In ‘76, I bought grain for the UGG (United Grain Growers) at Viking, Alberta. When I took over the plant, the bins had old oats, burnt canola, some wheat, and a bit of barley. The place was a mess. I cleaned up. To make room in the main elevator for good grain, I ran the 54,000 bushels of old oats into the annex, which held 40,000 bushels. To facilitate this move and preserve the oats, I plugged the eves and nailed the doors of the annex shut. Why! So the oats wouldn’t run out! I then filled the walkway and discovered the spout from the main to the annex was full. So, I loaded the drag auger from the annex to the main to empty it, the spout, not the annex. The annex was full - full. Don’t open the doors full. I bought grain. I filled the main and the twin to the max. Even the turning bins were full - which were to be kept empty for turning hot grain – for safety. Look! It’s to prevent burning elevators.
    I called Edmonton to order cars to load out the grain I’d bought and was told I could only have one. ONE CAR! I needed SIX to be legal. I loaded the – ONE - car and bought more grain. And ya stuffed it in. Next, I went up top, shoveled grain into the corners of the bins, and pilled more grain onto the header floor. I filled the twin’s four overhead bins with # 1 Red Spring Wheat, shoveled it as high as the roof, and then filled the hoppers. A mouse couldn’t squeeze in. I continued buying grain. Hey! I was hired to buy grain! Wasn’t I?
    The safety inspector came to see the new buyer a month after I arrived. “Bring him up-to-date on safety regs.” Well, now! Let’s just say he’d never seen an elevator this full. Said he “NEVER” wanted to see it this full "AGAIN!” “Do you hear ME!” “Yes!” So, he ordered six cars to bring the plant to regs. I filled the cars and bought grain. Without warning, the inspector stopped again a week later to check safety! He sure wasn’t a happy inspector. “DIDN’T I TELL YOU?!! TO NEVER!!! FILL AN ELEVATOR!!! THIS FULL!!?” “Yes!”
    He seemed kind of serious: "That elevators should be in safe operating condition!” So, he ordered six more cars. Which I filled and bought more grain. So, the third time he stopped by, he threatened, “If YOU! EVER!!! AGAIN!! FILL!! An elevator THIS FULL! I’ll TERMINATE!!!! your JOB!!” “Do you UNDERSTAND!” “Yes!” So, he ordered six more cars, which I filled, and bought more grain.
    Then, one day, before the inspector returned, I was in the plant office - buying grain. I’d filled the twin right to the top again. Hey! ‘I did’ have one bin open in the main for safety reasons. WHY!! Because THE INSPECTOR told me, “I HAD TO!” OK! Let’s just leave it at that! Hey! Not that I didn’t want to fill it! As I was doing books, which I had to, by strict instructions from an inspector! I heard this funny rumbling sound. Sort of an earthquake feeling. You know, a bit of an upheaval feeling, a feeling of something huge, like an elevator, shaking. And there’s this distant, muffled, rumbling sound. I can’t quite identify the sound. Then I saw dust! Ya, dust! Dust in the air. Then, there’s dust blowing through the runway. Thought I’d better take a look and see what had taken place.
    Now! I’ve never had such a funny, weird feeling in all my life. It makes you sort of feel like all the nerves in your body are trying to tell you something, but your brains not connecting. I looked! I saw! But nothing registered. As this cloud of dust began settling, I could see the dull overhead light. Ya! There before me was this huge moving mountain of wheat! Here and there on this enormous golden pile were sinkholes. As I looked, I realized I couldn’t see the leg. Nor the hopper! Nor the walkway! Nor the man lift! Nor anything else that should’ve been there! It was gone! Where! I wasn’t - sure.
    My brain kicked in as I gazed in bewilderment at this moving pile of grain. The bottoms - fallen - out of the four overhead bins! My prized # 1 Red Spring Wheat, which I’d stomped, shovelled and piled to the rafters some forty feet up, was now slowly disappearing! IT was disappearing into the dark, damp depths of the pit below. Nothing I could do but watch! Watch the wheat disappear!
    Well now! I began to giggle like a school kid! It took some time to get back to the severe semi-normal mode of a grain buyer. Then it hit. I’m history! I’m looking for another job! I’m a goner! I shouldn’t have stomped so hard! I shouldn’t have bought that last load! I should’ve listened to the inspector! Etc.! Etc.!
    So, I called head office in Edmonton and told them the bottoms had fallen out of the twins’ four overhead bins. They said I didn’t know what I was talking about! Ok! So, overhead bin bottoms never fall out of twins!
    The next day, an official-looking character arrived to see the so-called “bottomless bins.” He looked! Swore! Did some old-fashioned cursing! Walked around! Looked. Swore. Stomped around, cursed the world and everything in it, including me! Went outside! Looked! Kicked dirt and – of – course - did some fine, out back of the barn, swearing. I didn’t think I could help, so I kinda left him looking, walking around, swearing, cursing and kicking things.
    After some time! Hey! Too much time to leave, a young, new, inexperienced grain buyer all by himself. Alone, in the office, looking out of the window! Thinking! Ya! Thinking about a job change – and - how to tell his bride!
    Suddenly, the official stormed into the office, grabbed the phone, and called Edmonton. “The BOTTOMS fallen out of the twin's overhead bins.” It needs “CLEANED UP and FIXED!!!” That, he “NEEDED, at least, TEN CARS to GET RID OF the wheat and GET THIS ELEVATOR in PROPER REG’S! “TOMORROW!!!” Slamming down the phone, he glared at me. Why me? It’s their bins! With, “if YOU – ever - DO - this - AGAIN!!!” look, he turned and stomped out.
    The repair crew showed up the next morning, and the CPR dropped ten cars the next day! The crew loaded the wheat. I filled the other cars - “to relieve the Main.” Took the good part of a month to clean up, rebuild bin bottoms, fix hoppers, scales, auger, the floor, and some “other” problem - that caused the bottoms to “give in.” I couldn’t do anything else except buy grain. Right! Over 110,00 bushels in six months. In the previous six months, a little over 10,000 came in. What else could I do? I was a grain buyer! All I know is, Buying Grain’s, Buying Grain! Lots of grain! Hey! If some’s good, a whole lot’s much better!