The church in Brock, Sask., sat abandoned for years until it was recently reclaimed as a place where the community could meet once more.

Formerly a United Church, the building now serves as a place to host events, such as the recent Harvest Wrap Up Concert.

“It’s just a wrap up of the harvest and all of us (the community) are done now so it’s just a way to get together and be done harvest.… We don’t see each other and don’t talk and we’re busy working for a two month stretch,” said organizer and building owner Heather Speir.

“Now it’s just, we’re done, get together, listen to music, have a good time. Inevitably, people break out two-stepping and it just gets carried away at some point in the night.”

A handful of events has happened at the old church during the course of the year. For each event, Speir gathers the House Band, an ever-revolving cast of musicians, featuring herself and her neighbours.

Speir sings and plays the guitar during the performances.

“I do all of it with my band,” she said. “Without them I couldn’t do it.”

Speir and her band ensure a supper is prepared before the show, the sound system is ready to go and refreshments are available during the performance.

“This is maybe only the fifth show, but it caught on really quick,” Speir said.

“The show sold out in four days and there’s maybe 130 people in our town. I don’t advertise, but people in the rural community are craving this. It’s something that’s all live music and there’s no particular age or style of person that fits it.”

About 120 people attend each event from Brock and the surrounding area. Speir said people from Winnipeg and Calgary have also attended in the past.

At the last show, the House Band opened up for the Canadian alternative country singer and songwriter Fred Eaglesmith.

The harvest concert featured The Barrelmen, a country band from Saskatoon. It was the second time the band had performed in Brock to a sold-out crowd.

Simply named The Church, Speir bought the 100-year-old building a year ago when trustees put it up for sale.

“It was actually the church that all three of my kids were baptized in and my brother and sister-in-law were married in … so it’s been a big part of the community,” Speir said.

The church had sat empty for years as an aging congregation moved to the more accessible community hall.

Speir said people were happy when she bought the church to hold community events, calming fears that an outside party would buy it or tear it down.

“But I cleaned it up and there it was, it was just a gem waiting,” she said.

“And it’s cathedral style. It’s built that way so it’s on a nice lean, so everyone has a good seat. We’ve got a great stage so it’s perfect for this. Everyone wants it.”

Speir had concerns of her own that the community would not see the potential the church could offer.

“(Through) word of mouth and it sells so quick,” she said.

“It really means a lot. I always worried about that at first, whether it would work, could I get 60 people? And at our first show we had 200.”

While The Church is up and running, it takes money to keep it going.

“It’s $375 to heat it a month in the winter,” Speir said.

“It’s just bucketing heat out the windows … and it hasn’t been used at all and now we’re all in it using it on a weekly basis, it’s hard on it. So we’re fixing it up a little bit at a time.”

The shows and extra events at the centre help cover the costs.

As well, yoga sessions and preschool classes regularly take place there.

Speir lived across Canada before returning home to nearby Rosetown, Sask. She said that it was rare to find a venue available for musicians to perform in a rural community.

“I’m a housewife so (I take care of) my three kids and my garden and my yard.… this is something I can do within my own community,” she said.

“I can get this artistic side of me out but I don’t have to be in the city to do it. And you can’t lead unless they follow and unless they come and be receptive of it.”

Farmers left their own ready-to-harvest crops Aug. 11 to contribute time and machine power to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank project on Randy Redekop’s farm north of Vauxhall, Alta.

With 18 combines and at least that many trucks, the harvest crew made short work of the 145-acre irrigated barley crop.

Proceeds from sale of the grain will be matched 4:1 by the federal government and will be used to assuage hunger in other countries.

“In the last couple years we were able to donate $100,000 when it was all said and done,” said Tim VanderHoek, who was organizing machines and directing traffic amid barley dust on the windless 34 C day.

“This year, I think as long as the yields (are fair) we should be able to hit that $100,000 mark again in donations.”

Yields appeared to be in the 120 to 135 bushel range on the field, which is better than anticipated yields at many other Alberta foodgrains projects where drought has hit hard.

VanderHoek contacted a marketing agency to find buyers for this crop, most of which was shipped 
to feedlots in nearby Enchant, Scandia and Picture Butte.

Input costs for the project were defrayed through a July pig roast, which attracted about 450 people and raised $26,000, said VanderHoek.

Members of the foodgrains project board seeded, fertilized, sprayed and irrigated the crop, and made joint decisions on timing.

“Even local companies had their agronomists come out once in awhile, just to scout it for us, to take a look,” said VanderHoek.

He and other organizers speak highly of community support for the charitable venture.

“Our big goal is to make it the whole community. We don’t want people saying it’s just a farmer thing. We want it that everybody in the community feels like they’re part of it.

“By supporting that pig roast, they’ve helped support this cause here. The money they give us helps pay our costs. It’s not just a few people who do this. It’s the whole community. I think we’re very blessed in our community with our support.”

Longtime foodgrains project organizer Jan Bennen has seen benefits from foodgrains projects first-hand on visits to Malawi and Zimbabwe.

He saw projects to teach people better farming methods, a process he feels gives the most bang for the bucks donated.

“When people are hungry, don’t give them only food, but teach them how to grow food better for the future,” said Bennen about the foodgrains approach.

Bennen was impressed but not surprised at the farmer turnout for harvest.

“What you give away, you never get poor from,” he said.

Funds from this project haven’t been specifically earmarked, said Alberta regional co-ordinator Andre Visscher.

However, there are hot spots that are likely targets, such as Nepal, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and areas of East Africa.

“In the early 1990s, it was 18 or 19 percent of people did not have enough food. Today it’s around 12 percent. … It’s still 795 million people, so it’s a lot of people, but progress is being made, so that’s some good news,” Visscher said.

There are 31 other CFB growing projects in Alberta this year.

Contact barb.glen@producer.com

UPDATE: Tuesday June 14, 2016 – 1455 CST – This story has been updated. View the updated version here.

A grassroots effort to save a concrete grain elevator from the wrecking ball in Raymore, Sask., has hit a roadblock, but there is still a glimmer of hope that the building can be preserved.

Officials with Cargill confirmed June 2 that the company will not be putting its Raymore elevator on the market, despite a proposal from local residents who want to buy the building.

The 30-year-old facility is owned by Cargill but it sits on leased land that is owned by Canadian National Railway.

“Cargill has reviewed your proposal (to buy the facility) and shared highlights of such proposal with CN,” Cargill’s Jeff Wildeman wrote in a June 2 letter to local businessowner and prospective buyer Terry Fazakas.

A grassroots effort to save a concrete grain elevator from the wrecking ball in Raymore, Sask., has hit a roadblock, but there is still a glimmer of hope that the building can be preserved. | Terry Fazakas photo

“After review, CN has indicated that it cannot release Cargill from the obligations of its current lease and therefore, will not permit the outright transfer of the leased land.”

However, on June 6, Cargill spokesperson Connie Tamoto said the company is still involved in discussions with CN.

“After sending our (June 2) letter to Mr. Fazakas, we have subsequently reached out to CN again for further discussion and clarity,” Tamoto told The Western Producer.

“As you may appreciate, these types of discussions take time.”

Fazakas has been leading a grassroots community effort to save the elevator.

He and others in the community would like to see the facility preserved and used to attract new businesses and create new jobs.

Fazakas contacted Cargill earlier this year and expressed an interest in buying the elevator.

Fazakas has also contacted CN about acquiring title to the land.

He said the railway is concerned over potential liabilities and complications related to breaking its lease with Cargill.

“It would be nice if we could somehow get a deal … but I’m kind of at an end right now,” Fazakas said recently.

“I don’t know what else we can do.”

Raymore’s town council has yet to issue a demolition permit, he added.

A permit would be required before the facility could be destroyed.

The fate of the Raymore elevator has prompted terse comments from the province’s farmers, many of whom have seen a significant reduction in the number of rural delivery points for grain and a corresponding increase in the distance their grain must be trucked.

Observers say the closure of the Raymore elevator will eliminate one more delivery point, forcing more heavy truck traffic onto the provincial highway system.

Dave Marzolf, a producer from Central Butte, Sask., said Cargill’s decision to demolish the elevator makes no sense.

He said the province’s highway system is still paying the price for grain industry rationalization that took place 25 to 30 years ago.

“The infrastructure in Saskatchewan can’t take what happened 25 years ago, and if grain companies consolidate one more time, it’s nonsense,” Marzolf said.

“With a couple of tin cans on the side, that (Raymore) facility could easily go to a 100 car spot.”

Marzolf said governments that are struggling to maintain provincial highway systems should take steps to prevent elevator closures and ensure that as much grain as possible is moved by rail.

“The government allows these closures to happen … because (Cargill and CN) are private corporations,” he said.

“But private corporations aren’t paying the highway infrastructure bills.”

Fazakas has contacted the Saskatchewan government but was still waiting for a response as of June 7.

Contact brian.cross@producer.com

A grassroots plan to save a concrete elevator from demolition in Raymore, Sask., has hit a dead end.

Terry Fazakas, a local business owner, confirmed this week that efforts to buy the elevator have failed.

Fazakas had been in contact with officials at Cargill and Canadian National Railway and had expressed an interest in buying the facility.

He was hoping the building could be saved and used to attract new businesses to Raymore, 100 kilometres north of Regina.

But on June 13, Cargill informed Fazakas that the building would not be sold.

Raymore’s concrete elevator was built in the mid-1980s.

Until recently, Cargill had been using the facility to source and store canola.

Cargill had been considering Fazakas’s offer to purchase the facility but on June 13, the company confirmed that a sale was not in the cards.

“After receiving your offer to purchase, Cargill has considered various options in dealing with the Raymore grain elevator,” wrote Cargill official Jeff Wildeman in an email send to Fazakas.

“After discussions with stakeholders, Cargill has determined that the elevator facility will not be sold.

“We will proceed with the demolition process in due course.”

Fazakas’s effort to buy the elevator was complicated by the fact that CN owns the land on which the facility sits.

In a recent email, Anita Fleming, CN’s director of business development and real estate, said neither the building nor the land would be sold.

“CN has received your expression of interest in purchasing the grain elevator at Raymore,” she wrote.

“After discussions with the current owner of the facility, it has been decided that neither the facility nor the land it occupies is for sale.”

The original version of this story, published June 8, 2016, can be found here.

Contact brian.cross@producer.com

A grassroots effort to save a concrete grain elevator from the wrecking ball in Raymore, Sask., has hit a roadblock, but there is still a glimmer of hope that the building can be preserved.

Officials with Cargill confirmed June 2 that the company will not be putting its Raymore elevator on the market, despite a proposal from local residents who want to buy the building.

The 30-year-old facility is owned by Cargill but it sits on leased land that is owned by Canadian National Railway.

“Cargill has reviewed your proposal (to buy the facility) and shared highlights of such proposal with CN,” Cargill’s Jeff Wildeman wrote in a June 2 letter to local businessowner and prospective buyer Terry Fazakas.

“After review, CN has indicated that it cannot release Cargill from the obligations of its current lease and therefore, will not permit the outright transfer of the leased land.”

However, on June 6, Cargill spokesperson Connie Tamoto said the company is still involved in discussions with CN.

“After sending our (June 2) letter to Mr. Fazakas, we have subsequently reached out to CN again for further discussion and clarity,” Tamoto told The Western Producer.

“As you may appreciate, these types of discussions take time.”

Fazakas has been leading a grassroots community effort to save the elevator.

He and others in the community would like to see the facility preserved and used to attract new businesses and create new jobs.

Fazakas contacted Cargill earlier this year and expressed an interest in buying the elevator.

Fazakas has also contacted CN about acquiring title to the land.

He said the railway is concerned over potential liabilities and complications related to breaking its lease with Cargill.

“It would be nice if we could somehow get a deal … but I’m kind of at an end right now,” Fazakas said recently. “I don’t know what else we can do.”

Raymore’s town council has yet to issue a demolition permit, he added.

A permit would be required before the facility could be destroyed.

The fate of the Raymore elevator has prompted terse comments from the province’s farmers, many of whom have seen a significant reduction in the number of rural delivery points for grain and a corresponding increase in the distance their grain must be trucked.

Observers say the closure of the Raymore elevator will eliminate one more delivery point, forcing more heavy truck traffic onto the provincial highway system.

Dave Marzolf, a producer from Central Butte, Sask., said Cargill’s decision to demolish the elevator makes no sense.

He said the province’s highway system is still paying the price for grain industry rationalization that took place 25 to 30 years ago.

“The infrastructure in Saskatchewan can’t take what happened 25 years ago, and if grain companies consolidate one more time, it’s nonsense,” Marzolf said.

“With a couple of tin cans on the side, that (Raymore) facility could easily go to a 100 car spot.”

Marzolf said governments that are struggling to maintain provincial highway systems should take steps to prevent elevator closures and ensure that as much grain as possible is moved by rail.

“The government allows these closures to happen … because (Cargill and CN) are private corporations,” he said.

“But private corporations aren’t paying the highway infrastructure bills.”

Fazakas has contacted the Saskatchewan government but was still waiting for a response as of June 7.

A grassroots plan to save a concrete elevator from demolition in Raymore, Sask., has hit a dead end.

Terry Fazakas, a local business owner, has confirmed that efforts to buy the elevator have failed.

Fazakas had been in contact with officials at Cargill and Canadian National Railway and had ex-pressed an interest in buying the facility.

He was hoping the building could be saved and used to attract new businesses to Raymore, 100 kilo-metres north of Regina.

However, Cargill informed Fazakas June 13 that the building would not be sold.

“Cargill just said screw the environment and community,” Fazakas said. “(They) are doing what’s best for (them) and want to make sure nobody will get the elevator.”

Raymore’s concrete elevator was built in the mid-1980s. Cargill 
had been using it until recently to store canola.

Cargill said it had considered Fazakas’s offer to buy the facility, but eventually decided against it.

“After receiving your offer to purchase, Cargill has considered various options in dealing with the Raymore grain elevator,” Cargill official Jeff Wildeman wrote in an email to Fazakas.

“After discussions with stakeholders, Cargill has determined that the elevator facility will not be sold. We will proceed with the demolition process in due course.”

Fazakas’s effort to buy the elevator was complicated by the fact that CN owns the land on which the facility is located.

In a recent email, Anita Fleming, CN’s director of business development and real estate, explained its position.

“After discussions with the current owner of the facility, it has been decided that neither the facility nor the land it occupies is for sale.”

Fazakas said the fact that neither Cargill nor CN will accommodate a sale suggests that they have no concern for the well-being of the community.

“(Their) actions speak for (themselves),” Fazakas said.

Governments should regulate the abandonment and demolition of prairie grain elevators similar to how they regulate rail line abandonment and removal, says the head of a community group trying to save an elevator in Raymore, Sask.

Terry Fazakas says governments should require grain companies to offer mothballed elevators and other grainhandling assets for sale to interested parties before demolishing them.

Raymore’s concrete elevator is slated for demolition.

Fazakas has approached the elevator’s owner, Cargill Canada, with an offer to buy, but Cargill officials said last week the facility is not for sale and it will be demolished.

“It should be just like rail-line abandonment,” said Fazakas.

“If they don’t want to operate it, that’s fine but what is the reason that they don’t want to sell it? Is it competition?”

Fazakas has been leading local efforts to buy the elevator but so far, his efforts have hit a stonewall.

When Fazakas initially expressed an interest, Cargill told him he would need to submit a business plan and a formal proposal. Since then, he has been told that Cargill is not interested in selling.

The elevator sits on leased land owned by Canadian National Railway.

CN has also indicated that it is not interested in selling the land.

In a last minute effort to save the elevator, Fazakas has contacted three First Nations groups, who have agreed to support efforts to save the building.

Chiefs from Kawacatoose, Muskowekwan and Daystar First Nations have come on board to support efforts to save the facility, which Fazakas says could be used to create new jobs, attract new investment and support the local economy.

“We’re just trying to get everybody to the table — CN, Cargill, the Town (of Raymore) and the First Nations,” Fazakas said.

“We need to get everyone together and figure out what the major roadblocks are and see if we can figure out a deal.”

“I don’t understand why they’re so adamant about tearing it down,” Fazakas said.

“If you’re not going to use it and it still has a lifespan, why wouldn’t you want to see the town carry on and put it to use?”

Local supporters say they are prepared to sign a non-competition clause to ensure that a repurposed facility would not compete directly with Cargill’s core business.

Last week, Cargill officials who were in Davidson, Sask., said the company’s position has not changed.

The elevator is not feasible to operate and the facility is not for sale.

Cargill is still committed to maintaining other operations in Raymore, added Jeff Wildeman, Cargill’s regional manager in Saskatchewan.

Cargill also has a fertilizer shed and operates an ag retail business in Raymore.

“We’re absolutely committed to our Raymore business,” Wildeman said.

Fazakas said provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart has indicated that the province is not inclined to get involved in private-sector business decisions.

Contact brian.cross@producer.com

A Saskatchewan town that’s been known for the past 60 years as “The Land of Rape and Honey” is projecting a new image.

Municipal officials at Tisdale, Sask., about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, unveiled a new town slogan earlier this week, replacing the old slogan that town officials called “confusing and outdated.”

Tisdale’s new slogan is “Opportunity Grows Here.”

“We did (an) … assessment … and we found with the previous slogan, that it was outdated, confusing and could be misunderstood,” said Sean Wallace, the town’s director of economic development.

“(The new brand) is more reflective of Tisdale today and recognizes what we’re really good at here, which is agriculture and supporting the agriculture sector.”

Tisdale’s old town slogan had been generating publicity for the wrong reasons over the past few decades.

Rape, or rapeseed, is an oilseed crop that was once grown widely in the Tisdale area. However, outside observers often attached a different connotation to the word.

Today, most oilseed producers in the Tisdale area grow canola, a derivative of rapeseed that produces a different type of oil used for cooking, baking and frying.

Wallace said the town’s new slogan was chosen after extensive consultations within the community.

In addition to projecting a more positive message, the new slogan also fits well with Tisdale’s efforts to attract foreign investment.

Not long ago, town officials launched a new foreign direct investment initiative called Invest Tisdale.

Over the past year, Invest Tisdale has hosted delegations from Japan, China, India and other Canadian provinces in hopes of attracting new investors to the community.

In the meantime, two road signs that identified Tisdale as “The Land of Rape and Honey” have been removed.

“One is going to the museum and … because of the buzz that this has created, I intend to auction the other one off,” Wallace said.

The sign destined for auction will likely be sold through an online auction site, and the proceeds will be used to pay for new signs.

Town officials unveiled the community’s new slogan Monday.

The announcement sparked a flurry of activity on Tisdale’s website, setting a new record for internet visits in a single day.

“Our website received over 175,000 hits yesterday (Aug. 23) alone,” Wallace said.

“Previously (it) hadn’t had that many hits, period.”

Online visitors came from the United States, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, India and throughout Canada, he added.

Tisdale’s former slogan was also adopted in the late 1980s by British technopunk-industrial rock band The Ministry.

According to Wikipedia, members of the band saw the town’s slogan on a souvenir and used it to name the title track on its third studio album.

The Ministry’s musical rendition of The Land of Rape and Honey can be viewed online here.

Contact brian.cross@producer.com

A Saskatchewan town that’s been known for the past 60 years as “The Land of Rape and Honey” is projecting a new image.

Municipal officials at Tisdale, Sask., about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, unveiled a new town slogan last month, replacing the old slogan that town officials called “confusing and outdated.”

Tisdale’s new slogan is “Opportunity Grows Here.”

“We did (an) … assessment … and we found with the previous slogan, that it was outdated, confusing and could be misunderstood,” said Sean Wallace, the town’s director of economic development.

“(The new brand) is more reflective of Tisdale today and recognizes what we’re really good at here, which is agriculture and supporting the agriculture sector.”

Tisdale’s old town slogan had been generating publicity for the wrong reasons over the past few decades.

Rape, or rapeseed, is an oilseed crop that was once grown widely in the Tisdale area. However, outside observers often attached a different connotation to the word.

Today, most oilseed producers in the Tisdale area grow canola, a derivative of rapeseed that produces a different type of oil used for cooking, baking and frying.

Wallace said the town’s new slogan was chosen after extensive consultations.

In addition to projecting a more positive message, the new slogan also fits well with Tisdale’s efforts to attract foreign investment.

Town officials launched a new foreign direct investment initiative called Invest Tisdale. It has hosted delegations from Japan, China, India and other Canadian provinces in hopes of attracting new investors to the community.

The two road signs that identified Tisdale as “The Land of Rape and Honey” have been removed.

“One is going to the museum and … because of the buzz that this has created, I intend to auction the other one off,” Wallace said.

The sign destined for auction will likely be sold through an online auction site, and the proceeds will be used to pay for new signs.

Town officials unveiled the community’s new slogan Aug. 22.

The announcement sparked a flurry of activity on Tisdale’s website, setting a new record for internet visits in a single day.

“Our website received over 175,000 hits yesterday (Aug. 23) alone,” Wallace said. “Previously (it) hadn’t had that many hits, period.”

Online visitors came from the United States, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, India and throughout Canada, he added.

Tisdale’s former slogan was also adopted in the late 1980s by British technopunk-industrial rock band The Ministry on its third studio album.

The Ministry’s musical rendition of The Land of Rape and Honey can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/2bnIvFF.

HAMIOTA, Man. — In a Manitoba community known more for baseball than fine art, a repurposed 1903 bank building is making inroads.

The Hamiota Heritage Arts Centre provides space for art displays, art and dance classes and live shows, the Hamiota and District Archives and a gift boutique.

As the Baseball Capital of Manitoba, Hamiota has hosted many provincial and national baseball tournaments and fielded teams into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.

These days, people also know the town as the home of weekly farmers market with up to a dozen vendors and Thursday teas that attract as many as 60, both of which are held at the centre.

While there, patrons can view an ever-changing array of original artwork by Manitoba artists and peruse local crafts housed in the old bank vault.

Joan Trott, a former journalist who now serves as the centre administrator, is responsible for accessing necessary funds to support it.

A mural on the Hamiota Heritage Arts Centre displays the rural community’s history.
The bank vault serves as a gift shop. | Karen Morrison photo

“Because we’ve been able to show the worth of an arts hub, now we get support from each of the (rural municipalities) as well. It’s a big step to perceive this as worth it,” she said from the old bank manager’s office that bears much of the original woodwork.

The building began its life as the Union Bank and continued as the Royal Bank until its closure in 1977.

Purchased by the Mid-West Arts Council from a private owner for $5,000, it sat empty for two decades and was in disrepair.

It was designated a municipal heritage site in 1995 and retains such original features as skylights, a tin ceiling and fireplace, despite a fire in 1928 that destroyed its third storey.

The refurbishment took 10 years and cost $270,000, paid through grants and fundraising, mainly with volunteer labour.

Money for the $88,000 annual operating budget comes from government grants, rentals, gift shop sales and fundraisers such as hotdogs and Tea at the Old Bank.

Mary Ann Stevenson, president of the Midwest Arts Council board, credits Trott with finding funds and developing programming.

“She looks around to see what the community needs,” she said.

Stevenson called the fine arts a lifelong pleasure.

“When you stop here, you are also inadvertently at a gallery,” she said, citing the gallery space for Manitoba artists’ work.

“It’s a shame to see someone drive by and not know what’s there for them, too.”

The regular Paint Nights are a social outing serving up drinks, appetizers and art.

“We’re a community with not many facilities for going out at night. No real place to meet for a drink,” said Stevenson, citing its appeal to different age groups.

Elaine Rawlings, president of the Hamiota Midwest Art Club, said artists gather here to hone their skills and learn from one another.

“Because we get together every week, we can’t help but improve,” she said.

For the public, it serves to educate.

“It gives people an understanding of the value of art, one of a kind original art,” said Rawlings.

Paintings and sculptures by Bev Karnes of Oak Lake Beach are on display this day.

She said the centre provides a home for artists’ work, but it’s more than mere bricks and mortar.

“It’s not just a building, it’s the people,” she said of the community of artists here.

“It’s such a lovely venue for art.”

Trott agreed: “You have to have the right people with the right enthusiasm to make it work.”

A recent addition to the centre marking Canada 150 is an exterior mural depicting a 1925 street scene encircled by the prairie.

“This is meant to make people feel good,” said local artist Mary Lowe, who with her daughter, Erica, received a $7,000 commission to create the highly visible mural.

“Hamiota is a sports town and now we have this vibrant arts centre and it’s changing,” she said.

The centre also houses the Hamiota District Archives, which catalogues collected items and does genealogy searches.

Volunteer archivists Ken and Vicki Smith are retired schoolteachers with a great love for history who have written two history books about a town created by the railway and a community that’s never had a complete crop failure.

“If we don’t do this, it will be lost,” said Ken.

Added Vicki: “I do it because it needs to be done. Otherwise, they would be thrown out.”

They cited unique items such as the 1890 map of Hamiota that hangs in their second floor office, early tax rolls and school registries and a cupboard full of personal diaries.

Early electoral lists dating back to 1884 record its earliest residents.

They say it helps their work that descendents of many of the original families remain in the district.

“We feel we are helping preserve this for the future,” said Ken.