CRANE VALLEY, Sask. -Small town grain elevators were once places to socialize as well as to do business.
That’s still the case in this southwestern Saskatchewan hamlet, even though the elevator closed in the winter of 1998 and the rail line was torn up later that fall.
Today, the former Saskat-chewan Wheat Pool elevator has a new lease on life as Deep South Agro Ltd. and the Crane Valley General Store.
Les Schick and Dave Message,
local farmers who bought the elevator, lease out bin space for grain storage and offer grain cleaning, moisture testing and feed rolling services.
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The elevator’s former office space is leased to Debbie Watamanuk and Suzanne Reid, who operate the store.
“We didn’t want to see a structure like this demolished,” said Schick.
That could have been the fate of the 1981 building had the rail line not closed. Grain companies do not want to take the chance that their former facilities might be used to compete against them.
“When the tracks were pulled out, that made it easier,” Schick said. “I don’t know if we would have ever got it.”
The couple is now providing services for Crane Valley, population 35, and surrounding communities.
When Deep South offered 15 bins for lease, it received 16 requests. The business found that people are willing to haul their grain a few extra miles for the bin space.
Watamanuk said people appreciate the convenience of being able to stop in one place for supplies for themselves and their farm. The two largest and closest centres are Moose Jaw, 80 kilometres away, and Assiniboia, 40 km away.
Crane Valley had a general store until a few years ago, and Watamanuk and Reid found that people missed it.
Watamanuk and her mother raised start-up capital for the venture by supplying groceries for the Saskatchewan portion of the 1999 Northwest Mounted Police trail ride.
The partners then struck a deal with the Fine Foods grocery chain, did a few renovations at the elevator and set up shop.
“They weren’t expecting as much as we have,” Watamanuk said of shoppers’ reactions.
There is a full line of groceries, including locally grown honey and eggs, and a craft store in the basement.
Reid said they can keep their stock competitively priced because they are part of a chain. Plus, they are sharing the costs of utilities with Deep South.
Message said the two businesses complement each other. Someone will inquire about grain storage or come in for moisture testing and buy a soft drink and a chocolate bar, he said. Or, it’s the other way around.
The two businesses joined forces last fall to sell twine and became a joint East-Man Feeds dealer last winter.
None of the four business partners had previous experience running a business, but are buoyed by the support they have received.
The elevator is still a gathering spot, where people take time to have a cup of coffee and visit.
“This is rural Saskat-chewan entrepreneur heaven because we have nothing here,” Reid said.
“The general mood is that everybody complains that this and that is all leaving us, but everybody’s afraid to stick their neck out and try something,” added Schick.
“We had to try and keep a small town like this going.”
