Wetaskiwin District Heritage Museum Centre & City of Wetaskiwin Archives

At first glance it may strike you as an upside-down squid, but believe it or not this artifact was once used to bend metal piping at Mellett & Co. Sheet Metal Works. This curious contraption was made and designed by Mr. Bill Mellett, who was the third generation since 1910 to operate the shop in downtown Wetaskiwin. It was just another day at the museum when we had the privilege to see Mr. Mellett in action using what he called his Metal Bead Roller. The demonstration began when we asked him the purpose behind the ‘green sea monster’ and without saying a word, Mr. Mellet went to work. He grabbed a pipe and proceeded to crank the handle effortlessly to add a crease on its edge. As we stood there in awe from the machine’s clever design, we were reminded that ingenuity has certainly flourished in our proud community.