as far south as Gem (NW of Brooks). Dad plays the fiddle, and mom plays the piano.

This is from the classic Flintstones episode where Fred got Wilma a piano for their anniversary, only to later find out that the piano was stolen! Whoops! But it was always the song and that moment where Fred, Barney and the cops were signing "Happy Anniversary" that always made me laugh!

Will post what they thought about it!

Cheers!

Mossleigh Alberta Elevators

2008-06-10T15:50:00.000-06:00

When I was in Nanton over the weekend for their Trains, Plains and Elevator event... I decided to stop off at Mossleigh, which is north of Vulcan to do some more photos of the three Parrish and Heimbecker elevators there. After seeing that the elevators were in not so great condition, I decided to finally get them done up as paper models.

I was always worried about doing up a loxstave annex, since it is octagonal (eight sided), but to my surprise, I got the body correct on the first try, but had to slightly modify the roof so it would fit properly.

This is the layout of the three elevators if you saw them from Highway 24. To the left is the original Parrish and Heimbecker, middle is a Pioneer / P&H, and the right is a Searle / P&H with a loxstave annex.

This would be looking at the elevators from the north: Searle / P&H, Pioneer / P&H, and the Parrish and Heimbecker.

An angled look at all three.

Munson Alberta Elevators

2008-06-08T23:07:00.001-06:00

There were 4 elevators at Munson, Alberta... which is located north of Drumheller on the CN main line to Saskatchewan.

This elevator was actually located east of Munson just east of Highway 9 at Dinosaur Junction, which was the junction of the two Canadian National Lines.... one which continued onto Saskatchewan, while the other headed north to Stettler and Camrose. This elevator was a tricky one... not because it was complex... but because there were NO pictures of it anywhere. I finally found a pic from a family friend near Munson... and finally got it done!

This photo of Munson's three elevators is from Lynda Swanson's Endangered Species series. These elevators were torn down in the late 1990's.

Here are my three elevators in a similar layout... the Pioneer, Alberta Wheat Pool and United Grain Growers (UGG).
This would be looking at the elevators from an aerial viewpoint... actually it is on my parents kitchen table! This would looking SW... east is to the left, west to the right
A different view of the three elevators.

Snowflake Manitoba and Raley, Alberta

2008-06-04T00:11:00.000-06:00

The elevators on this page are from Snowflake, Manitoba, which is located very close to the US border in Manitoba, and has one of the most unusual Federal elevators I have ever seen photos of. This elevator was painted over several times, and was finally a Manitoba Pool "B" elevator. I decided to go with what I presume was the original pain tjob and leave it at that.

The other is the Alberta Pacific at Raley, Alberta, which is SW of Raymond on Highway 5 going to Cardston. This is the oldest standing original company grain elevator in Alberta, having been built in 1905. It's present status is uncertain, since some people say it is abandoned while others say it is privately owned. From the looks of it from pictures I have seen, I'd say it has not beet used in many years!

The "Lost" Drumheller area elevators

2008-06-04T00:02:00.001-06:00

From left to right: East Coulee Alberta Pacific and East Coulee Alberta Wheat Pool (originally located on the north side of the Red Deer River), Dorothy UGG and Alberta Wheat Pool, and the Pioneer elevator from Wayne, which was torn down in 1975. Below is the front view.

Cardstock Elevators From Drumheller Region Pt 2

2008-05-30T15:59:00.000-06:00

Taylor Siding had an interesting history. Before the elevator was built, a farmer originally had a long pipe which went from the top of the valley to the bottom where the grain was collected to be loaded onto rail cars by a loading platform. Later, Alberta Pacific built this lone elevator. The siding is still there today, and can be found by going south of Drumheller on Highway 9, and turning south on the Dalum road. This elevator was on the CNR line.

This elevator is still located at Rosedale, about 6 miles east of Drumheller on the CNR line.

These two elevators were located at Wayne, which can be reached by going S of Rosedale on Highway 10X. These two elevators, plus part of Wayne were destroyed in a terrible fire in 1980.

Cardstock Elevators From Drumheller Region Pt 1

2008-05-30T15:45:00.000-06:00

These are card stock version of the grain elevators which used to grace the sky of the Drumheller Region.

These elevators are from Beynon, which is on the CNR line, about 12 miles or so from Drumheller. The UGG (left) and Alberta Wheat Pool (right) were seen in the 1978 movie "Superman". The Alberta Wheat Pool was torn down, but the UGG elevator and the tall annex were moved out of the valley to new locations north of Beynon.

Alberta Wheat Pool with twin annexes, Alberta Wheat Pool with twin elevator and annex, and UGG with Annex were all located in Drumheller. The last elevator (the UGG) was torn down in 2001.

If you travel west of Drumheller, and turned south down a back road east of the Bleriot Ferry turnoff, you would have come by these two elevators, which were located at Dunphy. The Parrish & Heimbecker and Alberta Wheat Pool were torn down years ago, and all that is pretty much left of the community is the little cemetery. These elevators were on the CPR line from Drumheller to Acme.

Adjacent to the Atlas Coal Mine Tipple in East Coulee (about 10 miles SE of Drumheller on Highway 10) was an Alberta Pacific elevator, with two annexes. This elevator was torn down in the early 1980's, and was located to the NE of the mine tipple.

The Alberta Pacific elevator at Dorothy is still standing today, and is located about 8 miles SE of East Coulee.

Kirkpatrick was located on the CPR line which used to run west of Drumheller to Acme. This elevator, without the annexes is still standing, and is located on the south dinosaur trail.

Rowley Elevator Under Repair

2008-05-10T00:36:00.000-06:00

I was out at Rowley today... and am happy to report that the elevators roofs are being re-shingled. They are not wasting any time on getting this started!

Looking at the Alberta Wheat Pool from the North West... you can see two cranes with a couple of men working on the North roof.

Re-shingling the driveway on the Alberta Wheat Pool / UGG Twin driveway!

Looking into the AWP/UGG twin driveway. You can barely see the old original pneumatic lifting platform which used to lift trucks so they could unload grain. The Searle elevator to the north also had one of these, but it appears to be missing.

This is the lifting leg for the UGG twin elevator. (Actually, this is the first time I have ever seen a twin elevator setup... very interesting!)

These supports are underneath the Alberta Wheat Pool elevator... first time I have ever seen a system like this.

It's great to see these two (technically three) elevators being restored!

All of my elevators

2008-03-30T00:40:00.000-06:00

Well... here is all of the elevators I have done, with the exception of the Byers Flour Mill, Kinuso, Stettler's Parrish and Heimbecker (with Feed Mill), Clairmont, Fairview and Bluesky. (Honestly... I didn't have room on my table!) The only one I am missing is a normal Paterson... which I am planning on doing next week.

Federal Matchbook

2008-03-29T13:15:00.000-06:00

This is a real rare piece of history. My mom found this up at our local museum in Delia, and it is from our Federal Grain elevator, which originally a Alberta Pacific, which Federal took over in 1967. Alberta Wheat Pool took over Federal in 1972 (along with Saskatchewan Pool and Manitoba Pool).

Sadly though, the elevator was torn down in the 1990's, but this little matchbook is a reminder of the elevator company which existed from 1929 - 1972.

Rosedale, Alberta

2008-03-26T23:01:00.000-06:00

Since I started doing elevators in June of last year... I've always wanted to do this one at Rosedale. It's located on the CNR line that runs east of Drumheller, then swings to the south-west to Calgary.

South View

This elevator was originally built by Alberta Wheat Pool, and was later Agricore and Agricore United. It is now privately owned.

Track view (North Side)

East View

Yet Another Elevator Building Frenzy

2008-03-26T14:08:00.000-06:00

I've been building more elevators which I am going to have up for sale at the upcoming Supertrain Railway Show in Calgary on April 19th and 20th. For more info, go to http://www.supertrain.ca.

I'll be in Booth B60. Hope to see you there!

These three are custom jobs: Left: Fairview Alberta Wheat Pool, Bluesky UGG, and Westmor Terminals (located west of Morinville, Alberta)

These are as follows (from Left to right): Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Manitoba Wheat Pool, Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd. (Manitoba), and a Saskatchewan Pool from Dog River.

Next: A Parrish & Heimbecker From Stettler, Alberta (Custom Job), an old Parrish & Heimbecker (Logo based on one seen from Indian Head, Saskactchewan), Sask Pool from Fleming, Saskatchewan (the oldest standing elevator in Canada) and The Climb Thru Time Museum (Alberta Pool) elevator from Paradise Valley, Alberta

Finally: Victoria Grain Company, Cargill, Saskatchewan Pool (Colors based on Fusilier) and Home Grain elevator from the Ukrainian Village east of Elk Island Park, Alberta

Cheers!

Jim!

Chin Alberta Paper Elevators

2008-03-12T19:24:00.000-06:00

South Side

West Side

North Side

East Side

These two elevators were torn down in January 2008, and when I discovered this, I decided to make up these two elevators as a memorial.

The red one is a Parrish and Heimbecker elevator, which was originally an Alberta Pacific, and was also owned by the Nicholas Bawlf Company, and Ellison. The grey elevator is an Ellison elevator, and was as far as I know the last standing one in Alberta.

Sadly, no more.

However, I am sending these two elevators to the Taber Museum, and hopefully you might be able to see them there!

Presentation at Dr. E. W. Coffin School

2008-02-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was at the Dr. E. W. Coffin school in NW Calgary doing a presentation on the grain elevators. I spent about 2 weeks working on improvements and such... and the kids were impressed. They were REALLY impressed with my little paper elevators, especially with the Neir Psychedelic elevator, which was painted in 1968 by the BAPCO Paint Co.

All in all, it went really good, so I decided to update the website with pictures I had received from the "Elevator Kids" from the Prince of Wales School in SE Calgary where I did a presentation in 2006.

Michichi Card Stock Elevators

2008-01-17T22:46:00.000-07:00

These three elevators used to be in a community called Michichi, which is about 8 miles SW of Delia on the CN main line from Alsask to Calgary. I don't remember our family ever delivering grain there, but I will always remember these three... they are missed.

South View

North View

East View

West View

Hilda, Alberta Paterson Card Stock Elevator

2008-01-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

East View

South View

North View

West View

This elevator was recently closed, but as far as I know is still standing. This one is the first of this style I have completed.

Crossfield, Alberta Card Stock Elevator

2008-01-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

View From East Side
North Side
South Side
West Side

Just another in my line of card stock elevators

Good news and weird news

2008-01-12T15:43:00.001-07:00

Well got good news and weird news...

On January 8th, I was invited up to CTV Edmonton for an interview about the book with Daryl McIntyre. It went really well, and I had a great time talking to Daryl about the book. A friend later told me that he really looked like he was interested in the book, and was a hoot to talk to.

Other the other hand... I dropped off a copy of the book to CTV Calgary on Friday, and got an email from them today basically saying that while the effort I've gone thru to put the book together is valuable, and that it is important that the remaining elevators be preserved, the topic of the book doesn't really fit with the guests they are trying to book for the CTV News at noon.

Oh well... it's kind of a disappointment, since I was hoping to get some tv exposure in Calgary about the book. Maybe what I should do in a couple of months is send a copy to Daryl Janz... he used to be a farm kid... who knows.

I might also contact CITY TV in Calgary too... ya never know... or maybe contact some of the local radio stations too.

Gotta keep pressing on!

Interview with CTV Edmonton

2008-01-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! January 8th was a good day! I had an interview with CFRN (CTV Edmonton) with Daryl McIntyre... and it went really well. I t was my first time in a TV studio as a guest, and from what I have heard from friends who saw it, they told me that it went very well. Daryl was really interested in the book, even showing the audience the drawing I did in the book of the internal layout of a typical grain elevator. He was a great fellow to be interviewed with, and I must say, although I was a bit nervous... the floor director and the crew were very cool, and I had quite a bit of fun!

Even better, I got at least 7 emails from viewers about the book, but if I do this again... I have to get them to put my phone number on it... and my email address.

Very cool!

More Card Stock Elevators

2007-12-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

This is the Clairmont National elevator, which was torn down in September of 2005.

Mayerthorpe's remaining Alberta Wheat Pool

Kinuso's remaining UGG Elevator

Finally, all three elevators, all done by Jim A Pearson © 2007 Jim A Pearson - Vanishing Sentinels

Elevators in Superman

2007-12-21T16:03:00.002-07:00

Clark and Martha Kent at Jonathan Kent's funeral, screen captured from Warner Brothers movie "Superman" (1978)
(No copyright infringement is intended)
(Click on the photo for a closer look)

A lot of people have asked me where are those two elevators in the movie Superman (Warner Brothers, 1978) were located.

Well, here's the info. These shots seen above from the movie were shot at a little community called Beynon, which is on the CN rail line which runs east, then angles thru the valley back to the SW from Drumheller. Beynon had two elevators, the white was an UGG (United Grain Growers) while the teal colored one was an Alberta Wheat Pool. The UGG annex is now located to the north of the hamlet, and was moved in 1979, while the elevator itself was moved about a mile further north on the Labour Day weekend in 1980. (It took several four wheel drive tractors and a caterpillar two days to move it up the long hill to the top of the Valley.)

Every time I see this shot, I always have a twinge of sadness and a slight smile to see another part of Alberta history preserved in a great hollywood film about one of the greatest heros of all time... Superman.

We will always miss you Chris! You made us all believe that a man can really fly!!

Stettler Parrish and Heimbecker Elevator and Feed Mill

2007-12-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

This elevator and feed mill is located in Stettler, Alberta, and is owned by the Parrish and Heimbecker society of Stettler.
This wasn't as hard to design as the Byers Flour Mill, but it did have some challenges.

East View

South View

West View

North View

Makwa Saskatchewan

2007-12-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is the elevator from Makwa, Saskatchewan, which was located SW of Meadow Lake. It was built in 1937, but the rail line was never completed from Meadow Lake to here.

This is my version of the elevator. It is one of the oddest I have ever seen in the Canadian Prairies.

Cheers!

Byers Flour Mills

2007-11-29T01:24:00.001-07:00

Once again I think I have outdone myself. These elevators took nearly 5 hours to draw, cut out and put together.

These two elevators were located in Camorse, Alberta, but were destroyed in the fall of 2006. I didn't even know until I found out from a friend this spring. Myself and a friend drove over there, and was not impressed to see those elevators were gone.

These elevators made the famous Sunny Boy Cereal, Sunshine Flour and Rosebud Pancake Flour.

Been working on paper elevators

2007-11-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

Since June, I have been working on paper foldup grain elevators. These four are based on elevators located in Rowley, Alberta
(The Searle and Alberta Wheat Pool / UGG twin elevators), the P&H is based from the one from Sharples (although the white annex has been removed at the real one), and the white Alberta Wheat Pool is from Kirkpatrick, west of Drumheller. The real one has no annexes.

Vanishing Sentinels Book Coming VERY SOON!

2007-11-25T01:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings all!

I should have my 302 page book "Vanishing Sentinels The Remaining Grain Elevators of Alberta and B.C. by the first week of December, and will be available to you for $45 ($60 with shipping and handling).

If you are interested in reserving a copy, please email me at ncc2920@telusplanet.net for more details, or go to the webpage at
http://web.mac.com/difdbs/iWeb/Vanishing%20Sentinels/Vanishing%20Sentinels%20-%20THE%20BOOK.html

Cheers!

Jim A Pearson
Vanishing Sentinels

More elevators

2007-10-27T16:30:00.000-06:00

After 5 years of criss-crossing Alberta looking for elevators, you'd think I would have found all of them by now.

Guess what? I find two more!

This elevator is located NE of Millarville east of Highway 22. It was privately built.

This one was alerted to me by my friend Johnnie Bachusky, who found this one about 2 weeks ago. It was originally a UGG Fertilizer Annex, and was located in Innisfail, and was moved to its present location, 13 miles east of Innisfail on Sec Rd. 590, 2 km south on Range Rd 26-2.

I also discovered that the Agricore United elevators at Manning and Hawk Hills are still standing... except Manning's has been abandoned, and Hawk Hills is now privately owned.

Agricore-United Sask Pool merge to form Viterra

2007-08-30T16:19:00.000-06:00

So it looks like the last of the Farmer Co-operatives has vanished into the mists of history. It's a sad day in Canadian history.

From Reuters Canada:

Saskpool becomes Viterra in break with past
Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:49 PM EDT

By Roberta Rampton
BALGONIE, Saskatchewan (Reuters) - Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP.TO: Quote) will now be known as Viterra, a name that means "life from the land" and better reflects the breadth of its business, Canada's largest grain handler said on Thursday.

The company unfurled its new name and logo 10 storeys above the Prairies on its modern Buffalo Plains concrete terminal east of the provincial capital Regina to a crowd of grain trade and Prairie political leaders.

The name change invoked nostalgia in the province, where "The Pool" was started in the 1920s as a co-operative by farmers who wanted better prices for their wheat and a share in patronage dividends. Chief Executive Mayo Schmidt admitted it will take time for the new name to catch on.

"I think it will take a while to make the change, and I think, in our hearts, we'll always see the legacy Pool," he said.

Saskpool went public more than a decade ago, and shed its farmer-controlled governance after a financial overhaul forced by a close call with insolvency.

Now New York fund Third Avenue Management LLC is Viterra's largest shareholder, with a 16 percent stake.

Earlier this year, Saskpool swallowed its larger competitor, Agricore United for C$1.8 billion ($1.7 billion), and the new name -- which some wags said sounded like the impotence drug Viagra -- is part of that transformation.

Agricore itself was a merger of three former farmer-owned grain handlers.

Kim McConnell of Adfarm, the Calgary, Alberta-based advertising agency that helped Saskpool choose the new name, admitted the Viagra connection had crossed his mind.

"Viagra would also be a good agriculture company name, wouldn't it?" he said in an interview.

"Certainly there's connotations that go one way or the other, but I think the more important thing is that Viterra stands for 'life from the land'," Schmidt said the company will trim its staff to around 4,000 people from 4,400 over the next 18 months. It has applied for a new ticker symbol to match the new name.

The new Viterra has a stock market value of C$2.15 billion and controls 58 percent of total grain handling capacity in Canada, with an expected market share of more than 40 percent.

The company's shares were down 2 Canadian cents at C$10.65 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Aside from its Prairie-wide grain network and export terminal space, Viterra also owns crop supply retail centers, livestock and feed operations, an oat miller and other ventures.

Schmidt said the company is acquiring some new crop supply centers, and sees expansion opportunities in the United States and offshore, and in the fertilizer and biofuel sectors.

"Today, in the environment we're in the financial markets, every company is potentially a target," Schmidt said. "We're going to look for growth and acquisition opportunities going into the future."

($1=$1.06 Canadian)

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Original Logo For Elevator Project

2007-08-27T14:08:00.000-06:00

I was digging through some of my older files, and found this logo, which was the original idea back in 2004 until I came up with the "Vanishing Sentinels" project. I had almost completely forgotten about this until I finally dug it up.

Pioneer Acres Log Day Two

2007-08-11T18:40:00.000-06:00

I have met a lot of very interesting people here today, including:
- A couple from Whiskey Gap who left there in 1979, and let me know that the last elevator there closed in 1978 (I added a correction on the website)
- A gentleman who's grandfather was the first white man born in the Endiang area and is having a 100th anniversary for the founding of his family farm next year.
- A very nice man who helped me updated my information on the elevators in Manitoba and Saskatchewan... he's worked for several companies in all three prairie provinces.
- One fellow who was really interested in my presentation, and asked several questions on how an elevator operated... showing him the presentation helped explain a few things.
- Many people have come by picking up cards and asking questions, and I still have 1CD left (with 25 to pick up in Calgary on Monday)... but it has been steady... except for this break where I am doing up this addition to the blog.
- One lady bought an Alberta Wheat Pool (brown) elevator to send to her daughter in Prince Edward Island... nice reminder of home I think!
- Just got an update on the elevators at Eatonia and Glidden, Saskatchewan... Glidden was torn down ... bummer.
- Just talked to a girl from Acadia Valley... she said they'd be interested in getting a map!!
- Also talked to two women from Linden who gave me the location of the Linden elevator (A National) and knew two towns called Bouyant and Entice... which were east of Acme

All in all... a pretty good day

Pioneer - Louis Dreyfus Elevator In Dawson Creek BC destoryed by fire

2007-07-17T00:04:00.000-06:00

Pioneer grain terminal in Dawson Creek destroyed in huge fire

(BC News) Friday, 13 July 2007, 12:18 PST
by Karl Kopan

Peace River Block Daily News
DAWSON CREEK, B.C. (CP) - Black smoke filled Dawson Creek's sky after fire engulfed the Pioneer grain elevator, forcing the evacuation of some nearby residents.
It didn't take long for the smoke to get the attention of onlookers.
“I watched them (firefighters) yank that door open and a huge burst of flames came shooting out,” said 12-year-old Joseph Squires, who sat on his bicycle and watched as fire crews sprayed water on the terminal.
Firefighters cut holes to ventilate the building.
When the leg of the elevator fully caught fire loud explosions could be heard from the terminal's belly. Soon after a portion of the north side blew out and orange flames licked toward the sky. There were secondary explosions as the fire rapidly progressed.
Firefighters moved their trucks and hoses back once, then a second time, as the heat from the fire intensified.
RCMP and the fire department asked residents along the road above the grain elevator to evacuate their homes.
Selma Naslund, who lives immediately above the fire, had a painter working on her home when they saw what they believed to be smoke coming from the elevator's roof.
Naslund's daughter thought what they were seeing had to be grain dust.
“I said `no, it's never looked like that before,”' said Naslund.
“So we watched it and it kind of got worse and worse. Pretty soon we heard some sirens.”
Soon after the highway was closed to traffic as the terminal slowly burned its way down like a candle. Pieces of metal cladding that glowed red from the heat fell to the ground.
Fire Chief Shorty Smith said while the cost of damage and the cause of the fire was difficult to predict this early in the investigation, he said large structure fires pose a particular challenge to fight.
“A building this size, when it is fully involved like it was, we have to do what is called a defensive fire, in other words protect the structures around it that aren't damaged,” Smith said.
“They knew that the portion of the building that was on fire was pretty much a writeoff so they protected those silos to keep any more damage from happening there.
“The biggest problem with something like this is you've got this structure that's very high in the air and it's putting off sparks and everything else. As a result we had some small grass fires east of here.”
He said there were some pallet fires at a concrete company and a small fire at the Co-op.
The Pioneer elevator was built in 1978 and had a wooden frame covered in metal cladding.
Workers were clearing out grain to make room for this year's crop when the fire occurred.
(Peace River Block Daily News)
16:19ET 13-07-07

No Copyright Infringement Is Intended
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Vanishing Sentinels Updates

Vanishing Sentinels Book CD Available NOW!!!!

2007-06-01T23:20:00.001-06:00

Greetings! Just wanted to let everybody know that the Vanishing Sentinels- The Remaining Grain Elevators Of Alberta and British Columbia is complete and is now available to you for only $35 + shipping and handling.

This 320 page contains all of the known elevators of Alberta, including 13 sets of maps covering a one section each of Alberta and NE B.C.; when the elevators in each town of Alberta opened, closed and which companies owned them during their history; and photos of the remaining wooden, steel and concrete elevators that remain out of the greatest total in 1933 of 1,759 wooden elevators.

This book on c.d. is Apple and Windows friendly, and requires Adobe Acrobat reader to read the files.

I feel this book would be an excellent addition to a historian, elevator enthusiast, school library, or anyone who remembers the grain elevators, which were known as the Sentinels of the Prairies... which have been disappearing at an alarming rate.

You can find more information on the book on c.d. at:
http://web.mac.com/difdbs/iWeb/Vanishing%20Sentinels/Home.html and click on the link at the top of the page
"Book on CD NOW Available!!!"

Cheers!

Jim A Pearson
Vanishing Sentinels

Vanishing Sentinels Book on CD

2007-05-17T00:34:00.000-06:00

Well... I think I am in the final stretch. I have completed the CD version of the book, and am now working on spiltting that file into two sections, one each for Southern and Northern Alberta / BC elevators. It's proving to be a lot of work, but I think it would help me to at least get the books published... since they would be smaller in size than the total 320 pages.

I will let everyone know on my list on the website and this blog when it is ready to go!

Cheers!

Jim!

Agricore United -Sask Pool Deal?

2007-05-13T11:38:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, I get updates from Google on news about Agricore United and it's possible takeover by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool or by JRI (James Richardson International) Pioneer.

Well... it seems it may be over. Sask Pool looks like they won... the question is will this deal go thru, and what will the changes to the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba grain producers be?

I have a terrible feeling that by the time my CD on my Vanishing Sentinels project is out, the book will have to have major changes to it.

Lovely.

Found yet another elevator

2007-05-10T08:48:00.000-06:00

On a tip I got from Johnnie Bachusky, I went out yesterday to confirm an elevator east of Blackfalds on Twonship Road 40-0, about 7 km east of Highway 2A. It had the name "Highview Farms" on it, and after making a few phone calls, I found out that this elevator came from Mintlaw... a now vanishing community SW of Red Deer, which used to be on the Alberta Central Railway, which ran from Red Deer to Rocky Mountain House. This elevator was a Searle, and was moved in the late 1950's. The elevator's annex was possibly from the Searle elevator (possibly a former Saskatchewan Grain Co. Ltd. elevator) from Prentiss, which is NW of Joffre.

This would make the grand total of Searle elevators remaining in Alberta up to at least 6. I will have more updates on this elevator as soon as I can find out more.

2000 Hits!!!

2007-05-09T00:23:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to thank everyone who checks out my main website at http://web.mac.com/difdbs/iWeb/Vanishing%20Sentinels/Home.html. Today, it passed the 2000 hits!!!

Very glad to see that there are people interested in this project! Thanks you all for your interest!

Was just looking at blog...

2007-05-04T00:19:00.000-06:00

I was just looking at the blog, and was amazed to see that back on Febrauary 14th, I only had 1099 hits. As of today... I am presently at 1952... nealy 900 hits in 3 months. WOW!

I am also in the final stages of getting the book ready to be printed on CD. I decided to do it this way, since the price of publishing is too high for me at the moment, so I think putting it out on CD is a good start.

I will let everyone know here and on the website when the CD will be available for purchase.

Cheers!

Jim A Pearson
Vanihsing Sentinels

1099 Hits On The Website

2007-02-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that I now have 1,099 hits on my main site of Vanishing Sentinels. I had no idea that I would have that many in the 4 and an half months since I got this webpage setup!

Thanks to everyone who has visited the site, and I hope more arrive to see it!

Thank you!

Jim A Pearson
Vanishing Sentinels

Quick note in an article in Westworld

2007-02-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

I just found out that an article in the Alberta Motos Association's magzine "Westworld" had a quick mention of the Vanishing Sentinels project in their February 2007 issue.

I had submitted a photo of a grain elevator for a contest they were holding, and gave them the address of this blog. A fellow from Edmonton, Alberta mentioned it to me, and I got the article yesterday. To put it mildy, I was very surprised and happy to see it!

It's nice to see that there is a rising interest in grain elevators across Alberta.

For more information on the project, please check out my webpage at:
http://web.mac.com/difdbs/iWeb/Vanishing%20Sentinels/Home.html

I am going to be adding some additions to it soon, primarily drawings of how an early elevator operated.

I am also going to be doing a speech up in Edmonton on March 20th. Details to follow as I get them!

All Quiet on the Western Front

2007-02-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't been adding anything new on this site since I got the main website up, but I have started on a database for the Saskatchewan elevators. Using info from the net and wikipedia, I have disocvered quite a bit of info on the elevators in Sask., and have discovered this make take longer than I thought.

I am planning on going up to Saskatoon sometime in May to start going thru the archives to see what information I can find.

Also, I will be doing a speech in Edmonton on March 20 for the Scandanavian club on my project. From the sounds of it... it should have a fair sized crowd, so I have been doing some updates to my Keynote speech... I switched to Keynote from Powerpoint because it runs better on my laptop.

Further updates as I get them!

News Article From Millet, Alberta

2006-10-17T12:25:00.000-06:00

Here is an article on myself and my project from Millet, Alberta!

The Vanishing Sentinels Website Is Up and Running!

2006-09-22T16:06:00.000-06:00

Just want to let everyone know that the new Vanishing Sentinels website is up... at least part of it is!

http://web.mac.com/difdbs/iWeb/Vanishing%20Sentinels/Home.html

Cheers!

New updates from last trip down south

2006-09-18T00:45:00.000-06:00

Here are the latest updates on some elevators I found down SE of Lethbridge

Annex SE of Nemiscam

This privately owned annex is 14 km E of Foremost on Highway 61, 1 km S on Rge Rd 10-2 (Hoping Rd). However, I haven't been able to find out where this annex is from, although some think it may have come from Legend. If anyone knows, please email me!

Annex From Milk River

This privately owned annex is located E of Highway 4 On Rge Rd. 3-2. The color says it may have been from a UGG elevator.

Ted and Norma Bratner Elevator

This privately built elevator was built in 1938, and is 6 km S of Wrentham on Rge Rd. 17-1, or 2 km E of Highway 36 on Twp Rd. 6-2.

Dick Myer's Elevator

This elevator was built by Dick Meyers in 1964 as an easier way to feed his cows, but abandoned it in 1975. The equipment used for grinding grain are still inside. The elevator had 7 internal bins, and had two additional steel bins outside which could transfer grain into the elevator pit via a chain conveyor.

Looking up past the leg to the top of the structure

This wheel allowed the operator to select which bin to put the grain into.

This is the grain grinder and gas motor which drove it.

The elevator is located 1 km S of Sec. 531 and Sec. 842 West of Lomond.

Equity, Alberta (The actual hamlet)

2006-08-28T15:22:00.000-06:00

Equity, Alberta is located between Three Hills and Trochu on the CN rail line which runs from Camrose to Calgary. This hamlet originally had 3 elevators:

Western Canadian Flour Mills
National
Alberta Pacific
The elevators were closed sometime in the 1970's, but as you can see from the photo, the siding is still there.

Agricore United has an steel elevator complex named after Equity, which is located about 4 miles south of the hamlet west of Highway 21.

Three Hills, Alberta UPDATE

2006-08-28T15:20:00.000-06:00

For 4 years, I was uncertain of the status of the Three Hills Agricore elevator, so I was classifying it as unknown. Yesterday, I found out the elevator was open, so I dropped by to get some info on it. I found out that it was bought in 2002, and is still in use today.
I am glad to see at least one more elevator is still in operation in Alberta, even if it is privately owned! :)

Trochu New Pictures

2006-08-28T15:09:00.000-06:00

Trochu UGG (Closed 2002, privately owned)

Trochu Agricore (Closed 2002, privately owned)

I was coming through Trochu, and decided to get some new pics of the UGG and Agricore elevators elevators there! Enjoy!

Netook, Alberta

2006-08-28T15:02:00.000-06:00

Netook looking south

Netook looking north

Netook is a rail siding located about 6 miles north of Olds, Alberta on Highway 2A. I have been trying to find information on the elevators here, but so far no success. If anyone knows anything about the elevators in this area, please email me at ncc2920@telusplant.net! Thanks!

Minaret, Alberta

2006-08-28T14:59:00.000-06:00

Minaret was a rail siding located north of Olds, Alberta, and had an Alberta Pacific grain elevator, which was closed in 1956. (Many thanks to Elmer Speerman, who arrived there from Chinook, Alberta, via CP Rail from the Coronation area in 1938.)
I tried to find it, but seem to keep missing it, although Elmer's son said it still may be there! If anyone can find it, please let me know at ncc2920@telusplanet.com.

Update From NW and NE Trip August 14-17, 2006

2006-08-22T12:40:00.000-06:00

Here are the final (I hope) updates on elevators in Alberta... this trip covered an area from Delia to Ft. St. John, B.C. to Two Hills and Lougheed in the NE of Alberta. This trip took about a total of 30 hours driving time, and about 2000 kilometers traveled!

Camrose, Alberta #3 Elevator Has Been Demolished

Here is the Camrose #3 Agricore-United elevator as it was in 2004.

Here is the site as of August 14, 2006. The elevator was demolished this spring (2006)

Bittern Lake, Alberta

This elevator was originally an an Alberta Wheat Pool, and was moved to it's present location between 1986 and 1991. It is now located about 3 miles west and 1 mile North of Bittern Lake.

Rasmuson Farm

]Originally privately built in the 1930's, and is located 10.3 kilometers north of Gwynne on Sec. 822 (1 km north of Twp 47-4 on RR 23-0.

Justamere Farms

This elevator is owned by Justamere Farms (Ballhorn Family), and is located west of Gwynne on Highway 13 and Range Road 23-4.

Kavanagh, Alberta

This UGG elevator was moved in 1978 from it's original location in Kavanagh, which is about 4 miles south of Leduc on Highway 2A. It is now located on Highway 39 West of Leduc, and slightly north on Range Road 25-4

NE of Nisku, Alberta

This elevator was privately built back in 1939, and is located 2 miles east of Nisku then 2 miles north (Township Road 51-0, Range Road 24-4)

Edmonton

This Agricore-United Facility was originally built in 1947, and had a second elevator added to it in 1957. This complex was taken over by UGG in 1967, and then by Agricore-United in 2001. It is located at 7410 - 120 Ave in Edmonton.

Duagh, Alberta

The Alberta Oats Facility was built in 1995-1996, and is located north of Highway 37 and on Range Road 23-5 (The access road is just west of the rail line)

East of Namao, Alberta

These two elevators were built between 1940 and 1952, and were both privately built. Both are located just east of Namao.

Nampa, Alberta

This elevator was used by Alberta Wheat Pool for fertilizer storage.

This steel facility is built by Great Northern Grain Terminals Ltd. This facility was opened about 25 years ago (1981)

Grimshaw, Alberta

Grimshaw originally had 7 elevators, and has only two now. The older Alberta Wheat Pool is now used for storing fertilizer.

This Agricore Elevator is now abandoned.

Hines Creek, Alberta

Hines Creek, located at the end of the steel NW of Fairview, has two elevators, which are both privately owned. One originally was an Alberta Wheat Pool, but was taken over by UGG, while the other is a UGG.

Berwyn, Alberta

This annex was originally located in Berwyn (about 5 miles SW of Rycroft), and is now located on Secondary Road 685, and is east of Range Road 25-1 (the road turns north for 2 miles). No information was available when it was moved.

Rycroft, Alberta

The Cargill (located 1 mile east of Rycorft on Highway 49) was built in 1998-1999. The three elevators in town were taken over by the Peace River Seed Co-op.

The Louis Dreyfus was originally built in 1998 by UGG, and taken over in 2002.

Agricore Built in 1998, taken over in 2001 by Agricore-United.

These three elevators are owned by the Peace River Seed Co-op (As of 2002).

Dawson Creek, B.C.

The concrete Pioneer Built in Early 1980's taken over by Louis Dreyfus May 1, 2006.

Louis Dreyfus Facility opened in November, 2001

This Agricore-United elevator is on the NW side of town, and is still in operation.

Ft. St. John, B.C.
Fort St. John originally had 5 elevators, but now has 2 Agricore United and 1 Cargill Concrete.

This elevator is owned by Agricore-United, and was built in 1957.

This one was built in 1967.

The Cargill Concrete was built between 1985-1986.

Warwick, Alberta

This elevator was closed in the late 1970's and is now located 1/2 east of Warwick.

Vegreville, Alberta

The Buffalo Bin which was built in 1981, was closed in 2001 but is still leased out by Agricore-United. Vegreville still has a Cargill concrete elevator, and and Agricore United elevator on the east side of Vegreville was converted to a pea plant in 2000.

Farion Farms

Poe Elevator (Located On Farion Farms) South of Twp Rd 52-2 on Range Rd. 16-1 (East Side of Road)), Moved In 1984

Vegreville AWP (Located On Farion Farms) South of Twp Rd 52-2 on Range Rd. 16-1 (West Side of Road), Moved In 1985

Inland AWP (Located On Farion Farms) Township Road 52-2, and Just South on Range Road 15-4, Moved In 1982

Bergseth Farm

This elevator was originally an Alberta Farmer's Co-operative, then a UGG. It was moved from Sedgewick between 1986-1991. It is located on Township Road 44-4 1/2 mile west of Secondary road 870 north of Lougheed.

Lougheed, Alberta

The Iron Creek Museum is a Pioneer elevator built in 1937, and closed in 2001. The elevator was repainted in Pioneer's original colors, which were white and yellow.

Killam, Alberta

Killiam's two UGG elevator were bought by Great Northern Grains in 2003.

Green Acres Farm Elevator

This elevator was torn down in Forestburg in 1973, and was rebuilt on it's present site. The elevator was originally built between 1914 and 1916 as an Alberta Pacific, which became a Federal (1967) and AWP (1972). This elevator also had a tilting platform in the weigh scale platform for unloading wagons. It is located SW of Forestburg on Secondary 855... about 3 miles south of Highway 53.

Gartly, Alberta

This annex is located south of Gartly on Range Road 19-2, South of Township Road 30-2. It is either from the Searle or Alberta Wheat Pool elevator, and was moved in the 1970's

Magrath Elevator Burned Down July 26, 2006

2006-07-28T20:13:00.000-06:00

The old 1918 Parrish and Heimbecker elevator, which was to be torn down in July 2006.

This photo and article forwarded to me by Hawley Golobic from the Raymond Museum:

Ben Walter's crew had been dismantling one of his elevators (second from the west) intending to burn the debris. They had dug a pit south of the building and had placed some of the wreckage in it to be burned. What wind there was, was blowing from the east, so it was felt that there was no danger of anything else catching fire, and they went ahead with lighting the material in the pit. However, shortly after the fire was lit the wind switched from the East to the South, which resulted in super heated air being blown towards the elvator. It caught fire and was almost immediately out of control.

Luckily, they managed to get it back under control. Two elevators are to the left and right of the elevator, and managed to escape being destroyed.

Thanks very much to Hawley for forwarding this to me.

The Security Elevator Co.

2006-07-24T00:56:00.000-06:00

The Security Grain Co. Ltd. was set up in 1908 by the American-based Peavy Company. By 1920, the company had 70 elevators.

In 1921, Security took over the Atlas Elevator Co. Ltd.'s 58 elevators, and combined with the Northern Elevator Co. in 1929.

Northern merged with British America, National and Grand Trunk Pacific Elevator companies to form the National Grain Co. Ltd. in 1940.

Finally, National was taken over by Cargill in 1974.
(Thanks to Saskatchewan Grain Elevators - An Inventory-Based Research Project, by Maureen Pedersen, September 2000).

This is the only known Security elevator left in Alberta, and is presently located at Heritage Park, in Calgary, Alberta.

It was originally located at Shonts, Alberta (about 4 miles SE of Tofield on Highway 14). The elevator was moved to Calgary in 1966, and was opened in 1968.

This elevator also has a grain wagon loading - unloading platform which uses a see-saw mechanism to raise the front of the wagon up, so grain can be dumped into the receiving pit below.

The Nicholas Bawlf Elevator Co.

2006-07-17T02:06:00.000-06:00

The Bawlf or N. Bawlf elevator company was formed by Nicholas Bawlf and his son William in 1909. Mr. Bawlf was a Winnipeg Grain Merchant, and was a founding member of the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange. By 1918, Bawlf had more than 100 grain elevators.
The company was taken over by Federal Grain in 1940-1941.
(Thanks to Saskatchewan Grain Elevators An Inventory-Based Research Project Prepared For: Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation By: Maureen Pedersen September 2000)

This elevator, the only one that I have found in Alberta, is located on the Vandervalk Farm, about 10 km. north of Fort Macleod on Secondary 811 (just north of Township Road 10-0) and was moved in 1973. It was originally located in Woodhouse, a hamlet about 8 kilometers north west of Granum. You can clearly see "Bawlf" on the second picture of the elevator, and "Federal" on the other.

These are the original concrete foundations of two of the elevators in Woodhouse, which is just north of Township Road 11-4 on Highway 2, north of Granum

And now... I'd Like To Thank....

2006-07-07T02:18:00.000-06:00

I'd like to thank the following people who helped me on this south trip of the Vanishing Sentinels Project:

Holly from The Raymond Museum, who helped out immensly with research on the elevators in Raymond

Ben Walters From Magrath, who had tons of info on the elevators in Magrath and the old Sugar Plant / P&H elevator in Raymond

The staff of the Highwood Museum in High River, who helped me immensely on the history of the High River elevators.

The staff at Agricore United in Lethbridge.

The Taber & District Museum Society, espically for the info on the Fincastle and Taber elevators.

The Magrath Museum

The Eizikom Museum, who helped me get into contact with Clayton Pearson and Edwin Kvale.

The Barons Historical Society

Burdett Cargill

And all of the other people I talked to on the phone today! You're help is greatly appreciated

Blackie, Alberta

2006-07-07T01:56:00.000-06:00

In 2004, Blackie had 3 elevators, an Ex-Agricore, Pioneer and Agricore United steel elevator. However, I found out that the wooden elevator had been torn down in 2005, so here is a picture of it before and after.

Azure, Alberta

2006-07-07T01:53:00.000-06:00

Originally, I thought this elevator was an Pioneer, but thanks to the Blacksmith Shop in Nanton, I found out that this elevator was actually an Alberta Pacific. It was built in 1927, and closed in 1962, when Mr. Sam Brown bought it. It was repainted in 1981, and is located 5 miles south of High River on 88th Street.

Raymond, Alberta

2006-07-07T01:49:00.000-06:00

On this trip, I finally found some information on the P&H concrete elevator which is located on the east side or Raymond. This elevator was originally built as a sugar factory, and was taken over by Parrish and Heimbecker in the 1960's. A local farmer in Magrath now owns and operates this facility.

Nanton, Alberta Update

2006-07-07T01:34:00.001-06:00

Since I was last in Nanton, these two elevators have been repainted, and they look GREAT!

Magrath, Alberta

2006-07-07T01:18:00.000-06:00

Magrath still has 6 elevators, but sadly, the 1918 Parrish and Heimbecker elevator is planned to be demolished sometime in July 2006.

Heritage Acres Park

2006-07-04T22:17:00.000-06:00

Heritage Acres park is located NE of Pincher Creek on Secondary 785 (9 km from highway 3). This UGG elevator was originally located in Brocket, and was moved there in 1999.

Cardston, Alberta (2006)

2006-07-04T22:11:00.000-06:00

I had heard that the Parrish and Heimbecker elevator in Cardston was torn down in 2005, so I went down there to check.

This was the elevator in 2004.

Here is what it looks like today.

McIntyre Ranch

2006-07-04T22:07:00.000-06:00

This elevator was built in on site about 10 km south of Twp Rd. 5-0 on Highway 62, south of Magrath, Alberta. The elevator was built in 1947, and was re-sided in 1996. However... it has not been in use for several years.

Stirling, Alberta

2006-07-04T22:05:00.000-06:00

The last time I saw this elevator in 2004, the two steel bins were being constructed. It is located on the CPR line which runs east of Stirling to Foremost.

Lethbridge, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:59:00.000-06:00

I had always known about the Alberta Terminals Ltd. concrete terminal in Lethbridge, but was suprised to find out that it taken over by Cargill in 1991. The terminal was built in 1931 by the Canadian Grain Commission, and was taken over by Alberta Terminals Ltd. in 1979.

This Agricore-United elevator was originally built in 1974-1975, and is still in operation today.

McNab, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:57:00.000-06:00

McNab is located on the CPR line which runs south of Lethbridge to Coutts on the US border. This elevator is located in a fairly deep valley west of Highway 4, and is difficult to see from the highway.

Feed Plant east of McNab, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:23:00.000-06:00

I found this elevator by accident while I was heading to the elevator at McNab. It is located about 4 miles north east of Warner, and is located on the Dri-Land Feeders feed lot. It was built on site, and was not on any rail road.

Barnwell, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:22:00.000-06:00

This elevator, located east of Taber on CPR line running from Lethbridge to Medicine Hat, was originally owned by Cargill, but is now owned by Rowland Seeds Inc.

Coaldale, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:18:00.000-06:00

This Parrish and Heimbecker elevator has been modified since I first photgraphed it in 2004, and is now owned by 5 Sun Transloading

Picture Butte, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:16:00.000-06:00

This ex-Alberta Wheat Pool is now privately owned, and is one I've wanted to get a photo of since I was last there in 2004.

Barons, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

Barons, located south of Carmangay on the CP main line from Aldersyde to Lethbridge, presently has three elevators.

This elevator, presently owned by Feenstra Seeds, was built in 1960.

This ex-Alberta Wheat Pool is presently owned by Unifeed of Lethbridge.

This ex-Agricore elevator is also owned by Unifeed.

Farrow, Alberta

2006-07-04T21:05:00.002-06:00

This UGG elevator is located SW of Mossleigh on the CP line which runs from Eltham Junction to Mossleigh. However, there were two UGG elevators at Farrow, so I am not sure which one it is. If anyone knows, please let me know!

Been on the road again

2006-07-04T21:05:00.001-06:00

For the last 2 days... I've been running around southern Alberta looking for the final elusive grain elevators... and following this post will be pics and data on them!

Hanna CN Railroad Station May Be Moving

2006-06-22T16:09:00.000-06:00

This article is taken from the Hanna Herald Newspaper, Volume 94, No. 40 - Tuesday, June 20, 2006, by Karen McKinley, Hanna Herald.

One of Hanna's landmarks, the old CN Station, is about to find a new home as a tourist information centre.

Council passed a series of motions on Tuesday, June 13, to enter into negotiations with three organizations: Henry Kroeger Regional Water Services; Buchfink Construction and Olmstead and Son's Building Movers to get the station moved to its new location on Highway 9 where the current tourism booth stands.

They are entering into negotiations with Henry Kroeger because the land is owned by them, Buchfink Construction to create a basement for the building to sit on and Olmstead and Son's to move the station/

"We wanted to create a bigger, better tourist booth out of the old station to better represent our community's heritage as it used to be a CN town." said Mayor Pat Burns. "The building itself is structurally sound and the engineers approved it for transport. The west end was an add-on that will be removed.

He added the station needed a basement either for more storage space or for displays.

One hundred thousand dollars was set aside in the last budget for the project. If there is any left after the move, Mayor Burns said, they will put it towards more renovations.

The station, like in many prairie towns, used to be the hub of the community, where producers would load dairy and live cattle into cars. Remains of the old cattle loading gates can be still be seen in the reservoir just south of the Doll Palace on the east end of town, where they used to be housed at the stockyards.

It was also a passenger station.

CN no longers owns the building, it is property of the Town of Hanna, giving the town free reign over its maintenance and relocation.

Mayor Burns said moving the station by late fall is feasible if negotitations go well.

The Hanna CNR Station taken by myself in early 2006.

I hope this goes well... since Hanna has one of the few still intact rail road stations in Alberta.

Poster I received from the Elevator Kids

2006-06-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

After a few weeks of working on it, then going to something else... my Dad and myself finally got the poster I received from Mrs. Jennifer George and the class of Grades 1 and 2 students from the Prince of Wales School in SE Calgary, Alberta, who are known as "The Elevator Kids".

The frame is made out of old barn wood... we we going to make it out of elevator chute wood, but we couldn't find a piece that would work.

BTW.. the picture of me is not that great... that's because I had just came into the house after one major cloudburst. We got at least 10 mm (4/10th of an inch) of rain in less than 10 minutes.

Crossfield, Alberta

2006-06-22T15:24:00.000-06:00

Crossfield is lcoated north of Calgary on Highway 2, and has one elevator that I have overlooked for the last 3 years. This elevator, which is now being used as a seed cleaning plant, was originally a UGG Elevator which was built in the 1970's. You can still see the original UGG Logo where the green drop is.