One by one, these prairie sentinels have vanished from the horizon, but one Manitoba town boasts five good ones
Restoring one wooden grain elevator to its former glory is a major challenge.
The Inglis Elevators National Historic Site in Manitoba has done just that — times five. With the renovations to the last of five restored elevators underway this summer, the massive makeover will soon be complete.
Judy Bauereiss, chair of the board, said the hard work was worth it.
“I’m not too sure I’m quite believing it,” Bauereiss said. “Certainly to accomplish this in the time we did is, I think, fairly amazing.”
The restoration of the elevators started six years ago with the Paterson, the first elevator in the row and the one toured by the public the most. Restoration includes replacing decomposing boards, whitewashing and repainting the exteriors.
Bauereiss said they couldn’t have finished the elevators this quickly without help. Specifically, the help of the men from Texas who voluntarily repainted the UGG elevator for free.
“We probably still don’t really believe it but in fact we have done it, and certainly in 2016 when Stu Bracken and the crew came up and voluntarily did the elevator, it was unexpected.”
The Northern will be the last elevator to be restored and is expected to be done later this summer, but it was only through a surprise $25,000 grant from the province that the work was able to be completed.
The final elevator is expected to be finished just in time for the anniversary of the elevators.
“This year or next is going to be the 100th anniversary of the row,” Bauereiss said. “And so obviously we’re going to have some sort of commemorative celebration.”
Even as the project comes to a close, the elevators, which were designated a national historic site in 1997, will require ongoing work.
“So the big plan would probably be now that we’ve done the project to establish some sort of fund or resource to maintain it.”
Daylan Katchin is an employee and tour guide at the Inglis Elevators National Historic Site. He said he believes the restoration is an added benefit to the site.
“While our elevators are not quite fully painted, they are close and I believe the fresh coat of paint will breathe new life into our historic site,” Katchin said.
“I’ve been happy to point out our partially painted elevators to tourists, most of which have given praise to the paint job, and have correctly assumed the extreme amount of resources required for the painting.”
Katchin said the elevator restoration could bring more visitors to the site, which already attracts 700-800 tourists per year.
“I think the paint job will certainly bring in more traffic to our elevators. Tourists are already blown away by the sheer size of them, seeing them with a shiny new coat of paint just helps add to the time capsule-like effect our elevators have.”
