On a grain elevator photography trip in 1985, I stopped by Corinne, SK on an overcast morning. Located at Mi 40 of CP's Portal Subdivision, I was returning to Regina from Weyburn. At one time, a 1400-tonne elevator and two 700-tonne elevators owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool were sited at Corinne. A small grain elevator had its unloading shed doors ajar. Inside, an interestingly intriguing set of very vintage, small placards had been posted in the preceding years:
Postmarked October 27, 1933 (above and below) this placard took one cent's worth of postage to make it from Winnipeg to Corinne. Concerning weeds:
Then, in the 1950's, the Corinne elevator was rodent proofed by Paramount Elevator Service - September 17, 1958:
For additional emphasis, a second placard regarding safe elevator use was posted, where the birds added some of their own emphasis:
Assuring everyone that elevator transactions were on the up-and-up, at least as far as the Canadian Wheat Board was concerned:
Approaching Corinne, who would have guessed that such gems were still in place on the unloading shed walls. Well, we should have known.
These unobtrusive unctions on the walls of grain elevators bespoke the need for concise corporate communication in an earlier era. How many can you spot in this photo taken at SaskPool's Stranraer elevator he following year:
Brisk. The book sales, not the iced tea, that is. Thanks to everyone for their support, good wishes, feedback, book orders and even a book review and giveaway on Steve Boyko's Confessions of a Train Geek blog. An unfolding trend is the new 'generation' of Trackside with VIA readers who are just now hearing about my books, including the just-released Research and Recollections - and ordering all four in the 'series'!
Speaking of VIA, their Facebook site is serving up a steady diet of capriciously captionable photos that no doubt will find their way into an upcoming Trackside Treasure post. How can you miss with good material?
So many NO SMOKING signs in elevators, of course!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know the reason why only the elevator agent can use the manlift is because the counterweight is set for the operator, and others using it might go up or down too fast, or not at all!
Thanks for your comment, Steve.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the stories of kids sneaking into the elevator and using the manlift, sometimes at high velocity?
I have seen smoking...in the office.
It was cool to go the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa and see their elevator mockup. Complete with leg, grain buckets, and manlift!
Eric
Very neat Eric. I'm glad you took the initiative to record these advertising in the grain elevators. Every company had a different way to get the point across.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jason. During my 1986 visit, no pun intended, it was obvious that the handwriting was on the wall for these tiny elevators. Time to document!
ReplyDeleteEric