this is my dad and his children ...

my mom took this photo on my fourth birthday ...

which is often close to father's day and often we shared the celebration!

:      :      :

my dad was a country elevator grain buyer.

country elevators at 'sidings' dotted the prairies between towns ...

these sidings, on spur rail lines, allowed the country farmers closer access for hauling their grain ...

as time went on and companies got larger, the spur lines and small elevators were faded out ...



in 1981, 'floors' siding ~ where my dad worked and next to where i grew up, was torn down ...

but there was a very special part that my dad salvaged ...



it was the inside of the 'leg' ... 

the leg moved the grain up the elevator to be distributed to the various bins ...



over the years, the grain traveling along this square wooden 'tunnel' carved away the soft wood, 
leaving these incredibly beautiful waves of hard wood ...

i am so very grateful that my dad had the foresight to keep these, as the prairie elevator is almost extinct ... 

and of course, it just reminds me so much of my dad ...

how he worked so hard for us ...

how fair he was with the farmers.

some day the remainder of the worn boards will be displayed
in a museum section of the local train station that is undergoing restoration.

our family wants people to be able to touch these boards ...

to feel where the grain wore away the wood over time ...

to feel a sense of history ...

to appreciate a time gone by.




one year, for fathers day, i gave my dad this card that i found in a shop ...

although it isn't quite like my dad's elevator weigh station, it surely has many pieces in it that are reminiscent ...




 { artist brenda campbell burrows }

i tacked the card onto a small section of the worn wood, as a reminder for him of this part of his life ...




and this is the verse that i wrote inside ...

some may own castles 

on the banks of the rhine

and hire an orchestra

each evening at nine

but richer than i they will never be

i have a dad who spends time with me

d. morgan

and he did ... and i will forever remember all those times ...

happy father's day, dad!

you know i am eternally grateful for everything you shared in your life.

the potatoes and crops are looking a little rough this year ...

but the golf greens are lush ...

hope your golf swing in heaven is 'par on'!

xo


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