It looks like the grain elevator in Simmie, Saskatchewan is being demolished.
There are some fairly dedicated people that travel to get photos of grain elevators. I informed a couple of people I know that are fans of this type of prairie architecture about its demise. I have been known to travel a ridiculous distance just to see a particular grain elevator and get a photo. More modern and efficient structures are replacing them. Some are no longer needed as rail lines were taken up years ago and will never be replaced.
With the loss of these, and other old buildings, towns are losing their past and their character. When you travel the main routes these days you see largely the same stores, same hotels, same services. Everything has a sameness about it. Simmie is a small place, there might be less than twenty people living there now. At one time it was different, every town at one time had character, there were stores, elevators, the usual businesses, but they were all different.
I am not longing for a past that I never knew. I do lament that pieces of the past disappear and we lose some of what made places unique.
Uniqueness looks to me to be fading most everywhere... in a general sort of way.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years back I ended up spending some time in northern Georgia, what struck me the hardest was the sameness. Like you said "you see largely the same stores, same hotels, same services". Some local places are still there but most of what I saw was the same as I'd see anywhere on the west coast. Even the southern accent was in short supply from what I remember on my trips to that part of the world in the 70's & 80's.
I think the US is homogenized, I've got no current history with Canada so I can't make a WAG about that.
(I used to get 2 Canadian TV channels back in 87 when I lived in Port Angeles, WA, one of them was in French. That was all the TV I had) :-)
They call it "progress," I've been told.
ReplyDeleteI think that people really do need to get personally involved with preserving some of our history, otherwise we won't have any history left to preserve.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take long to pull some weeds and grass from around a historical school sign you enjoy to make it look cared for and more enjoyable to others. Clean up an old cemetery or church grounds. Get off your ass and do something that shows that you give a damn about our history! Take some "before and after" pictures to show everyone what you've done to show that you care about our quickly disappearing past. It will not get done without you. That's my view of the situation.
Another one.. sigh.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you got there just in time.
ReplyDelete