Restored decades-old snow plane comes home to south-eastern Sask.

WATCH: A piece of prairie history that started almost 80 years ago is getting a special homecoming in the Sask. Town of Alameda. Mick Favel has the story.

A married couple have put hundreds of hours of work into refurbishing and updating a 78-year-old snow plane.

The winter vehicle equipped with an airplane propeller and skiis was once used by Dr. Jerry Galloway, a physician who practiced in the south-east corner of Saskatchewan from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Lisl Gunderman, Galloway’s granddaughter, said it took her a few years to track down where the machine ended up. It was eventually found at the Elkhorn Museum in Manitoba.

“In this pile, in the shed, was a snow plane. We took a close look at it. On the side of it, I could see the legs of the stork,” she said.

Beginning in 1947 and going for nearly a decade, Galloway used the snow plane to make house calls for patients.

He painted the outline of a stork carrying a baby bundle on the doors, nicknaming the machine the “delivery wagon.”

Darrell Hunter, Gunderman’s husband, helped refurbish the snow plane, repairing what pieces were found and creating new ones to complete the vehicle.

“It was in really poor condition, very rusted. As we got going, I got to learn more and more about it. It’s not like anything else,” he said.

It took over two years to complete the restoration.

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Otto Newman is 96 years old and spent his life near the Alameda area. He remembered Dr. Galloway using the snow plane to travel the backroads.

“The highways were always plugged and he used the plane a lot just to go to work. It was just a common thing at the time,” he explained.

The snow plane itself has Saskatchewan roots. It was built by Fudge Industries in Moosomin, Sask.

Gunderman said they’ve heard from those who saw the machine in its heyday - with many sharing stories about Dr. Galloway and the impact of his practice.

“A lot of stories have come forward that I don’t think we would have known if we didn’t restore the machine,” she noted.

Gunderman and Hunter have also created a travelling museum to go along with the refurbished machine.

The trailer which moves the machine is filled with information about the snow plane, Dr. Galloway, as well as the story of the restoration.

The entire experience has pushed the married couple towards promoting and supporting museums across the Prairies.

“It was lucky that we found it,” Gunderman said.

On Thursday, the snow plane was brought to Alameda for the residents to see. A barbeque was held for the occasion.