This full page ad in the Sept. 27, 1932 paper, really stood out. I wondered why there had been several references in the papers during that time to merchants accepting wheat as payment for goods in local stores. What I found was that the price of a bushel of No. 1 Northern Wheat had dropped from $1.03 in 1928 to 29 cents in 1932 – lower than at any time in the preceding 400 years. It is significant to note that 1932-33 were the years of the Ukrainian genocide, when all grain was taken from the Ukraine and put on world markets. The world wheat surplus was estimated at 600 million bushels. Local farmers were struggling, and in those days, Grande Prairie’s economy was agriculture dependent, so the newspaper Editor suggested trading wheat for goods as a way to help out farmers with full grain bins and empty wallets.
Written and researched by Kathryn Auger