Traditional style prairie elevators changed and repurposed

Crop Production Services, Coaldale

Border Seed Cleaning Coop, Milk River, AB

When I was a child growing up in Alberta, the elevators, then made of wood, were labelled with words that expressed simple concepts, a farmer owned co-operative. The signs read UGG (United Grain Growers), Alberta Wheat Pool, or simply Pool, and usually had the town names as well.

The one below left, in Big Valley, still had the Alberta Wheat Pool sign in 2012 but the one in St. Albert (right) is now a museum.

Pool elevator in Big Valley

Elevator Museum at St. Albert