The St. Jean Baptiste grain elevator that burned down over the weekend was a fixture of the town’s skyline since the early 1950s.
“The St. Jean skyline feels empty now and it will take some time to get used to,” wrote NuVision Commodities Inc., which owned the building, on Facebook on Oct. 15.
The elevator caught fire in the wee hours of Oct. 14, drawing some 80 firefighters from departments from many neighbouring communities, and prompting some St. Jean residents to be evacuated, the post said.
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“We thank God for watching over us and keeping everyone safe,” the company wrote.
According to the social media post, the area was under a boil water advisory the next day.
The elevator opened in August 1951, writes George Bruneau in Reapers of the Valley, a centennial history of the region written in 1982.
In 1951, a group of farmers approached the president of Manitoba Pool to request the construction of the elevator. According to the book, St. Jean already had three elevators, so Manitoba Pool president W.P. Parker wasn’t keen on the farmers’ request.
“The delegation tried to convince Mr. Parker that many farmers were delivering their crop at the Pool Elevators in Letellier and Morris,” Bruneau wrote.
Letellier is just 16 km down the road from St. Jean, as per Google Maps – an 11-minute drive in modern times. The equation was different in those post-war days, when road systems and farm mechanization were in their infancy.
The group of farmers, who formed the Co-operative Elevator Association headed by Simeon Marion, gathered 94 signatures, guaranteeing that 20,000 acres of crops would be delivered to the elevator. The group also put down a deposit of $20,000. Parker was convinced.
When first built, the elevator held 40,000 bushels, according to the Manitoba Historical Society (MHC). Bruneau added that in the first year, the elevator handled nearly 440,000 bushels.
The next year, a 60,000-bushel annex was constructed. Still, Bruneau notes the elevator ran out of capacity throughout the 1950s, forcing the farmers to deliver to other towns. In 1965, a further 90,000 bushels of capacity was added.
MHC notes that the elevator was fully renovated in 1971. When Bruneau wrote his book in the early 1980s, the elevator was handling over a million bushels of grain per year. It was further expanded with three steel bins in 1991, and its track capacity was expanded in 1994, MHC wrote.
Agricore closed the elevator in 2001. Local commodity-marketing firm NuVision Commodities bought the elevator in 2003 to use it for bulk storage. The old elevator was still in use when it burned.
“She was strong and stubborn until the end,” the company wrote on Facebook. “We are proud to have owned and operated one of the last few wooden grain elevators.”
People replied to the post with some of their own reminisces.
“I remember in the back pit area by the stairs, there was a wood spout with a lot of employee names and dates,” wrote a former employee. “There was 30-40 I’d say and lots dated back to the 80’s and earlier. Sad to see this piece of history go down this way when it was in working condition.”
“It’s a sad sight seeing such a useful classic crumble,” wrote another poster.
NuVision Commodities did not respond to an interview request.
