90 years for small town Post Office
I’m feeling very “Back-to-the-Future.” The Gravenhurst Post Office just celebrated its 90th anniversary. A historic moment in this ‘cottage country’ town in Muskoka, Ontario; the town that I call home.
On April 1st the town celebrated this landmark occasion by restoring the clock in the clock tower. The clock itself had not worked for years, but as of a few weeks ago, it is ticking the time again.
A rich heritage in mail service
In addition to memories of going up the steep steps and trying to peer into the postal boxes, I remember it was a bit of a community hub. Most times you were bound to run into someone you knew at the Post Office, stop and chat and catch up on the news after posting a letter or picking up mail.
Gravenhurst, in fact, has a rich history in mail services that extend beyond the down town Post Office. It is the home of the historic RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Segwun Steamship that delivered mail over the Muskoka Lakes in the early 1900’s. Today it is still in operation as a cruise steamship; an absolute stunning way to see Muskoka in the summer.
So, despite the time travelling powers of the tower clock in the movie “Back-to-theFuture,” I will have to resort to an airplane ride to visit my charming hometown.
Do you have a historic Post Office in your city?
* Photo above via Town of Gravenhurst
Oh how I wish I did!! The post office in my very small hometown always held good memories for me. Even as a kid I was a paper-girl. Occasionally businesses would send free cards and envelopes to town residents, probably with a solicitation of some sort. Invariably, those got treated as junk mail and residents would just throw them in the trash. I had to be chased away from the post office dumpster more than once as a a child. The post office has been moved to a newer, larger building and some of the charm has been lost but it’s still a post office and therefore special. We used to have little brass mail box doors. There was a dial with letters and you spun the arrow around to rest on the necessary combination of letters. I’m lucky enough to have one of those mailbox fronts that someone made into a bank by affixing the door to the front of a wood cube. I love that little bit of history. My parents still live in that little town and still have the same box # we had so many years ago. I love that your town refurbished your post office rather than tearing it down.
Melanie, there are so many things I love about your stories of your post office memories! Especially you being chased away from the dumpster. So cool that your parents still have the same # all these years. Thanks for sharing.