There used to be a quick litmus test to determine the relative size of a town even without seeing it.
“You’re from Grassy Lake? Is that a one-, two- or three-elevator town?” The reply provided a pretty good idea of town size and the relative importance of agriculture to the region.
Those days are gone, along with many wooden elevators. But even the fallen ones are still standing – in two books compiled and published by artist and photographer Sophi Hicken. Still Standing: The Grain Elevators of Southern Alberta was published in 1999. The second book, Still Standing II: The Grain Elevators of Central & Northern Alberta, was released in late 2003.
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Prices had been softening for most of the previous month, but heading into the Labour Day long weekend, the price drops were startling.
The books are compilations of photographs of Alberta elevators, new and old, from Kathyrn to Coutts and Fort Macleod to Dunmore. The second book has photos from Athabasca to Drumheller and Cremona to Sibbald.
Hicken moved home to the Lethbridge area about 10 years ago from Toronto and started taking photos of the Prairies. Friends and acquaintances were soon looking at her portfolio.
“I had one picture of a grain elevator, and with my limited knowledge of the industry, thought that was more than enough. But I found out differently.”
The elevator photo initiated many conversations and the idea for a book was born. Hicken took most shots herself for the first book, and for the second used her own plus some submitted material and resources from the Grain Academy.
She made a conscious decision to limit the amount of text: “There’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of stories …. You could write a hundred books and never scratch the surface. I think it’s just neat to see people start talking once they see it.”
Inevitably she was asked about potential for a book on Saskatchewan and Manitoba elevators. She thought about it and recently took a 4,000-kilometre trip through Saskatchewan that produced 64 rolls of film. That means the book is under way.
Of course, many elevators are gone, but Hicken is accepting photos of the lost ones as well as those still in use. If she uses them, submissions will be acknowledged in print, but that and a copy of the book will be the only payment.
“My main goal is more the historical end of it and preserving our history,” she says. “All the elevators will stand in the history of the Prairies and in our memories.”
Hicken can be reached at 416-508-7376. Mailing information and details on the first two books are available on our website at www.producer.com.
