Books in Prairie Heritage Series series

Prairie Sentinel preserves the history of the grain elevator in Canada. It covers the period from the first elevator in 1879 to the larger, more efficient terminals of today. The detailed text and archival photographs provide a lasting tribute to these cultural landmarks. In one respect the grain elevator is simply a storage container with the capacity to weigh, clean, and load grain. But as anyone who lives on the prairies knows, the elevator has a more significant social purpose and meaning. Standing out on the horizon, visible from miles away, the grain elevator is a potent reminder of the region's history and a symbol of its economic lifeblood. Farming has changed dramatically since the early days when grain elevators were new technology. Today, the elevator is quickly being replaced by innovations in farming, grain storage, and transportation. Because the country elevator has entered popular culture- especially art and literature- the loss of these monoliths is changing more than just the face of rural western Canada.

Threshing: The Early Years of Harvesting tells of the people, processes, and machines of the annual harvest in Western Canadian history. Through archival photographs, history, and stories, it captures the sense of cooperation and pride experienced by early threshing teams as well as the long hours of back-breaking and dangerous work. Prior to the 1930s, the harvest season was a time when threshing crews travelled from farm to farm, communities pulled together to bring in the golden crops, and women worked from dawn to dusk making enough food to satisfy a troop of hungry men. The introduction of the combine harvester changed the face of farming forever, but the spirit of community fostered by the early threshing process and crews lingers on today.

Long before there were barbies or batteries, children on the Canadian prairies conjured up imaginative ways to pass the time. Kick the can, fox and geese, hide and seek, building snow forts, horseback riding, and picnics were only a few of the ways children found to amuse themselves.Faye Reineberg Holt brings to life the magic and inventiveness of play in the childhoods of yester-year in this look at games and pastimes on the prairies up until the 1960s.Delightful archival photographs will bring a smile of recognition to anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to invent their very own "homemade" fun.