Audio Excerpt

In a few seconds you’ll see some tall buildings North of the highway that say Sintaluta, any idea what they are? Well you can probably guess they aren’t skyscrapers, they are actually grain elevators! In the 1930’s there were almost 6000 of them in Western Canada! Only 350 remain today and two of them are here in Sintaluta! 

 

 In the past, grain elevators sometimes experienced silo explosions. Fine powder from the millions of grains passing through the facility would accumulate and mix with the oxygen in the air. A spark could spread from one floating particle to the other creating a chain reaction that would destroy the entire structure!

 

Well we know they can explode, but what exactly is a grain elevator’s purpose? Is it,

 

a) a mechanism inside the elevator that takes grain from the bottom and moves it to the top, which keeps it constantly moving and prevents critters such as mice from feasting on it,

b) a giant mill that grinds the grain from the bottom into flour, moves it to the top and expels it down a chute, or

c) a complex designed to stockpile and store grain, often involving a method of moving grain for storage and shipping?

 

The correct answer is C! In most cases, the term "grain elevator" covers the entire elevator complex.  As  grain is emptied from bins, tanks and silos it is conveyed, blended and weighted into trucks, railroad cars or barges, and shipped! Sintaluta used to be the largest shipping point of grain in Western Canada and was once home to not two, but seven elevator companies!