Forgotten Prairie: Fusilier

God, the weather was awful. The bone chilling cold, howling wind, freezing rain and driven snow, a miserable weekend in the making. Or so we thought. It’s April 2017 and we’re out exploring back roads of Alberta and Saskatchewan with a rag-tag group of friends, in these horrible conditions, taking in ghost towns and other forgotten places. And the whole adventure is being filmed for a documentary, “Forgotten Prairie” available today on Telus Optik TV and Youtube and sometime soon at BIGDoer.com.

The setting: a small “private” ghost town in Saskatchewan called Fusilier, a photogenic place home to nothing but memories. The players: Team BIGDoer, all around photographer Byron Robb of Calgary, film photographer Rob Pohl of Edmonton; videographer/producer Rueben Tschetter, Cache Productions Red Deer Alberta and finally our host, Old Jack, whose lists Fusilier as his place of birth. What a sight we must be.

Forgotten Prairie: Fusilier – a very special ghost town. This article is a work of “Pop History”, by Chris Doering and Connie Biggart. (BIGDoer/Synd/Cache)

Before we touch on the history of Fusilier, we remind readers and this is at the request of the land owners, and there are two, that it’s on private property and permission is needed to enter. Please, respect their wishes. It’s not much to ask. Or shoot from the road with a long lens.

And with that out of the way, let’s talk about the town as we walk about the town. Lights, camera, action! Come take in what we explored while the cameras roll.

Scroll down for photos and to comment.

Fusilier dates from around 1914. And like a huge number of prairie towns, it sprung to life with the coming of the railway. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (Coronation Subdivision) the line here was a lowly “grain branch” running east/west through Saskatchewan and Alberta. One old paper describes it as two streaks of rust running from nowhere to nowhere. Infrequent trains were the norm. Still, the line lasted into the early 1990s. But with the town empty at that point, no one was witness to its passing – but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Fuslier SK

Landing in Fusilier Saskatchewan.

Fusilier grew to have had a population of well over a hundred in the 1920s with lots more people residing on farms nearby. There was a thriving business district down by the tracks with many stores and shops. Over there was a church, down that way the school. A combination dance hall/community hall/theatre was built, a most lively place come Saturday Night.

All could agree, the future held promise.

But it was not to last. Soon in people started leaving, a decline made all the worse with the coming of the Depression of the 1930s. By the mid-1960s, the entire population could be counted on one hand. No long after, it was full on empty. Still, the trains passed and even with everyone gone, the town’s grain elevators continued to operated for a time. More on them in a moment.

Fast forward to today, the streets are grassed over, the few buildings left in town open to the elements and dilapidated. A couple houses can be found. An old store still stands. And the old hall, it’s hanging on by a thread, the front facade having collapsed. A sorry looking place if there ever was one…but even in death, there’s a quiet dignity here. Kinda sad, melancholy and touching. A bit eerie.

Down by old rail line stands a “Saskatchewan Skyscraper”, the “Pool” Grain Elevator, the tallest thing around. You’ll see it long before you get close to it. Ahh, the flatlands, these great plains of Western Canada where the views go on forever and ever. Flat-Earthers should have a convention here!

The elevator dates from 1917 and was built for the then newly formed United Grain Growers, for much of its history one of the biggest players in the Canadian grain industry. It later changed hands becoming a Saskatchewan Cooperative Wheat Producer facility. In the 1950s this firm morphed into the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool we all know and love, who owned it up until the time it closed in the latter half of the 1970s. It’s still wears company colours, the Pool logo proudly displayed on its sides – also seen up there “Use Pool Co-op Flour” and of course as was tradition, the name of the town in which it stood. You always knew where you were by looking at a grain elevator.

The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was not just the largest grain handling firm in the province but the entire county. Every town in Saskatchewan, big or small, where grain was grown and that had rail service (so everyone and everywhere) had an elevator belonging to this company. Interestingly, both the Pool and the UGG, in the 2000s, got folded into another grain firm – long time competitors joined together.

Fuslier Saskatchewan

We’re here filming “Forgotten Prairie” – that’s the old store.

Still seen in the elevator office, the original single cylinder engine that powered everything. Steel cladding acted as a fire mitigation measure. If an elevator went up in smoke, and they did from time to time, well, it was always spectacular. All that wood and grain – flammable stuff.

There used to be two other elevators in Fusilier. One dated from the early days and was soon closed down. The second, like the one standing today, is also from 1917. It had a series of owners over the years (Saskatchewan Elevator Company, Searle Grain, Federal Grain), before it came into possession of a the Pool (via a merger), becoming their “B” facility here.

This elevator closed in the late 1970s and was soon demolished. The office, a separate building as they often were, was left behind however. An old UK made “Ruston” drive engine sits inside. With a little work, I bet it could be made to run. Simple machines, these. There’s a perfect view of the current elevator from the office.

An old Dodge from the 1950s is located nearby. Tail fins! Also seen, concrete piers that once supported an elevator annex (a building added later as a way to increase capacity) connected to “Sask Pool B”.

At the edge of town, so a block away (small place, Fusilier) near the Highway Department yard that borders the property, is a wood boxcar turned shed. That’s an oldie!


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We stroll about town, thinking of those who lived here. As we often do. Peer inside this building. It’s empty. That one, similarly so. The most stately house in town – the memories in these walls, if they could talk…that cliched saying. The hall, the wood dance floor, the movie seating, the stage in back. Hear the band playing. The movie screen lit up. A wedding being celebrated. Stand there, it’s the roaring twenties. Fusilier is alive!

The wind howls. Driving rain. Old Jack looks at us like we’re a few bricks short of a load. Why not take refuge in my truck? It’s warm. Crazy people, us. There’s stuff to photograph. Still, we take time to chat with the man from time to time. Be in awe as he speaks of the town. He’s a great guide. And very patient. Lots of stories of train crashes – a couple happened in the area long ago – of hauling grain to the elevator when it was in use – reminding us that even with the town dead and elevators closed or gone, grain still drives the local economy. If we had the time, I bet the stories could last for days.

Fusilier SK Hall

This hall once hosted dances, get-togethers and movie nights.

All the while Rueben films the goings-on. We take no notice. Interviews are done, drone footage captured, much to the amusement of Old Jack who’s never seen anything like that. The hours rush by.

We make a brief visit to the Fusilier Cemetery, where many of Jack’s friends and relatives spend eternity. He’s outlived them all it seems. We all want to live forever, but forever is a lonely place. Listening to him speak of being the last one is admittedly a bit heartbreaking.

And we have to go. A hearty handshake won’t do, hugs all around. This old man, who we only met earlier this same day, is a friend. It’s cold and windy, our hands freeze, but we pay no mind. And it not the weather that’s given us the sniffles, it the saying of good byes. Hold ’em back. These tough case-hardened folks, us, that close to bawling like a little babies. We all knew it from the moment we arrived, this was going to be one special visit. And we hope to come back

And that ugly weather? It didn’t ruin the weekend, it made it. Dramatic photos, yes, but more so it reminds us of our own resolve. Get out there and document these vanishing places before they’re gone and everything else, cold and miserable conditions included, be damned. Team BIGDoer has a job to do!

What’s in a name? A Fusilier is a type of solider. It’d derived from the term “Fusil”, of French origin meaning a old style flintlock rifle carried into combat. Those that carried Fusils were Fusiliers. Simple, eh? Why the name was chosen for the town? We’re still researching that. Trying to find a Saskatchewan Place Names book and having little luck at it.

There will be one more Forgotten Prairie post where the movie will be posted. Stay tuned, it should be available in a week or so.

Update! Here it is…Forgotten Prairie.

More from this series…
Forgotten Prairie: Esther Alberta.
Forgotten Prairie: Loverna.
Forgotten Prairie: Hoosier Saskatchewan.
Old Jack’s.

Did you say Ghost Town?
Bents.
Lumberton ghost town.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: April, 2017.
Location: Fusilier, SK.
Article references (and thanks): Old Jack, Johnnie Backusky, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Records, Glenbow Archives.
BIGDoer.com was in Fusilier with permission. Please do the same if you visit.

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Fusilier SK Elevator

The “Pool” elevator.

Fusilier Saskatchewan Elevator

A century old.

Fusilier SK Ghost Town

Strolling a side “street”.

Fusilier Saskatchewan Ghost Town

Nice living room set!

Grain Elevator Fusilier

This old Dodge.

Old Boxcar Shed

This dilapidated shed was once a railway boxcar.

Fusilier Grain Elevator

The “office” view.

Grain Elevator Engine

Here’s a drive engine.

Ruston Grain Elevator Engine

A UK made “Ruston”.

Fusilier SK Grain Elevator

Concrete piers once supported an “annex”.

Fusilier Saskatchewan Grain Elevator

The tallest thing around, last used in the 1970s.

Fusilier SK Railway

Embankment midway marks the railway line.

Saskatchewan Pool Fusilier

The “Pool” was once the largest grain firm in the country.

Grain Elevator Fusilier

Grain still drives the local economy.

Pool 50 Year Sticker

The Pool celebrated it’s 50th in 1974.

Fusilier Elevator Driveway

Inside the “driveway”.

Fusilier SK Elevator Driveway

Reverse view…

Ghost Town Fusilier

Been a while since this wagon moved.

Grain Elevator Drive Engine

Metal cladding was a fire mitigation measure.

Filming Forgotten Prairie

Filmmaker Rueben Tschetter and interviewee Byron Robb.

Grain Elevator in Fusilier

A distorted take on the world.

Grain Elevator in Fusilier SK

Saskatchewan is the “Land of Living Skies”.

Old House Fusilier

A fine old house.

Exploring Fusilier Saskatchewan

Jack’s the only smart one – the truck’s nice and warm.

Old House Fusilier SK

Such a stately dwelling – Hi Connie!

Old House Fusilier Saskatchewan

Blustery conditions – but we didn’t mind one bit.

Fusilier SK Cemetery

Where former residents spend eternity.

Exploring Fusilier Saskatchewan

Holding ’em back…

48 responses

  1. Shelm says:

    Hi,
    My name Stanley L Helmer. My family homesteaded there in Fusilier the late 1800’s and 1900’s.

    Elisabeth Helmer is my great great grandmother who is buried in that cemetery with no headstone.
    My father who was born there told me stories that when the sand storms would come they would run into the house, lay on the floor, cover up with blankets and after it ended they would be covered in inches of sand!
    I have some family pictures of the area with my family in them of the 1920 thrashing grain.. I can not attach them to this. Not sure why, but if you would like to see them? Just need to know how to attach..
    thanks
    Stan

    • Chris Doering says:

      Thanks for commenting Stanley. Sorry it didn’t work for you and I checked the system and it seems to be functioning in that regard. A transient glitch maybe. Anyway, maybe try again and look for the little symbol marked by the arrow. Click it and it should upload your photo(s). Call on us if you get stuck.

  2. leo_byrd says:

    Umm. I know you are world-class photographers and all, but

    I like the back-story parts best of all.
    Kudos.

    • Ah shucks, we’re blushing. True that though, without some info on the subject seen, photos sans a back story can be lacking. A bit of history is the topping on the ice cream.

  3. Kate Roche says:

    My Grandmother’s family farmed there, or near there. I’ve always wanted to visit where the Vold’s lived. These photos are haunting and they make me a little sad, to be honest. Feels like history “slipping away.”

    Thank you for the beautiful photos. 🙂

    • Such a cool connection you have to the area! Yes, we feel it too – these places will all soon be gone. Glad you like the photos. Shooting at Fusilier was inspiring, but still it was so melancholy too. Like watching a close friend die.

  4. Jan (Whittleton) Tooth says:

    Loved this article on Fusilier. I used to go there often as a child. My grandparents lived there for a while and I remember going to that old store to buy candy. There was a bridal shower held for me in 1969 in that old hall. It was still very usable then. Also was there for many Xmas concerts (with Santa).The old stately house in the pictures was the grain agent’s house. The last agent was Jacob Miller.He lived there with his wife Ida and their 8 children.One of those children is my sister- in – law The older fellow that toured you around was Jack Zlatner. He actually owned or still owns the elevator. I have many great memories of that old town.

    • Amazing Jan! Such vivid memories, I can picture it. The hall, the band playing. The store, right out of a movie, gas pumps out front, jar after jar of penny candy. It’s like I was there. Yes Jack. He hosted us for an entire day. What an interesting fellow and he showed us around the whole area. So much knowledge in him. Thanks for adding to the story!

  5. Susan Wylie says:

    Wow!! This article got the family talking on Facebook. My grandparents, John and Mary Wack owned the store in the 50s and 60s. There were gas pumps out front, a store, post office and the house was at the back. I lived there for a few months in the winter of 1961 when I was 5. Many memories of all the neighbours, wood stoves, coal to heat the house, bed pans, lye soap, pumping water from a well, etc. I personally know Jack as he was a friend of my late father, who was also born in Fusilier. Thank you for bringing back memories. I do have pictures from the early 1960s when the store was a meeting place for the community. The good old days were great! Thanks again.

    • Blown away! Wow, what a connection. What a story! This human angle adds so much to the article. Thanks! I’ll contact you in private – would love to see those pics.

  6. Byron says:

    Great photos. I always have mixed emotions looking at the photos others took of the same location. Many “why didn’t I see that?” moments. The story not only brings back fond memories of a wonderful weekend adventure with new friends. It also make the visit more interesting post facto when you know more of the story. Thanks for inviting me and I look forward to the next visit.

    • Byron, thank you so much. I think every single photographer has that realization you mention at some point. How did I miss that? I mean, it practically bit me! So get that – happens to us all the time. I’m glad you like a backstory. Hope most of our readers feel the same too (in fact, we know from emails that some don’t). Love to hang with fun and interesting photographers like yourself – so many are just so darn uptight and a drag, which sucks the fun out of it. You’re always welcome to do it again.

  7. Jenn says:

    Such a great place, great job BigDoer. If I ever make there I will definitely need to get closer, with permission.

    • Thank you so much and the place is so cool. Of all the special towns and places visited while filming Forgotten Prairie, Fusilier was the most memorable in some ways. It was a touching experience.

  8. Ken says:

    First took photos there in the early 90’s if I recall correctly.

  9. Jodie says:

    Love the old car in the picture!

  10. Jerry and Rita says:

    What exceptional shots! Fusilier is so beautiful and you captured it so well.

  11. Phil Rago says:

    Great story there Chris and Connie. Merry Christmas!

  12. Lynne Harcourt says:

    I love these pictures!

  13. John Kosolofski says:

    I remember driving past Fusilier years ago when we went to visit my grandparents in Marengo. Great photos that bring back good memories.

  14. Lucien Bleau says:

    My Dad was an elevator agent ’til the day he died.

  15. Monica Leslie says:

    I love it!

  16. Philip Brown says:

    Thanks for posting this fascinating historical journey!

  17. Cathy Kennoff says:

    Cool! I grew up near there …..

  18. Jim A Pearson says:

    Well done Chris! Fusilier is one of my all time favourite places in Saskatchewan!!!!

  19. Eric Larsson says:

    There was a beer bottle on top (of the elevator) last summer.

    • Looked at my photos closely and it doesn’t appear it was there when we visited in the spring of 2017. So it must have been added later. Who did it, Spiderman? Not an easy place to climb up!

  20. Bonnie J Nagel says:

    Great photo. I was born and raised and lived in Sask for 55 yrs and I’m still seeing town names I don’t know lol.

  21. Robert J. Fisher says:

    Sort of like Farrow was for Alberta!

  22. Matt Germscheid says:

    In my part of the world!!! Every time I’ve been over there, it’s been overcast and depressing.

  23. Darleen P says:

    Kerrobert is my home town and numerous family still there and I know Fusilier well. Used to visit friends there in the 1950s.

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