Preserving the agricultural history of Innisfail through paint

Innisfail, Alta. (Rural Roots Canada) – For many in the rural town of Innisfail, Alberta, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and grain elevators are more than historic landmarks; they are symbols of the farming families who built the community.

For generations, grain elevators and the CPR shaped life in the central Alberta town, connecting farm families and serving as landmarks woven into the community’s identity. Now, local artist Karen Scarlett is preserving that agricultural legacy through a 50-foot mural that blends the town’s history with the memories of the people who call it home.

Scarlett is the fifth generation of her family to live in Innisfail. Her great-great-grandparents arrived by wagon train and homesteaded across the street from where she lives today.

Those family roots are incorporated into her latest project, the 100 Friends Mural, which will weave together community memories with images of the railway and grain elevators that shaped the town’s agricultural identity.

Growing up on her family’s dairy and grain farm, Scarlett says trips to town with her father were rare; it was this rarity which made the experience so memorable. They would haul grain to the elevator before stopping for ice cream, a tradition which would become one of her favourite childhood memories.

Her father, Ed Scarlett, served on the board for the United Grain Growers of Central Alberta. Before Innisfail’s last conventional grain elevator was demolished and the board dissolved, the community held one final ceremonial grain delivery. A historic horse-drawn wagon was loaded with grain and taken to the elevator, honouring a tradition that had connected generations of farmers.

After her father’s passing in 2009, Scarlett began a painting series named Ed’s Elevators. What started as a goal to paint 78 grain elevator paintings has become a keystone in Scarlett’s artwork.

“I realized that I did not have to stop at 78. I have done over 100, and this will be my biggest one; I probably have another 1000 grain elevator paintings to paint,” she says.

This prairie landmark, which represents her father’s passion as a grain farmer, will be the centrepiece of her largest project yet.

RELATED: Albertan gifts replica grain elevators to preserve western agriculture history

In 1891, the Innisfail train station was built before being demolished in 1961. In the early 2000s, a mural of the historic train station was painted on the wall of the 49th Street Emporium building. When the building changed ownership, the mural was painted over.

Now, that wall will once again tell Innisfail’s story.

The project began when building owner, Hal Moore, asked Scarlett to recreate the original railway mural. Rather than producing a replica, she proposed creating a new work that honours both the railway and the grain elevators that helped define the community.

The 50-foot mural is expected to cost about $10,000, a fundraising goal Scarlett says is already close to being reached thanks to overwhelming community support.

Although Scarlett grew up on a farm, she was surrounded by artists and makers.

Her grandmother became an artist after retirement, and many afternoons were spent creating jewellery, painting and exploring the riverbanks for interesting rocks. Her father’s woodworking shop and her mother’s expertise in sewing, knitting and needlepoint also nurtured her creativity.

“I learned skills from leaning over her shoulder and watching her figures expertly move,” Scarlett says.

Yet it wasn’t until years after leaving the farm that agriculture became the focus of her artwork.

At 18, Scarlett moved away from the farm to experience the big city, believing she had left rural life behind. Years later, while participating in the Artist Ranch Project in Longview in 2013, she found herself reconnecting with the agricultural community she had grown up in.

She describes this experience as transformative to her life. This was a reflective experience for her, which made her feel connected to her farming roots and grateful for her upbringing on a farm in Alberta.

“When I am mostly inspired to paint things… I’m painting Alberta agriculture, I’m painting the flora and fauna that we’re surrounded by, I’m painting things that I’m proud of. I’m painting the pieces that connect us,” Scarlett says.

Today, Scarlett believes public art can strengthen community identity by preserving shared stories.

She hopes the 100 Friends Mural will not only celebrate Innisfail’s agricultural heritage but also inspire renewed investment in restoring the town’s aging public art.

“I think there’s a lot of pride to be felt from a mural that honours our grain and farming past as well as the CP Rail; it is important to many people, not just here, but across Canada. It’s a piece of history that ties us all together,” says Scarlett.

 

Photographs provided by Karen Scarlett.

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