Unity Saskatchewan then & now

Flashback, September 2017! We’re in Eastern Saskatchewan, in the town of Unity (no, the “community of Unity”), a copy of a vintage postcard in hand. We’re here to shoot a trademark BIGDoer.com then and now and that old picture is the fodder. The subject of our attention, what’s seen in it, is the Unity Cenotaph War Memorial and its surroundings. We’ll seek the subject out and do our best to duplicate every aspect of the original in angle and composition and then we’ll post it all here and chat about it.

There’s two locations to visit in this case – seems the memorial has moved since the old photo was captured. So we’ll go down by the train tracks where it was back then to see what we can find to connect the two eras and then we’ll see where it is today, in a park a few blocks away, and do the same. Two for the price of one!

Unity was founded in about 1909 with the coming of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. It quickly grew to be an important hub for the area and today is home to about twenty three hundred people. The main industries here are grain – lots of farms in the area – and petroleum’s pretty big too. The railway, now Canadian National, is one busy stretch of track. Passenger trains go through a few times a week and will stop in Unity on request.

The then photo is a postcard, in the public domain, sourced by your author. We don’t know who shot it, nor anything else. It shows Unity’s Cenotaph sitting in a small park like setting in front of the train station. In behind, grain elevators are seen along with boxcars on the elevator siding. It’s a pretty typical small prairie town scene if there ever was one.

Today, it’s quite different…

The circa 1909 station is gone. It’s not been demolished, but saved and today is on blocks and in storage not all that far from Calgary. I guess the owner hopes it’ll become part of a railway themed attraction which he’s been accumulating equipment for. There’s a photo below showing it today. It looks to be in fine shape.

In the old photo the building to the right of the station, the freight shed, is today at a museum in Saskatoon.

The wood elevators are no more. These buildings, marked for National Grain and Federal Grain, date back to the the 1910s, were demolished in the 1980s and had a multitude of owners over the years beside those two firms. Both National and Federal were decent sized players in the Canadian Grain Industry, with elevators in many small prairie towns, and both were merged out of existence in the 1970s. Today, a late-1980s concrete “grain terminal” stands in their place (ex-Cargill Grain, now in private hands). In the past there were other wood elevators in Unity.

The elevator siding is overflowing with stored tank cars.

That leaves us only one visual cue connecting the two eras, the remains of that low concrete wall. Not much to work with, but it lines up. And while the scene is much changed, interestingly it has a similar feel as before. All elements are still there – the railway, the train station (now to the right and part of a strip mall) and even that huge building in back tied to the grain industry.

The Cenotaph today is located in a large city park a few blocks where it originally stood and otherwise seems little changed. It’s a peaceful setting with lots of tall trees and grassy areas, a great place to honour fallen soldiers.

Connie notes the last name Biggart, of which she shares, on the monument. It’s not the most common name, but she’s sure there’s no connection.

The date of the postcard is not known, but given the National Grain Company didn’t acquire the one elevator seen until 1940, we know it’s must have been shot sometime after that date.

It’s not completely clear when the Cenotaph was first erected – but the 1920s seems likely – nor when it was moved (but the 1980s is suggested). If you know…do tell. Interestingly, the memorial lists the names of those lost in World War Two, but not World War One – it just makes mention of them collectively without listing any. This might suggest the memorial is newer than we suspect. We’ll keep on it and will update should we know more.

Our now photos are composed in-camera using some special techniques we’ve perfected over the years. As such, we often (but not always) get very close to duplicating the scene exactly, which makes us happy.

A Cenotaph, for those not in the know, is a monument erected to those who served and paid the ultimate price. Let’s have a moment of silence for those who so valiantly fought, and died, so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

Just outside town, remains of a farm yard partially flooded. No connection to the subject here, except we thought it made for an interesting photo and reminds people we’re always on the go and on the look out for new stuff to photograph.

We source some of the old photos used in these posts, but most are sent in by readers. If you have an old image (your copyright) you think would make a good starting point for a BIGDoer then and now, by all means please send it our way. We’re always looking for fresh meat!

More Saskatchewan then and now posts…
Netherhill Saskatchewan then and now.
Alsask Saskatchewan then and now.
Moose Jaw SK then and now – CPR train station.

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

Date: September, 2017.
Location: Unity, SK.
Article references and thanks: Town of Unity, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Records, Cargill Grain Records, Canada Census.
All shots were taken from public property

Unity Saskatchewan, the old Cenotaph site – no watering certain days.

And where it is today.

The wood elevators are long gone.

Cenotaph – a memorial to those who served.

Note the name Biggart.

Outside town, this flooded farm yard.

The old station still stands, elsewhere – view from a locomotive.