Symbols of a Vanishing Era FTLComm - Tisdale - October 22, 1998 Every seven miles on every Saskatchewan rail line was home to one of these structures. Constructed simply of two-by fours nailed to one another to form cribbing these buildings, usually short of one hundred feet, served their communities to store and market the local grain. The centre column of each housed the "leg", the conveyor that lifted grain to the top for distribution into each crib from the "pit", the unloading hopper under the floor of the "scale". To
transfer grain from one crib to another the agent took the "lift", a counter balanced one person elevator adjusted to his personal weight and with a rope at its centre, to allow him to move up and down with a foot operated brake to slow his motion. These terms and this method of grain handling will disappear with these buildings just as did the huge single cylinder stationary engines that once power them. This week Tisdale’s two Wheat Pool elevators in town are being prepared for demolition, as seen at right, the buildings are being weakened on the South side and will then be toppled over. Some of the wood can be salvaged but most will be destroyed. A sad end to what is considered the icon of rural Saskatchewan. It is more then a symbol, for as these buildings are replaced by ones like the one atthe bottom of the page so is the life that accompanied their era. Immediately below is what they look like now and what this scene will soon be.