Northern Alberta grain elevator needs farmers to survive

A grain elevator built by Dick Bacon photographed outside of Grande Prairie, Alta. on Monday, July 8, 2024. Current landowners want to see the grain elevator become active again so it can be preserved among peace country history. (Photo by Jesse Boily)

What once numbered in the thousands and were described as giants, sentinels, landmarks, and iconic in prairie imagery are nearly gone.

Only a few hundred grain elevators remain in Alberta, which is why one local wants to see a unique elevator on her land preserved.

“If you look around the landscape, there’s not much left for elevators anymore,” said Erin Burns Well.

Erin moved onto her land northeast of Grande Prairie about a year ago and wants to see the grain elevator that sits on it preserved.

In her research, she found that one of the best ways to preserve one is to use it.

One small problem: She’s not a farmer.

She hopes to find some to help preserve a piece of Peace country history.

Erin is no stranger to the elevator; she grew up with it, and the man who built it was like a grandfather to her.

Dick Bacon and his wife Fay moved to the farm in 1951.

Dick would then go on to build the elevator in 1962 while sourcing the lumber from the Forestry Trunk Road the summer before. He put the lid on in November 1961.

Erin believes the elevator has been inactive for at least 20 years, but it could be more.

Walking into the structure is like entering a time capsule.

Calendars from 1967 hang on the wall, an homage to its early days. Scales and samples remain as if they were used only last season.

Some repairs are needed, and Erin says she and her partner plan to begin this summer, fixing the ramps, replacing the tin roof and “we’re going to put another wind sock on it like there always was in the past.”

Now only a ring that once housed a sock moves with the wind above the prairie giant.

“The Bacons were just such important parts of my childhood,” she said. Keeping a bit of their history alive is important to her.

“That’s a big building showcasing a lot of hard work and a lot of that pioneer spirit, and to see that get pushed down to build another shop or just to see it come down from neglect isn’t something we want to see.”

She remembers being a child when her father would bring his picker truck and help Dick do the roof on the elevator. This summer, her dad will be around again to help her maintain it.

“When I was a little kid, Fay, my sister, and I would be in here, and we’d make sandwiches for all the guys out there farming. We used to bring sandwiches, lemonade, and everything out to the field.

“I remember having the thought one day that I’m going to bring my husband lunch in this field one day.”

She said the fields now have been turned into an industrial park, but she has brought her husband a sandwich to his shop in the park.

“That’s where the field was, so I guess I was kinda right,” she laughs.

Erin is working with historical organizations to find information on the elevator and how to preserve it. Not much is available.

She believes the elevator has about a 30-bushel capacity.

“If we could get people to come, bring even just old antique grain trucks that they have for fun.

“It doesn’t have to be a large quantity or anything. But we’d like to see it continue to be used, and that will help manage the upkeep of it,” said Erin.

The challenge is that the elevator was built during a different era and cannot accommodate larger, modern grain trucks.

The clearance is low and the doors are not very wide compared to their commercial counterparts.

“If farmers do want to use it, that’ll influence our decision of how we take care of it going forward. We talked about putting a restaurant in there, an Airbnb, and you know, there are all kinds of different options for people for photo ops wedding venues.

“We don’t want to make a profit off of it. But we also don’t want to see it go to waste. So any footprints that walk through it just helps keep it alive,” said Erin.

Inquires to use the elevator can be sent to [e-mail].