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Alberta Wheat Pool - Bow Island fonds
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- Textual record
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- Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.
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Fonds
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1 cm of textual records.
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Administrative history
The Alberta Wheat Pool was formed in 1923, during a period of great economic stress all across the Canadian prairies. The First World War had been followed by a period of soaring prosperity which did not last. The prairie farm economy was basically a wheat economy, responding to wide and erratic price fluctuations under the open market which was resumed following the end of the war.
Under the speculative market, grain prices were usually high after the farmer had sold the bulk of his crop, but were depressed during the fall and early winter months, when farms were forced to sell the bulk of their production to meet their commitments.
From 1920-1923 wheat prices and other farm prices followed a downward trend to levels which brought financial ruin to thousands of farm families.
Grain producers demanded the return of a wheat board, in order to create some stability in the wheat market. Necessary enabling legislation was passed by the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta, but defeat of the vote within Manitoba brought an end to those efforts to obtain a wheat board.
Alberta farmers then decided to form a voluntary pool. Following a historic meeting in Calgary in the summer of 1923, addressed by Aaron Sapiro, a Californian lawyer who had been instrumental in organizing farm commodity pools in the United States, a great deal of enthusiasm was engendered for the organization of the pool.
On August 18, 1923, the Alberta Wheat Pool was incorporated and a concerted drive for membership contracts was begun.
Membership contracts had been drawn up which provided that the signer should deliver all his wheat to the Pool for a period of five years. The objective was to get Pool contracts signed covering 50 per cent of the 1922 wheat acreage. By the end of September, 1923, the sign-up justified a decision to proceed and on October 29, 1923, the Pool opened its head office in Calgary and began operations.
The founding members of the Pool agreed to a deduction of about three cents a bushel on their deliveries, to build up the necessary capital for elevator buildings and operation of the infant co-operative. In this way some $8.4 million was collected. These deductions were made from the final Pool Payments and were credited to each individual member as reserves.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consist of: 2 Alberta Wheat Pool ledgers relating to operation of grain elevators in Bow Island.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Ray Geldreich, May 30, 2001. Geldreich found the records in the Bow Island Wheat Pool grain elevator.
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- English
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Record no.: M2014.13
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RAD
ISAAR 5.4.6
ISO 8601
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- English