SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE - Terri Hurley

For the last three months Holyrood residents have watched with interest as the skyline of the town has slowly changed. The change came as the Holyrood Branch of the Ellsworth Co-Op built a 104 foot high storage unit that will double the site’s grain storage capacity.
According Holyrood Co-Op branch manager Jeremy Kootz, “We are not building for today but for tomorrow. We are looking toward the future needs of those we serve. The new unit’s aeration system will dry milo to stop mildew and cool down wheat to improve quality.” The current storage units have no aeration systems.
Kootz continued, “The new unit will allow us to store gain here instead of transferring one crop out to get ready for the next harvest. When we ship grain out we have to pay others to store it.” The new unit will store three hundred thousand bushels of grain. This year’s wheat crop averaged 60 bushels of wheat per acre.
McPherson Concrete Storage Company, McPherson, was hired to construct the jumpform concrete tank. A man dangling from two ropes painted the McPherson Company’s diamond shape logo around the top of the 104 high tank. According to Ellsworth Co-Op manager Larry Sheridan, “After the roof is poured it will take about two months to install equipment and allow the concrete to cure before it is ready to use.”
The new unit was built next to the existing concrete elevator built in 1945 and the annex built in 1958.