A new lease on life for a prairie gem

The Western Development Museum Heritage Farm and Village says the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator has been repaired and painted.

Towering above the landscape, a beacon for prairie travellers, the grain elevator came to symbolize the settlement of the Canadian West in the early years of the 20th century. Intent on saving this symbol of prairie life, in 1983 the North Battleford Western Development Museum masterminded the transfer of a Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator from the village of Keatley, 60 km northeast of the Battlefords.

Prairie wind, rain, sun and snow had faded, blistered and peeled its paint over time. The price of elevator paint has risen dramatically from the $4 per gallon paid in 1928. With the proceeds from the 2013 Great Escapes Raffle and generous donation from Maureen Campbell, the WDM was able to give the elevator a new lease on life with a much-needed exterior paint job.

Thanks to an endowment fund set up by Edwin Wells, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator will continue to stand at the WDM as a beacon for years to come.

Painting was done by Robert Stemberger of FS Painting Ltd., of Mundare, AB.