Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne

Mail delivery - At the beginning of the twentieth century, long before our era of media frenzy, the post office was the main link with the outside world. In addition to enabling entrepreneurs to connect with other businesses, letters and cards received from loved ones helped maintain family ties and friendships during prolonged absences. For three cents, you could send a letter to all parts of Canada and the United States. It’s important to remember that many of our Acadian ancestors were working in New England at that time.

Mail delivery was a sacred responsibility; no matter what the circumstances, the mail had to be delivered. It was brought to the stations by train, and then delivered in large bags to the various local post offices by means of horse and carriage, and by sleigh in the winter. The train did not stop for the mail; the filled mailbag was thrown from the moving train, while the outgoing mail was brought aboard using a hook from where it was placed on a crane at the edge of the train track. This photo shows Minnie (LeBlanc) Geddry hanging a mailbag to be picked up by the passing train. Originally from St. Bernard, NS, Mrs. Geddry was in charge of the Maxwellton post office from 1944 to 1961.

In Clare, not unlike many small rural communities, post offices were small cabins, most of which were housed in a general store. Crowds would often gather there to await the mail’s arrival; for teenagers, it was a good opportunity to see each other.

Many remember the joy of receiving a new Eaton, Simpson or Dupuis Frères catalog, or a new edition of The Family Herald, which included serialized stories that many followed faithfully and that were read aloud for fellow family members in many homes. At the time, most of the post-office employees were women; the latter knew all the village residents. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a post-office employee’s annual salary was about $25. Today, many pick up their mail from community mailboxes on rural roads, without any contact with postal workers, and new communications technologies, such as e-mail, have replaced letters sent via traditional postal mail.

Topic: Commercial Enterprises and other livelihoods

Date: [ca. 1948]

Reference: Harold Robichaud Collection Centre Acadien Series A, photo 51

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