by L W Sumpton
Sometime prior to 1940 Kost Pawlyk owned and operated a chop mill situated where Harry Prusak's shop now stands. In 1940, Harry Prusak purchased the property and operated a tractor driven plate grinder until 1945 when he was forced to give it up on account of his health. About this time, Lawrence Sumpton built a mill just north of the middle elevator. This establishment boasted an air dump to empty grain for grinding, a leg (or elevating cups) to deliver to a bin overhead where it fed by gravity to a fourteen inch hammer mill which was driven by a used Ford V8 motor. This venture lasted only a couple of years, and to my knowledge there has been no facility of this nature since.
However, I have just learned that Orin Caskey probably owned and operated the first feed mill away back in 1921. It is not known how long that facility operated.
These mills did custom work only. It must be remembered that at that time the use of concentrates was only just beginning to surface.
An interesting side side bar: Harry Prusak tells me that he paid the munificent sum of 1,500 dollars for the buildings including what is now his shop and house, although the house has been added to since that time. He also reports that he was taxed to "death" at $18.00 a year for the whole spread. How different then from now.
