Grainnet

Written by Barb Selyem. Photos by Bruce Selyem

It takes a lot for Jean Halldorson, postmistress at Mozart, SK, Canada, to say, “It can’t be done.”

She believes the impossible just takes more time, more effort, and perhaps, a little more money.

When 2,000 philatelists mailed letters to Mozart in 1991, the 200th anniversary year of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jean was prepared. She was positive her hamlet was the only community in the world named after the Austrian composer, so she had a special cachet made to stamp the letters she received that year.

Then she got the idea that it would be wonderful for the Regina Chamber Orchestra to play Mozart in Mozart in honor of the occasion. The orchestra played in the town hall to a sellout crowd of 210. The performance was such a success that Jean organized the effort to bring the orchestra back again in 1996. Regretfully, the turnout was not as good.

Shrinking
Jean also had some good ideas to save the town’s two grain elevators.

Mozart’s population had peaked in the 1920s following the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1909. It declined steadily afterwards. By 2000, Jean was handling the mail for only 65 customers.

When the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool announced the closure of its elevators at Mozart, Jean wanted the community to buy and renovate them, possibly for artists’ studios.

There was little support for her idea and she knew it would take more than time, effort, and money to save the elevators; it would take more people. She watched from the post office across the street as the last two Mozart elevators were bulldozed, burned, and buried in 2001.

Elevator history. At one time, Mozart had four elevators—the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, National, Federal, and Victoria. When John Grimson became the Pool manager in 1944, there were only three elevators left as the National had been struck by lightning and burned in 1914. By the time he retired in 1978, there were only two.

The third had fallen into disrepair and was sold to a farmer, who intended to reclaim its lumber. Though the elevator had some massive beams and beautiful grain-worn wood, most of it was not very good.

Searle Grain Company built the remaining white, wood-sided elevator in 1912. Searle sold to Federal in 1967 and Federal to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in 1972. Time, use, and weather had taken its toll on the old 30,000-bushel house. As the paint wore away, old names and logos resurfaced in a collage

The “modern” red Pool elevator was built in 1957. John remembers, “The Pool had a way of doing things backwards—we built the annex and office in 1955 before the main house.

“Originally, this elevator had a gas engine (as did the old Federal), which ran great. Eventually, the company electrified both.”

John, 88, says although he enjoyed his work at the elevators, he might have done things differently.

“If I had my life to live over, I would have lived it differently. I was born just east of Mozart, and in those days, there were few opportunities to get a decent education. If you got to the 7th or 8th grade, you were doing well. Good jobs were scarce, so I guess I was grateful to have the work.”

When the elevators were torn down, John stood by with a camera and no emotion.

“I had seen elevators torn down before,” he said. “The old elevators were just too small and too slow. When they were built, a big farm was a section, and grain was hauled in wagons and later 400-bushel grain trucks. Farms are much bigger now and grain is hauled long distances in semi-trucks. Demolition was inevitable.”

Artfully Preserved
During recent years, many old wood houses have been torn down all across Canada. A few elevators were sold to private individuals, and some have become local museums. For the most part, however, preservation of their heritage has been left to the arts.

In 1999, the Canadian National Film Board granted funds to two Albertans, Bryan Smith and Jim Warner, to produce a grain elevator documentary. The film, “Death of a Skyline,” is available for $29.95 on DVD or VHS through the National Film Board of Canada. To order, visit www.nfb.ca or call 800-542-2164 in the United States or 800-267-7710 in Canada.

Smith and Warner chose to divide the film into three segments. They filmed Peter Kirk, a man who arrives just ahead of the wrecking ball to reclaim beams and bucket elevator wood; they documented the efforts of a preservation group in Mayerthorp, AB, who wanted to acquire their elevator for a museum; and they followed Bruce and Barbara Selyem, who had traveled to nearly 1,000 places in Canada taking elevator photographs and collecting historical information.

On June 2, 2000, the film crew arrived in Mozart to film Bruce photographing the elevators before they disappeared. It was a glorious day, and though the elevators were slated for demolition, they would be preserved forever in Selyem’s photographs and the Film Board’s documentary.

Jean Halldorson watched with appreciation, a little resignation, and a little sadness.

Barbara and Bruce Selyem are directors of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society. For more information, contact the society at 406-388-9282; e-mail: bselyem@country-grain-elevator-historical-society.org.

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