Jack Robson and wife Mardelle Craven-Robson
While hundreds of the iconic structures have disappeared over the decades in Saskatchewan, a local photographer has not only been able to preserve them through the lens of his camera but the images are now documented in a new book.
Lanigan’s Jack Robson along with his wife and travelling companion Mardelle Craven-Robson have spent a considerable amount of hours in their vehicle in search of the iconic structures.
Jack said the whole idea first began as a hobby over 30 years ago. “This book is an extension of photographing and soliciting elevator photos from all over Saskatchewan. When I first started capturing elevators with my camera, the goal was to document every site that had an elevator at one time in Saskatchewan. Through many, many kilometres travelled and thousands of phone calls I was able to get all of them with the exception of about 15.”
According to an article published in the May 17, 2020 edition of the Globe and Mail, the number of country elevators in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba peaked at 5,758 in 1933. In Saskatchewan, at one time there were over 3,000 wooden structures; however, by September 2018, the article stated just 427 remained.
As the number of wooden elevators started to decrease, the images that Jack was able to capture increased. With his wife Mardelle recording each elevator site as Jack snapped away, Robson also credits the co-operation from a number of Saskatchewan residents, RMs, community administrators, politicians, the Saskatchewan Archives, the U of S Archives, and many friends who were able to help him ensure he was able to discover as many of the prairie landmarks as possible.
As the number of images continued to grow over time, it was not long until Robson was approached about producing a book. “It was something that I never really thought about but after talking with friends and publishers Trudy Janssens and Warren Iverson (who also had a hand in providing some of the photos for the project Robson was unable to get), we thought we would go ahead with the project.”
Called, ‘The Book of Saskatchewan Grain Elevators,’ the labour of love contains 190 pages of 1,140 different elevator sites and 1,200 photos. Retailing for $99.99, Robson said, “We are a non-profit group and any surplus funds that we do receive from the sales will be used to purchase books for care homes, museums and other places.”
With a tentative release date of June 25, Jack said people who are interested in purchasing copies of The Book of Saskatchewan Grain Elevators can contact him or Mardelle at 306-365-2004.
“This project was really a team effort by Mardelle, myself, Trudy, Warren and Mr. Print in Saskatoon. I hope that once the book is finished people will enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.”
-Daniel Bushman/The Watrous Manitou
