Kelly Tytlandsvik said it was tough to see an old grain elevator come down in Bromhead last week.
The structure, which was built in the 1930s, was demolished on March 17. Tytlandsvik, who took numerous photos and a video of the building being torn down, said it had been abandoned for some time.
“I know with the wind storm in January, it had tilted the cupola a little bit at the very top of the elevator. You could see it shifted a little bit to the side,” said Tytlandsvik, who grew up in the Bromhead area.
There was concern that the cupola would fall onto the neighbouring railroad tracks and cause a problem for the track, which is now used by the Long Creek Railroad.
The building was also rotten in one corner, Tytlandsvik said.
Tytlandsvik was there throughout the day, waiting for the building to be pulled over. There was roughly 40-50 people who passed through the community over the course of the day to see if it had gone down. He didn’t see anyone crying, but they were sad to see the end of the elevator.
“It’s a landmark from when you were a kid, and you hate to see it go down, but at the same time, you don’t want it to be a liability, either. You might as well take it down before it falls down,” said Tytlandsvik.
Tytlandsvik wasn’t sure who owned the building when it came down, but it was owned by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool at one time.
There’s still one more grain elevator in the community, owned by the Forrester family of Bromhead.
Tytlandsvik noted that the wind storm in January that damaged the elevator also brought down the hamlet’s old arena. The old machinery dealer and lumberyard are still standing, in addition to the Forrester elevator.
“It used to be a thriving community when I was young,” he said.
