Federal Grain Demolition

rusty6 · Jan 25, 2019

Its old news from 1988 but I was posting it elsewhere for someone and thought it might be an interesting video to look at here. Little did we know that it was the first in the long line of dominoes that would end up with no elevators or railway line in our town. I think the last one came down in 2002. This old Federal elevator was getting to the point of too small, needing repairs and updating. It was owned by Sask. Wheat Pool by that time and they had just put their new (1984) grain elevator into service so decided the old Federal had to go. It did not take long. Clean up took a while.
19 years earlier a twin to that elevator burst open just a few hundred feet West of where this one stood.
Federal Grain Demolition

kruser · Jan 25, 2019

Along the same lines - Demolition of a former coal generating power station in East Peoria, Illinois.
I was there on a Sunday morning at about 7 AM !
Down She Goes

Bob · Jan 25, 2019

Get with the times, "POOL" Gavilon, Vittera, now what have they become?

Just BIG global bucks vs. family farmers.

rusty6 · Jan 25, 2019

(quoted from post at 18:17:35 01/25/19) Get with the times, "POOL" Gavilon, Vittera, now what have they become?

Just BIG global bucks vs. family farmers.

Viterra is top of the heap now. You are so right. Today's grain companies are so far away from the origins of Sask. Wheat Pool that began in 1924. Built by farmers for farmers. I forget the order of change but there were a few names in between the switch from Sask. Wheat Pool to Viterra. Agricore United was in there somewhere when the United Grain Growers buyout happened.

jeffcat · Jan 25, 2019

I have read several good stories about the prairie sentinals. A few years back Railfan Magazine had a fantastic artical on them. So sad that probably every one of them is now gone. The other thing is with coal fired or even natural gas power plants. I think this PC correct stuff will cripple this country far into the future. We have so little reserve as it is and any kind of major breakdown we will be toast. Watch this wonderful movie short from the filmboard of Canada. 1981. Hard to think this is 37 years already! I can remember like it was yesterday the mill in Flemington, NJ. Was the GLF originally and changed over to the Agway. I can remember as around 8 years old with the measles my dad took me in 1958 to watch them putting up the steel towers for grain storage. I also took pictures in 1998 when they were ripping them down. Blast I hate change sometimes. Now the Flemington Fur is closing after 98 years. I went to grammar school with one of their kids.
The Elivator.

jeffcat · Jan 25, 2019

Here is another thing after looking at yours. That is all straight grain clear lumber. You can't buy that stuff for love nor money! Most was just crunched up or burned. Cry cry AND cry.

Bob · Jan 25, 2019

(quoted from post at 20:26:33 01/25/19)

(quoted from post at 18:17:35 01/25/19) Get with the times, "POOL" Gavilon, Vittera, now what have they become?

Just BIG global bucks vs. family farmers.

Click to expand...

Viterra is top of the heap now. You are so right. Today's grain companies are so far away from the origins of Sask. Wheat Pool that began in 1924. Built by farmers for farmers. I forget the order of change but there were a few names in between the switch from Sask. Wheat Pool to Viterra. Agricore United was in there somewhere when the United Grain Growers buyout happened.

HOW did that happen?

You Canadian prairie farmers built the "POOL", and it was turned over to BIG multinational corporations.

Did the original farmer/grain growers/shareholders get some "buyout bucks" on that?

rusty6 · Jan 25, 2019

(quoted from post at 18:56:40 01/25/19) Here is another thing after looking at yours. That is all straight grain clear lumber. You can't buy that stuff for love nor money! Most was just crunched up or burned. Cry cry AND cry.

There were guys salvaging a lot of that lumber in the early days. By the time the 4th one came down in 02 there were not so many. I know a lot of that lumber was buried in a pit. Some came home with me.
Yes, I've watched that NFB film on the Sask. elevator a few times as well. It is an accurate view of running a grain elevator in small town Sask. in the 80s. The open elevated walk way to the detached office. Lower level of the office used to contain the engine that powered the leg. I spent many hours visiting with other farmers and workers in those elevators. Good times gone but not forgotten.
This pic from the summer of 69 shows how the first Federal elevator burst open spilling grain all over the rail tracks. The one in the background is the one that was demolished in my video in 1988.

Bob Harvey · Jan 25, 2019

Please correct me if I'm wrong (never happened before-:^) ) My understanding is that those suckers were built of solid, stacked and nailed lumber. Yes ? No ?

rusty6 · Jan 25, 2019

(quoted from post at 21:30:42 01/25/19) Please correct me if I'm wrong (never happened before-:^) ) My understanding is that those suckers were built of solid, stacked and nailed lumber. Yes ? No ?

You are right. They started out at the bottom with quite wide (2x8) and got a little narrower timbers as they got higher up. A lot of spikes went in those walls. I took some of them apart for salvage and some of it was rough cut, a little thicker than carpentry grade lumber.
This picture was the United Grain Growers annex being built in 1976. That one actually survived and was sold and moved down the highway to a private owner.

db4600 · Jan 25, 2019

Great Grandpa built the mill in 1879-80. Believed to be a water powered grist mill it was outclassed by a new mill around 1900 and went into receivership. It was bought by the Thelen family circa 1912 and retooled to mill Western Blend Flour along with Thelen?s flagship mill in Freeport where they milled Swany White Flour. The Swany White engine, test mill, rope drive, and some bagging equipment were sent to WMSTR in Rollag in the early ?80s. The Western Blend equipment was removed in ?91 and are on display at The Mill City Museum at the old Gold Medal Flour Mill in Minneapolis. The 1950?s addition added the tall elevator and roller mill equipment in Albany.

db4600 · Jan 25, 2019

Junk show is salvaging what is feasible and useful to recreate a mill at the grounds.

db4600 · Jan 25, 2019

An early photo looking west or the Great Northern Rail Line and Main Street with the 2 newer mills in the center of town. The original will in out of frame to the left and the tall chimney of Ward Dry Milk (now Kraft) is not yet erected.

SVcummins · Jan 26, 2019

We lost the railway into town in about 1998 if I remember right elevators are still here and in use but now everything is trucked in and out

JimB2 · Jan 26, 2019

Rusty, how far do you have to truck your crops? We noticed during our vacation in western Canada this summer that the only remaining in use elevators appeared to in towns along the main CP or CNR main lines. There appeared to be more oil, potash, lumber and containers cars than grain cars on the trains that we saw, although we were travelling in July before harvest time.

JimB

rusty6 · Jan 26, 2019

(quoted from post at 08:22:15 01/26/19) Rusty, how far do you have to truck your crops? We noticed during our vacation in western Canada this summer that the only remaining in use elevators appeared to in towns along the main CP or CNR main lines. There appeared to be more oil, potash, lumber and containers cars than grain cars on the trains that we saw, although we were travelling in July before harvest time.

JimB

20 miles to the closest working elevator. 30 miles to the next. Obviously the days of trucking with a gas powered single axle IH truck are over. Its all done by custom hauler now. I'm not about to buy a semi at this stage of the game.
I sure miss the days I could call up the local agent(s) to see if they were buying grain. Load up the old IH and drive 12 miles to sell the grain.

AlinArk · Jan 26, 2019

that music sounded like finger nails on a blackboard !!!!!!!

rusty6 · Jan 26, 2019

(quoted from post at 09:35:49 01/26/19) that music sounded like finger nails on a blackboard !!!!!!!

Maybe you need a better sound system. That is classic Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I'll admit the sound quality is not the best but its the best I could do at the time.

JMS/.MN · Jan 26, 2019

Yes, typically 2x8, laid flat, nailed together. Lots of cross bracing with 2x6 tied in. Same to make individual bins. Saw that when a local one came down about 10 years ago. Some Mennonites took sections and took them apart for the lumber.

55 50 Ron · Jan 26, 2019

Rusty,

What is the name of the tune? I have a 4 CD set of Bob Wills titled Take Me Back To Tulsa (covers tunes from 1932 to 1950) and I don't think your tune is on any of the 4 CDs, although I'm not sure since I can't figure out your tune name by listening. I like the Bob Wills tune "Faded Love" and play it on mandolin, but I'm NOT fond of those words.

55 50 Ron · Jan 26, 2019

What do you mean by "Junk show"?

rusty6 · Jan 26, 2019

(quoted from post at 16:18:03 01/26/19) Rusty,

What is the name of the tune? I have a 4 CD set of Bob Wills titled Take Me Back To Tulsa (covers tunes from 1932 to 1950) and I don't think your tune is on any of the 4 CDs, although I'm not sure since I can't figure out your tune name by listening.

Its on there Ron. "All Night Long". Listen to it here on youtube where the sound is better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kZJcltroEs

rusty6 · Jan 26, 2019

55 50 Ron wrote:
(quoted from post at 16:18:03 01/26/19) Rusty,

What is the name of the tune? I have a 4 CD set of Bob Wills titled Take Me Back To Tulsa (covers tunes from 1932 to 1950) and I don't think your tune is on any of the 4 CDs, although I'm not sure since I can't figure out your tune name by listening.

Its on there Ron. "All Night Long". Listen to it here on youtube where the sound is better.
All Night Long

55 50 Ron · Jan 26, 2019

I'm guessing there is probably more than one version of "the 4 CD set of Bob Wills". My set (copyright 2001) doesn't have that unless it goes by a different name for the same tune. (I haven't listened to my set recently enough to know and I don't think I will check it right now !!) My set is from Proper Records Ltd of Kent, England. The picture on the You Tube you posted is different from the picture on the box from my set.

All in all I suspect Bob Wills is (was) popular enough that several record companies have marketed versions of his stuff.

rusty6 · Jan 26, 2019

Like most corporate buyouts, a bigger company bought up the Wheat Pool. Probably to eliminate the competition. It happens all the time and we
don't have any say in the matter. The Pool went "public" a few years before the buyout and some farmers got their equity converted to shares
on the stock market. Some did pretty well if they sold their shares at the right time.

Federal Grain Demolition

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