View allAll Photos Tagged postmarks
postmarked 1961
published by Howard Johnson Company
Plastichrome by Colourpicture Publishers, Inc., Boston 15, Mass., U.S.A.
CRAIGELLACHIE is a locality in British Columbia, located several kilometres to the west of the Eagle Pass summit between Sicamous and Revelstoke. Craigellachie is the site of a tourist stop on the Trans-Canada Highway between Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. It was named after the village of Craigellachie on the River Spey in Moray, Scotland, the ancestral home of Sir George Stephen, the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. At a critical time in the railway's development, Stephen travelled to Britain to raise desperately needed capital funding; when he succeeded, he telegraphed his associates in Canada quoting the familiar motto of Clan Grant: "Stand fast, Craigellachie!" The Canadian Craigellachie is most famous for being the site of the "Last Spike" of the CPR, driven by Sir Donald Smith, a director of the CPR, on November 7, 1885.
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia Directory) - CRAIGELLACHIE - a post office and station on the C. P. R. main line, 4 miles from Taft, Kamloops Provincial Electoral District. Nearest telegraph, C. P. R. at Taft. The population in 1918 was 50.
The CRAIGELLACHIE Post Office was opened - 1 February 1895; closed and relocated as Malakwa Post Office - 1 June 1903; CRAIGELLACHIE Post Office re-opened - 1 September 1912 and closed - 22 September 1970.
LINKS to a list of the Postmasters who served at the CRAIGELLACHIE Post Office (first opening) - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/postal-heritage-philately/...; - (second opening) - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/postal-heritage-philately/...;
- sent from - / CRAIGELLACHIE / JUN 30 / 65 / B.C / - split ring cancel (first opening) - this split ring hammer (A1-1) was proofed - 6 July 1912 - (RF C) - "struck by favour".
Addressed to: G.R. Ramsey / 3223 S.E. 118th Ave. / Portland, Oregon / USA ?
Guy Reed Ramsey
(b. 15 August 1894 in Warrensburg, Johnson, Missouri, United States – d. 28 April 1980 at age 85 in Corvallis, Benton, Oregon, United States)
Guy Reed Ramsey was born on 15 August 1894, in Warrensburg, Johnson, Missouri, United States, his father, Ebenezer Carter Ramsey, was 47 and his mother, Sarah Addie Carter, was 28. He married Ida Catherine Schneider on 1 May 1933, in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States. He lived in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States in 1920 and Ames, Story, Iowa, United States in 1940. He died on 28 April 1980, in Corvallis, Benton, Oregon, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States.
Going postal: Oregon man’s forgotten quest to document Washington history - By Feliks Banel - The priceless Washington history research of amateur post office historian Guy Reed Ramsey lives on in a series of books called "Postmarked Washington." While the future of the U.S. Post Office might seem a bit uncertain these days, the many stories of its long past as an important part of communities around Washington are pretty secure – if hard to find. And this is all because of an Oregon man who devoted his spare time to documenting the history of every single post office ever established in what’s now the Evergreen State, and to publishing a series of books called Postmarked Washington. What Ramsey compiled is like an almanac of post office history in Washington from the 1850s to the 1960s, with the dates they were established and the names of the early postmasters, plus context for why each community wanted a post office – in the form of a well-written narrative of what was going on in that area, and who the local leaders were when the post office was first granted by the federal government. Ramsey also took photos of current and former post offices, and created maps and diagrams to show where post offices had once stood. One unfortunate thing is that only some of what Ramsey compiled was ever published and made accessible. The comprehensive information for the whole state has never issued in a single volume. Instead, historical societies in individual counties and regions published the work in sections. Each one is called Postmarked Washington, but with a different subtitle reflecting the specific county or region. Many of those are now out-of-print, hard-to-find, and often, when found, very expensive. Read the complete article at this link - mynorthwest.com/2116651/ramsey-document-washington-post-o...?
Works by Guy Reed Ramsey
Postmarked Washington: Lewis and Cowlitz counties
Postmarked Washington, Pierce County
Postmarked Washington : Chelan, Douglas and Kittitas counties
Postmarked Washington: Pacific and Wahkiakum counties
Postmarked Washington: Lincoln and Adams counties
Postmarked Washington : Jefferson Clallam & Mason counties
Postmarked Iowa : A List of Discontinued and Renamed Post Offices
YALE is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Located on the Fraser River, it is generally considered to be on the dividing line between the Coast and the Interior regions of the British Columbia Mainland. Immediately north of the town, the Fraser Canyon begins and the river is generally considered unnavigable past this point. Rough water is common on the Fraser anywhere upstream from Chilliwack and even more so above Hope, about 20 mi (32 km) south of Yale. However, steamers could make it to Yale, good pilots and water conditions permitting, and the town had a busy dockside life as well as a variety of bars, restaurants, hotels, saloons and various services. Its maximum population during the gold rush era was in the 15,000 range. More generally, it housed 5,000-8,000. The higher figure was counted at the time of evacuation of the Canyon during the Fraser Canyon War of 1858.
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - YALE, a post settlement In New Westminster District, B.C., and a station on the main line of the C.P.R., 102 miles east of Vancouver.
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia directory) - YALE - a post office and station on the O. P. Railway, main line, and C. N. Railway, main line, on the Fraser River, 102 miles east of Vancouver, and 13 north of Hope, in Yale Provincial Electoral District. Is served also by river steamers from New Westminster. Has Anglican church. The population in 1918 was 100. Local resources: Mining and fruit-growing. Has extensive undeveloped water power.
Ovid Allard established a new Hudsons Bay Company post here in 1847; the post was named Fort Yale, after James Murray Yale.
from - / YALE / JA ? / 84 / BRIT.COL. / - cds cancel - Brit Col in full circle (23.5 mm) - ERD - 31 March 1883 / LRD - 18 February 1911. There is also an earlier Brit Col in a full circle hammer (29.0 mm).
- via - / VICTORIA • BRIT. COL. / T (Tacoma) / JA 9 / 84 / CANADA. / - cds transit backstamp
- sent by - / If not called for in 10 days return to - Michel Creigin (?) 150 Mile Post P.B.
Addressed to: W. H. Gorham Esq / Seattle P.O. / Washington Territory / USA
William Hills Gorham
(b. 19 February 1861 in Sacramento, California - d. 6 April 1935 at age 73 in Seattle, Washington, USA)
William Hills Gorham (1861-1935) was born on February 19, 1861, in Sacramento, California. He was educated in Boston and Washington, D.C. He briefly worked as a time-keeper on the Canadian railroad and as a purser on a Fraser River steamship in British Columbia. Gorham read law with George H. Williams, a former Attorney General of the United States and candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. After passing the bar exam, Gorham moved to Seattle in 1884. He first specialized in admiralty law and later turned to general practice. He died on April 6, 1935, at his office in Seattle.
His son - Private George Congdon Gorham was killed instantly by enemy shell fire on October, 10, 1918, near the village of Escaudœuvres. George was a member of the 1st Canadians, Motor Machine Brigade, Bordon Battery. He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 27, 1917, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and shipped to England in August 1917. George was a student in the College of Forestry and would have graduated in 1916, but left the UW to enlist in Canada prior to the entry of the United States into the war. He is buried at Cantimpre Canadian Cemetery in France. George was named for his grandfather, a prominent California politician, newspaper editor and Mayflower descendant. Born in Seattle, his parents were William Hills Gorham, a lawyer, and Kathleen Mary Louise Walton, a native of Ireland. George was the oldest of five children, with four younger sisters. He was a 1912 graduate of Broadway High School. While at the UW, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. The Gorham family were members of Seattle’s University Unitarian Church and George was the first gold star for their congregation.
His father: George Congdon Gorham (July 5, 1832 – February 11, 1909) was a Republican California politician and newspaper editor. Gorham ran in 1867 under the Republican ticket in the Californian gubernatorial race. He lost, however, to Democratic candidate Henry Huntly Haight by a margin of 7,458 votes. Gorham also worked on the Republican National Committee for California (a subsidiary body of the national body, the Republican National Committee). He, along with Stephen Johnson Field wrote a book on the early history of California. From June 6, 1868, until March 24, 1879, he was Secretary of the United States Senate. He died in 1909 in Washington D.C..
This postcard was from HMCS HURON while at Kiel, West Germany in the summer of 1976.
Sent by Sgt. (P2) General to daughter Christine General who living in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
Message on postcard reads: Hi Chris, I hope your ear is better. I miss you very much. I hope you are helping your mother and taking the dog for walks. I am very proud that you graded in school. I hope your bike is working O.K. I hope I see you soon. Love Dad / Kiel, West Germany.
To date, three different postmarks have been seen on shipmail, the most common appears to be a unilingual handstamp, 31 mm in diameter, CFPO (Canadian Forces Post Office) 5071 / current date on three lines / FMO HALIFAX, N.S. B3K 2X0 which Ritch Toop suggests is probably applied at Halifax.
/ CFPO 5071 / 21 / VII / 1976 / FMO HALIFAX, N.S. B3K 2X0 / - large cds cancel - in blue ink.
(the following article was written by James Ron Anderson) - We sailed (HMCS HURON) in early Jan 1976 for WUPS and exercises out of Roosey Roads. Did another Ex SAFE PASS from Mayport, Florida up the coast ending just off Halifax. Huron sailed for second NATO early July 1976. While in Kiel, Huron's crew conducted a 3-week self-maintenance routine. On sailing from Kiel, the NATO SQN was transiting the Kattegat at night at high speeds. The NATO SQN had been dispatched to intercept the Russian air craft carrier Kiev that had broken out of the Black Sea and the Med with her escorts and was heading north. At that time she was one of Russia's latest and newest. During the transit, we (they believe) ran over a shoal, tore off the under water telephone and took 2 or 3 large chunks off the props. I had just finished Petty Officer of the Watch for the first watch and had just got my head down when we hit what ever it was. The noise below deck was terrifyingly loud. Immediately every one was dressed and running to emergency stations, but no pipe was ever made so we all kind of milled around expecting some sort of answer to what had just happened, heard nothing so everyone resumed the horizontal. Sometime before we entered Oslo for a port visit, the sonar world reported something wrong with the underwater telephone. Divers were sent down in harbour, Joe Arsenault was one of them, he was a WU, and when they surfaced he said "what telephone?" That's when they carried out a full bottom search and found chunks missing from the props. They Navigation Officer was the OOW when it happened. A board of inquire was held on run to slackers and he wore it all. As often happens during episodes like this rumours abound. The best one was we hit a small East German sub (there were many operating in these areas). As the story goes we hit the subs sail with the section of the hull around the underwater telephone knocking it over and when it was back up right we hit it again with the screws. The supposed shoal we hit, if you looked at the chart, was really hard to see and was extremely small. Huron had to leave the SQN early and return Halifax for repairs. Admiral Boyle was pissed of that we had sustained damage and couldn't finish NATO; he tied Huron up along Halifax for approx 6 weeks before allowing us to be repaired.
LINK to - A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project - HMCS HURON 281 - www.forposterityssake.ca/Navy/HMCS_HURON_281.htm
Trafalgar is a Canadian rural community located inland from Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. While it is named after the Battle of Trafalgar, it is not pronounced the same as Trafalgar England. Emphasis is on the first syllable traf'-el-GAR. It is located at the boundaries of Pictou County, Guysborough County (specifically the Municipality of the District of St. Mary's) and Halifax County (specifically the Halifax Regional Municipality). Trafalgar is located on Route 374 at the north end of the Liscomb Sanctuary and an associated forest fire-fighting station.
- from Charles Bruce Fergusson's "Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia" book - TRAFALGAR, Guysborough County - This settlement is located on the West River St. Mary's in the northwest corner of Guysborough County, in eastern Nova Scotia. Joseph Langley, a native of Virginia, and a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, resident in Nova Scotia since 1783, came here about 1810 and took charge of a house for the accommodation of travelers near the St. Mary's River Bridge. In February, 1813, he petitioned for a five hundred acre grant including the land on which he was settled. In June, 1813, he was forced to leave and live with relatives elsewhere since floods had destroyed his crops and the winter cold had killed his livestock. John Nelson Dunn arrived about 1855 and built a sawmill. On September 20, 1858 he received a 500 acre grant of land. He evidently dropped his last name and became John Nelson so that when the Earl of Mulgrave, Captain Chearnley, and other officers came from Halifax on a hunting expedition, they named the settlement "Trafalgar" because the chief proprietor of the hotel was a Nelson. Lumbering is the basic industry in the area. Named after Cape Trafalgar in Spain or after the great British naval victory gained there in 1805.
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - TRAFALGAR, a post settlement in Guysboro County, N.S., 16 miles from Hopewell on the Truro and Sydney branch of the I.C.R.
On July 1, 1865, a Postal Way office was established at Trafalgar, Great Eastern Road, with John Nelson as postmaster. It was upgraded to a Post Office during the Fall of 1876. The Post Office closed - 31 March 1921. In an early listing the Post Office was called "TRAFALGAR GREAT EASTERN ROAD".
/ TRAFALGAR / MR 26 / 08 / N.S / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A-1) was proofed - 3 February 1877 (#2579 - RF E). The second split ring hammer (A-2) was proofed - 2 July 1913.
Message on postcard reads: Dear Florence, I hope you will pardon me for not answering your card before now. I has a letter from Jessie. So would you have heard that her sister is with her now. Trusting you and yours are all enjoying very good health. Yours Sincere - Lydia McLean
Lydia Alexandria McLean (b. 7 November 1888 in Trafalgar, Guysboro County, Nova Scotia - d. 30 Jul 1952 in Massachusetts, USA - she immigrated to the USA in the 1920's - she was never married.
Her father - William David / Dand McLean (b. 1852 in Hopewell, Pictou County, Nova Scotia - d. 1911)
Her mother - Ellen Matilda "Nelson" McLean (b. 1852 - d. 1936)
Addressed to: Miss Florence Thomas / Sackville / Nova Scotia
Frederick Vroom Balcom married Florence Thomas on - 20 Jun 1917 in Sackville, Nova Scotia. Florence was born on 8 Aug 1882 in Halifax, NS, Canada and died - 6 Sep 1965 in Windsor, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada aged about 83.
Her husband - Frederick Vroom Balcom was born on - 21 Jan 1889 in Kingston, Nova Scotia, Canada and died on - 16 Apr 1956 in Cole Harbour, Halifax Co, Nova Scotia, Canada aged 67.
Her father - Elijah Nelson Thomas (28 August 1854 – 15 October 1938)
Her mother - Mary Ann Webber (10 November 1855 – 30 August 1931)
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia directory) - COMOX - a village and post office on Comox Harbour, Gulf of Georgia, 60 miles northwest of Nanaimo, and 3 miles east of Courtenay, the nearest railway point on the E. & N. Railway. Comox Provincial Electoral District. Also reached by C. P. R. steamers from Vancouver. Anglican, Presbyterian and R. C. Churches. The population in 1918 was 200. Local resources: Logging, lumbering, cattle-raising, dairying and fishing.
Comox Post Office was opened - 1 July 1872 and closed - 10 May 1971 becoming Courtenay Postal Station Comox.
sent from - / COMOX / JA 4 / 94 / BRIT • COL. / - Brit. Col. split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A2-1) was proofed - 28 November 1883 - (RF C).
The first Canadian postmarks used in B.C., the Brit. Col. broken circle, consisted of the town name with the letters forming the upper part of the circle, and the abbreviation Brit. Col. (for British Columbia) forming the lower part of the circle, with short arcs occurring on both sides of the Brit. Col. The straight dateline is in the middle of the circle. The first office so far reported to have used the postmark is Victoria. Five to ten years later a few towns received Brit. Col. postmarks in which the town name and abbreviation of the province were enclosed in a full circle. The diameters of the postmarks vary appreciably from 20 to 29 mm's, but the majority measure 20-22mm's. The Clinton, New Westminster and Yale postmarks, 29mm's in diameter, are the largest recorded.
via - / NANAIMO / ? / JA 5 / B.C. / - partial cds transit backstamp.
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Addressed to: Mrs Harvey / Englefield Green / Surrey / England
Alice Louisa Harvey (b. 1873 - d. 1948 at age 75) - she is buried in the Municipal Cemetery, Englefield Green, Surrey, England. Her husband was William Charles Harvey (b. 1871 - d. 30 September 1935 at age 64) - he is buried in the Municipal Cemetery, Englefield Green, Surrey, England.
Englefield Green is a large village in northern Surrey, England. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London, the south eastern corner of Windsor Great Park, borders the town of Egham and more tightly-clustered village of Virginia Water. Its nearest main commercial hubs are Staines-upon-Thames 2.5 miles and Windsor 4 miles. The village grew from a hamlet in Egham in the 19th century, when much of it was sold off from the Great Park in the Crown Estate, and is mostly residential. There are pretty gardens as well as some Cycle paths.
via - / STAINES / D / JA 25 / 94 / - cds transit backstamp
Staines-upon-Thames, formerly Staines, is a town on the River Thames in Surrey, England, within the borough of Spelthorne. At or near the Roman settlement of Pontibus, it became Stanes and then Staines. The town lies within the historic county boundaries of Middlesex, being transferred to Surrey in 1965.
Hugh Rathbun writes in his book "Nova Scotia Pictorial Postmark 1975 - 2018" - After leaving Halifax, the tall ships ended a 1984 visit with a July 7 - 11 stay in Sydney, Nova Scotia. On July 11, the ships left Sydney on a transatlantic race to Liverpool, England. Halcyon, one of the ships, carried a group of covers bearing this postmark. The postmark was also available while the ships were in Sydney.
Trans Atlantic Race / Canada to England / Tall Ships - Souvenir Cover - The tall ships 1st Ocean Race, Sydney, N.S. to Liverpool, England; started off Sydney, N.S. on 11th July, 1984. This cover, one of 750 issued, was carried Trans Atlantic aboard the vessel indicated (STV "HALCYON"), sailing in this race.
STV "HALCYON" - Warsash, England
Crew - 17
Tonnage Gross - 53.16
Net - 47.26
L.O. - 100' / L.W. - 67'
S.A. - 3,766.5 sq. ft.
Signed by - Master - J.H. Kennedy
Overall final position in race - 9th
Link to - all about the - Yacht: Halcyon - classicyachtinfo.com/yachts/halcyon/
Link to a promotional film showing the fantastic 1929 Classic yacht HALCYON - www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gb0Bea4iuw
Link to - Bluenose II and the 1984 Parade of Sail in Sydney, Nova Scotia - robinrowland.com/rrowland_photography/2015/07/11/bluenose...
Street cancels or postmarks are those that have a street name as part of the actual cancel place name.
/ MORRIS STREET / 2 / MY 16 / 95 / HALIFAX • N.S. / - cds cancel - (early strike).
Morris Street was established on 1st May 1895 - it closed on 30th September 1901 and re-opened on 4th September 1902. On 31st August 1924 the name was changed to Halifax Sub. No. 2. It closed again in 1944 and re-opened again on 3rd February 1949.
The two postmasters during this period are:
Louis J. Mylius - 1 May 1895 to 28 Sept. 1901;
Henry J. Hollett - 4 Sept. 1902 to April 1924.
The strikes of the Morris Street c.d.s. are characterized by their clearness and by the fact that the majority are struck correctly aligned to the stamp.
The latest date recorded is 30 September 1901 which is the actual date of the end of the first period of life of the Post Office - it closed on this day according to the data from the P.M.G. It re-opened on 4th September 1902, no dates within this second period have been reported.
Link to an article on the Morris Street Halifax Post Office (starts on page 14) - bnaps.org/hhl/Topics/BNA%20Topics,%20Vol.%2034,%20No.%204...
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Addressed to: Mrs. Hiram Black / Amherst / Cumberland / N.S.
Arrival - / AMHERST / PM / MY 16 / 95 / N.S. / - cds backstamp
Hiram Black
Birth - 9 Oct 1837 in Amherst, Cumberland County, N.S.
Death - 19 Oct 1897 (aged 60) in Amherst, Cumberland County, N.S.
His wife - Mary Elizabeth "Smith" Black
Birth - 19 Feb 1846 in Nova Scotia, Canada
Death - 15 Jun 1913 (aged 67) in Amherst, Cumberland County, N.S.
Their son was - Percy Chapman Black - He was a Canadian politician, businessman and farmer. Black served in both the Canadian House of Commons and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Black was the son of J. Hiram Black and Mary Elizabeth "Libbie" Smith and was educated at Amherst College and Mount Allison University. In 1917, he married Jean F. MacDonald. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1940 as a Member of the coalition National Government to represent the riding of Cumberland. He was a member of the Special Committee on Reconstruction and Re-establishment, during the 19th Canadian parliament. He was re-elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1945 and again in 1949. Prior to his federal political experience, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia in 1925 as a Member of the Conservative Party of Nova Scotia to represent the electoral district of Cumberland County. He was appointed Nova Scotia's Minister of Highways. He died in Amherst at the age of 83.
Resen (Macedonian: Ресен) is a town in southwestern North Macedonia, with just under 9,000 inhabitants. Resen is approximately equidistant between Bitola and Ohrid. The town rises 880 metres (2,887 feet) above sea level and is situated near Lake Prespa. Resen is the only town in the Prespa Lake area and is the seat of Resen Municipality.
The name of the city in Macedonian is Resen (Ресен) and in Turkish Resne, while in Albanian it is known as Resnjë (definite form: Resnja). In Aromanian, it is Areshanj and in Greek Resinion, Ρησίνιον.
The ancient Illyrian city of Damastion (Δαμάστιον in Greek) may be near Resen. Resen's history dates back to Roman times when the famous road Via Egnatia was built, passing through the city.
During the Middle Ages, the Prespa area was part of the Macedonian Slavic kingdom under Samuil. After the Battle of Klyuch, some of Samuil's soldiers, who were each blinded in one eye, settled in a village on the shore of Lake Prespa. The Byzantines called the village Asamati. The Byzantine meaning of this word is "settlement of one-eyed people". From then on, Resen was under Byzantine rule.
Later, Resen became part of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire and Ottoman Empire, and it was the birthplace of Ahmed Niyazi Bey, an Albanian officer from a noble family of the town, who was one of the initiators and leaders of the Young Turk Revolution in the region in 1908. Ahmed Niyazi Bey's most famous monument in Resen is the Saraj, a French-style estate he built. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Resen was part of the Manastir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. During this time, Aromanians were the second most numerous group in Resen after Macedonians.
From 1929 to 1941, Resen was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
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Postmarks from Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 to 1992. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, founded in 1943 during World War II, was a federation made up of six socialist republics. From 1960 to 1980, the country was something of a regional power and an economic success story. This postmark collection covers the time period from 1955 to 1965.
Brookfield (2006 population - 2,067) is a Canadian rural community located in southern Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Brookfield is a growing community in the heart of Nova Scotia, just forty minutes from the provincial capital of Halifax, thirty minutes from the Stanfield International Airport and ten minutes from the Town of Truro.
The Brookfield Postal Way Office opened in 1852 - it became a Post Office - 1 April 1869.
Commemorates the bicentennial of the Stewiacke Valley, Nova Scotia 1780-1980.
/ BROOKFIELD, N.S. / N.-E. / STEWIACKE / VALLEY / 16. IX. 80 / VALLEE DE / STEWIACKE / 200 YEARS / 200 ANS / - Commemorative Bicentennial Postmark
There were also this same type of commemorative bicentennial postmarks issued from Upper Stewiacke and Brookfield.
The Stewiacke Valley is a Canadian rural region in central Nova Scotia running from western Pictou County through southern Colchester County to the Shubenacadie River.
The Stewiacke River flows through the length of the valley. The economy is primarily farming and lumbering. Nova Scotia Route 289 is the primary road running through the valley.
The Scioto River can be seen at the upper left. Downtown Columbus surrounds the Capitol grounds with the additional building (state offices) and park. I am pretty certain about the postmark date, but the “4” is partly obscured. The card is a “Genuine Curteich” linen finish postcard.
J. A. Edwards (James Albert Edwards)
General Merchant
Seton Lake, B.C. (corner card cover)
James Albert Edwards was the Postmaster at Seton Lake from - 1 January 1946 to ?.
Seton Portage is an historic rural community in British Columbia, Canada, that is about 25 km (16 mi) west of Lillooet, located between Seton Lake and Anderson Lake. "The Portage" was formed about 10,000 years ago when the flank of the Cayoosh Range, which is the south flank of the valley, let go and slid into the middle of what had been a single lake. There are two First Nations communities, comprising several individual Indian reserves of the Seton Lake First Nation, at either end of the Portage, with the intervening area and some of the Anderson Lake shoreline taken up by a small non-native recreational community, including a couple of orchards and small farms. There are two motels, a store, a provincial park campground and heritage site, and a pub.
The "Seton" name was chosen as a geographical name, related to nearby Seton Lake. The lake was named after Major Seton who was on the troop ship "Birkenhead" when it struck a rock and sunk on February 25th, 1852. There were insufficient lifeboats. Women and children were loaded into the lifeboats, while the crew "stood fast" at their posts. Once the boats were clear of the wreck, Captain Salmond ordered the men who could swim to jump into the sea and swim. However Major Seton recognized that rushing the lifeboats would risk swamping them and drew his sword and ordered the men to stand fast. The soldiers did not move, even as the ship broke up 20 minutes after hitting the rock. The disaster was the origin of the phrase "women and children first", which became the standard procedure in maritime disasters.
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia directory) - SETON LAKE - a post office and farming settlement between Seton and Anderson Lakes, 20 miles south of Lillooet on the P. G. E. Railway, in Lillooet Provincial Electoral District, Nearest telephone is at Short Portage. The population in 1918 was 70. Local resources: Farming and prospecting.
The Seton Lake Post Office was established - 1 May 1916 - it changed name to Seton Portage - 24 March 1952.
LINK to a list of the postmasters who served at the SETON LAKE Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...
- sent from - / SETON LAKE / MR 16 / 46 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-1) was proofed - 3 January 1916 - (RF D).
Cover sent to: Gordon & Belyea Limited / (101 Powell Street) / Vancouver, B.C.
Gordon & Belyea Limited Vancouver B.C. was a wholesale hardware and ship chandlery business. Link to a photo of this building - searcharchives.vancouver.ca/uploads/r/null/8/1/813353/040...
Postmarks from Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 to 1992. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, founded in 1943 during World War II, was a federation made up of six socialist republics. From 1960 to 1980, the country was something of a regional power and an economic success story. This postmark collection covers the time period from 1955 to 1965.
SEVNICA is a town on the left bank of the Sava River in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sevnica. It is one of the three major settlements in the Lower Sava Valley. The old town of Sevnica lies beneath Sevnica Castle, which is perched on top of Castle Hill, while the new part of town stretches along the plain among the hills up the Sava Valley, forming another town core at the confluence of the Sevnična and Sava rivers. The population in 2012 was 4,993.
Notable people that were born or lived in Sevnica include:
Melania Trump (born 1970), former model, First Lady of the United States (2017–2021)
1911 postmarked postcard view of DeMotte, Indiana. Demotte is located in Jasper County and this postcard is apparently a view of Lillie Street looking north. (Lillie Street was later renamed Halleck Street.) The photographer was probably standing in Lillie Street and facing northwest when this photograph was taken.
DeMotte was a busy place. The building near the left edge of this scene had DE MOTTE IND. POST OFFICE painted on the windows. The sign above the entrance next door advertised GOLD MEDAL FLOUR. There were milk cans on the two horse-drawn wagons in the foreground. The sender of this postcard identified himself only as “Marvin.” He and two other boys were sitting on one of the wagons. Several other boys and men were standing in front of the post office and the store next door.
The 1909 Jasper County atlas¹ shows the post office on the west side of Lillie Street. It was about midway between the C. I. & S. (Chicago, Indiana & Southern) Railroad line to the north and Walnut Street (Ninth Street today) to the south. This old post office location may have been across the street from the current post office.
A town history² included a newspaper photograph from 1906 that was similar to this postcard view. That history also included a pair of comments about the post office. The first, referring to the 1932-1933 period, said the Post Office was “on the west side of Lilly [sic] Street (Halleck St.).” The second comment referred to a disastrous downtown fire in 1936 that destroyed the “new post office” along with many nearby businesses. The following is a list of DeMotte postmasters and their appointment dates during the period when this postcard was produced.
Joseph L. Tyler 26 February 1901
Frank M. Hart 7 September 1905
William H. Wells 9 January 1909
John F. Watson 5 April 1912
The C. I. & S. Railroad was owned by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway and the Michigan Central Railroad, and they were part of the New York Central Railroad system. This C. I. & S. line ran between northcentral Illinois and South Bend, linking DeMotte to Kankakee, Momence, Shelby, Wheatfield, North Judson and other communities in northwest and northcentral Indiana. An October 1907 timetable³ listed three trains in each direction passing through DeMotte. There were junctions with other railroads nearby, including the Monon Route (Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway) that ran between Chicago and Louisville via Shelby.
The sender of this postcard wrote the following information on the reverse side of the postcard.
DeMotte, Jan 14/1911
Dear Charles:
This is a picture of town. X me, V Ed O Limon a boy neighbor.
Send my regards to Gussy & Ma. [check mark symbol] is the man I am staying with.
From Marvin.
Marvin addressed the postcard to Charles Christiansen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon reaching Milwaukee, the postcard was forwarded to Oconto Falls, Wisconsin.
1. Standard Atlas of Jasper County, Indiana (Chicago, IL: George L. Ogle & Co., 1909), page 27. Available online at www.historicmapworks.com/Atlas/US/11202/Jasper+County+1909/.
2. DeMotte Chamber of Commerce. DeMotte, Indiana History 1997. ( Available online at www.faithfabric.com/tbh/demotte/demotte_history_home.htm.
3. The Official Railway Guide: North American Freight Service Edition (New York: National Railway Publication Co., 1908). Available online at books.google.com/books?id=kLgbTCc-AOcC&printsec=front....
This image was created by Thomas Keesling from a postcard courtesy of the Indiana Postal History Society.
The full postcard image can be seen here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/32404673262/i...
Copyright 2005-2017 Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This creative JPG file package is an original compilation of materials and data. The package is unique, consisting of a wide variety of related and integrated components. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.
Postmarked Mar. 6, 1905.
This turn-of-the-century establishment is apparently gone and forgotten. I didn't find any mention of it on the internet. The advertising card is certainly in good taste -- a very stylish, old-world design. Wish I knew more about the place, especially the "Underground Railway" and "Subway Restaurant" stamped on the card.
2007 Christmas Island, Nova Scotia Commemorative Cancels (the green postmark was struck on the back). A Christmas wreath (3rd design / 46 mm) - issued in 1998, this marking was used each year until at least 2007 and possibly in 2008 as well.
Link to the "Canadian Philatelist" showing the first Christmas Island Pictorial Cancel from 1994 - designed by "Steven Slipp" - www.rpsc.org/CP_scans/Canadian%20Philatelist,%20Vol.%2045...
At Christmas Island, a small community in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, it’s all about the postmark. The Christmas Island post office is now famous for bringing a festive feel to holiday cards around the world with wreath postmarks that say “Christmas Island.”
Postmistress Hughena MacKinnon has been delivering holiday cheer with the stamp since 1994. Ms. MacKinnon forwards holiday letters around the world after postmarking them with the famous holiday stamp.
“They add a little extra holiday flair,” said Canada Post spokeswoman Anick Losier.
“The stamp has been altered for 2010,” said Ms. MacKinnon. “They’ve added some extra decoration to the wreath [on the stamp].”
She said that during the summer months the post office receives around 100 letters a day, yet during the holiday season that number escalates to around 1,000.
Mail is sent through the office — with postage enclosed — to be stamped and forwarded, by the postmistress, around the world. To have your holiday cards postmarked, send your addressed cards with proper postage in a larger envelope, and address to:
Christmas Island post office
8499 Grand Narrows Hwy
Christmas Island, N.S., B1T 1A0
Link to videos - N.S. post office gets thousands of letters from senders looking for Christmas stamp - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFUg6joeSgg
Christmas Island's postmark a coveted holiday mail stamp - www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2xwV8h6qw8
Link to an article - Unique postmark keeps N.S. post office busy during the holidays - www.ctvnews.ca/canada/unique-postmark-keeps-n-s-post-offi...
R-165R / S-186a / UNION STEAMSHIP CO. B. C. Ltd. / S. S. CAMOSUN / VANCOUVER, B.C. / Type 3D - Period 135 - (RF 170) - dateless oval handstamp / Topping 10-OMD (RF C).
this steamship handstamp was used from 1910 to 1918 / - blue ink - oval marking / Ludlow (#S-186a RF 360)
/ VANCOUVER / MID-SUMMER / FAIR / AUG.30-SEP.6 / 1913 / - slogan postmark - Coutts (#V-40b.) - RF $22.00.
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Camosun was a steamship built in 1904 in Paisley, Scotland which served in British Columbia. Camosun was the first passenger-freighter ship ordered by the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia. The vessel was intended to compete against the ships of two rival concerns, Princess Victoria of the Canadian Pacific, and Vadso and Venture of the Boscowitz Company. The ship had 54 first class berths and 120 deck bunks. The main first class cabins were located on the upper deck together with lounges fore and aft. Camosun became the flagship of the Union Steamship fleet, and was placed into service by the Union Steamship Company on July 4, 1905. The vessel had a license to carry 199 passengers on coastal voyages, and had a crew of 38. The initial route on which the vessel was placed ran from Vancouver to Stewart, British Columbia via Alert Bay, Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Port Essington, the Skeena River, Port Simpson and the Nass River. Prince Rupert did not then exist, and the ship anchored at a landing float at Stewart, as no wharf had yet been built there. In 1935 Camosun was sold for scrap.
- addressed to: Hatch Oil Engine Co. / Brooklyn / N.Y. / USA / 8th Ave and 18th St.
Keith's Engine "International Oil Engine Co." New York was established in 1906 and in 1910 became "American Oil Engine Co." In mid 1911 it became "Hatch Oil Engine Co."
Links to advertisement - www.oldmarineengine.com/discus/messages/1/267298.jpg
This postcard was sent from Minnesota, USA in December of 1907. The town on the postmark is unreadable...
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- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - SANDON, a post settlement in Kootenay District, B.C., and a station on the C.P.R. (Kaslo & Sandon branch).
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia directory) - SANDON - a post office and incorporated town at terminus of Nakusp-Sandon Branch of C.P. Railway, 41 miles southeast of Nakusp, in Slocan Provincial Electoral District. It is on the south fork of Carpenter Creek, and is an important mining and lumbering centre. Several rich silver-lead and zinc mines are in operation. Has Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches. The population in 1918 was 300.
Sandon was named after John Sandon, who discovered silver there in 1891 with Eli Carpenter, John Seaton, Bruce White and others. The Sandon Post Office was opened - 1 August 1895 and closed - 20 August 1962.
- transit - / SANDON / JAN 1 / 08 / B.C. / - cds transit - (RF C).
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- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - WHITEWATER, a post and mining settlement in Yale-Cariboo District, B.C., and a station on the Kaslo & Slocan Railway, 18 miles from Kaslo, and 12 miles from Sandon, the latter also on the C.P.R. (Nakusp and Slocan section). Besides the Whiteside Mines, there are in the vicinity the Whitewater Deep Mines, the Jackson Mine, the Wellington and other ore mines. It has general store, 1 hotel and 1 ore concentration mill and telegraph offices. The population in 1908 varied from 100 to 300, as the mines are or are not working.
In the meantime, the Kaslo and Slocan Railway completed its line and its first timetable, issued in September 1895, called the siding “Whitewater Creek or The Bells.” The creek was named after a mine located by J.C. Eaton in 1892. On Aug. 4, 1896, J. Warren Bell wrote to MP Hewitt Bostock, asking that a post office be opened at Whitewater, and suggesting an alternative reason why his father didn’t get the postmaster job: “About 12 months ago a requisition was sent to the department requesting my father James Bell be appointed postmaster at … ‘Bell’s Camp’ … Being unable to give it the necessary attention that the position requires he declined, and in consequence there has not been anyone appointed.” Having previously worked in the Nanaimo post office, Warren successfully applied for the position of postmaster himself. The Whitewater post office opened May 1, 1897. Thirteen days later The Kootenaian reported: “The townsite of Whitewater owned by Bell Bros. is being surveyed.” John Hamilton Gray did the work; his plan was dated June 10, 1898. Jim Bell met a tragic end when he burned to death in his cabin in 1903. His sons appear to have left the area by 1905. The post office closed in 1908. Meanwhile, Major John Ley Retallack (1863-1924) and his associates leased the Whitewater mine. After fire destroyed the camp in 1910, they purchased the property. The fire also burned bridges and show sheds on the Kaslo and Slocan Railway, putting it out of business. Retallack was secretary of a Kaslo syndicate that revived the line and leased it to the Canadian Pacific Railway. In recognition of his efforts, the siding at Whitewater was renamed in his honour. It was on the timetable by Sept. 27, 1914. According to Don Blake’s Valley of the Ghosts, Retallack “was such a prominent man for so many years and most of the freight coming up to Whitewater was for him and was addressed simply to Retallack.” Retallack was in the North West Mounted Police during the Riel Rebellion and came to the Kootenay in 1889, where he was prominent in mining, banking, and townsite promotion. He served on Kaslo city council and twice ran unsuccessfully for MLA. After returning from World War I, he was named BC’s first public utilities commissioner. The Retallack post office opened on May 16, 1928 — four years after its namesake’s death — although the name Whitewater continued to be used as well. A late example of the latter is in The Kootenaian of Jan. 13, 1927: “W.R. Winstead, of Whitewater, spent Tuesday in the city …” The post office closed in 1955 and the Whitewater mine ceased operations the following year. Today a couple of bunkhouses from the 1940s survive, probably the most noteworthy landmarks along Highway 31A. Only a few people live there, but the name is perpetuated in Retallack Lodge, a cat ski and mountain biking destination, whose lodge is on the original Whitewater townsite. Whitewater, of course, is better known today as a ski resort between Nelson and Ymir, named after another Whitewater Creek, which first appeared on George M. Dawson’s 1890 Reconnaissance Map of a Portion of the West Kootanie District. This article was written by - Greg Nesteroff for the Nelson Star newspaper.
The Whitewater post office opened - 1 May 1897 and closed - 15 January 1908.
Arrived at - / WHITEWATER / JAN 2 / 08 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer was not listed in the Proof Book - it was most likely proofed c. 1897 when the Post Office first opened - (RF E / now is RF D) - late strike. The postcard was then redirected to McGuigan.
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- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - McGUIGAN, a post office in Kootenay District, B.C., and a station on the Kaslo & Slocan Railway, 23 miles from Kaslo.
McGUIGAN - This stop on the Kaslo and Slocan Railway, also known as McGuigan Station and McGuigan Siding, was named for John George (Jack) McGuigan (1858-1901), one of the group who staked the Noble Five and other claims on Payne Mountain at the start of the Silvery Slocan rush. According to Don Blake in Valley of the Ghosts, “When the K&S put their line through to Sandon in 1895, they put a siding in at McGuigan Creek and called it McGuigan’s Siding, later dropping the S.” McGuigan appeared on the first K&S timetable, dated Nov. 25, 1895, and was also mentioned in the Victoria Daily Colonist of March 19, 1896: “On Wednesday a gang of snow shovelers on the K&S railway got up on the snow bank at McGuigan siding to allow the Sandon express to pass.” The name is no longer widely used, although McGuigan Creek — which appears on Perry’s Mining Map of 1893, remains on the books. The map also shows McGuigan Lake, first mentioned in the Ainsworth Hot Springs News of July 27, 1892: “A.S. Farwell is now surveying a townsite at McGuigan lake, close to the Washington.” (This obscure townsite was named for another member of the Noble Five. We’ll get to it later in this series.) McGuigan Lake isn’t an official name, however. Jack McGuigan hailed from Edwardsburg, Grenville County, Ont. Several of his siblings came west, including elder brother Thomas, who was also involved in early mining in the Slocan. Jack met a bitter end: in 1901 he fell from the fourth storey of the Imperial Hotel in Portland and fractured his skull. Although initially expected to recover, he died in hospital a week later. He’d gone to Oregon about a year and a half earlier to develop a gold property. His mother dedicated a window in his honour at St. Joseph’s church in Spokane. This article was written by - Greg Nesteroff for the Nelson Star newspaper.
An application for a post office at McGuigan was filed on Oct. 6, 1896. It opened May 1, 1897, closed in 1904, reopened in 1906, and closed again in 1910.
- redirected to - / McGUIGAN / JAN 4 / 08 / B.C. / - split ring arrival - this split ring hammer was not listed in the Proof Book - it was most likely proofed c. 1897 when the Post Office first opened - (RF E / now RF D).
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Postcard was sent by:
Roland Inselman
Birth - 16 August 1897 • Forest City, Meeker, Minnesota, USA
Death 17 June 1930 • Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
Roland Inselman signed the back of this postcard twice - these signatures match the signature on his 1918 US World War I Draft Registration card.
Roland writes on the back of the postcard - A Happy New Year - from Roland Inselman
and also he writes: If not received in 5 days returned to: Roland Inselman / RR#2 Watkins, Minnesota.
WATKINS, a city in section 2 in Forest Prairie Township, was named by officers of the Minneapolis and Pacific Railroad for an official of the railroad. It was incorporated as a village on May 2, 1893, and separated from the township on March 23, 1917; the post office began in 1887. The population was 962 at the 2010 census.
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The postcard was addressed to: Dan McIntosh / Whitewater / B.C. Canada and then redirected to McGuigan, B.C. Canada - I have seen another postcard addressed to DAN R. McINTOSH in Whitewater, B.C. (30 October 1907) from a family in Nova Scotia.
Daniel Roy McIntosh
Birthdate: March 21, 1881 in Nine Mile River, Hants County, Nova Scotia
Death: April 23, 1950 (age 69) in Chiiiwack, B.C. - his occupation in 1911 was a farmer. He arrived in British Columbia around 1905.
His wife: Annie May (nee Johnston) McIntosh
(b. 4 January 1891 in Killarney-Turtle Mountain, Manitoba, Canada - d. 7 January 1968 at age 77 in Chilliwack, British Columbia) - they were married - 4 October 1911 in East Chilliwack, B.C.)
Son of William McIntosh and Christy (nee McDonald) McIntosh
His daughter - Ethel Doreen (nee McIntosh) Bennett
Birthdate: June 11, 1914 in Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Death: August 23, 2005 (91) in Surrey, BC, Canada
His son - Kenneth Allen McIntosh
(b. February 9, 1924 – d. August 8, 2019) - Son of Annie May Johnston and Daniel Roy McIntosh. Never a truer Gentleman existed. Born in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Chilliwack, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father - LINK to his obituary - www.theprogress.com/obituaries/kenneth-allen-mcintosh/
received Jan. 19, 1900 - with a great looking knife illustration on it! I really dig old business stationary.
Date: Circa 1910
Source Type: Stereocard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: J. R. Melcher
Postmark: Not Applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: Handwritten faintly in pencil on the reverse of this stereocard is "Orofino, Idaho photograph."
This thresher was powered by two horses hitched to a lever arm that would turn a main gear. The main gear meshes with additional gears to turn a tumbling rod, which is similar to a drive shaft on an automobile. Typically, the tumbling rod would be connected directly to the gearing on the threshing machine and powered by four, six, or eight horses pulling on lever arms. However, since it appears that this was a two-horse threshing operation, the shaft was attached to a large belt wheel, thereby increasing the power transferred to the thresher.
Photographer John Root Melcher was born February 18, 1863, in Hocking County, Ohio, the son of Henry and Sophrona (Root) Melcher. Melcher would move to Edgerton, Hanson County, South Dakota, and work as a photographer in that area. In the late 1890s, John and his family were living in Iowa. The family would remove to Washington in the early 1900s and then to Peck, Nez Perce County, Idaho, by 1910.
John R. Melcher appears in the 1910 federal census of Peck, Idaho, residing with his wife Harriet May (Hickey) Melcher, and their seven children; namely, Winona (age 17), Joy (age 13), Cleo (age 12), Bernice (age 10), Carmel (age 8), Gladys (age 4), and Glee (age 9 months). In Peck, John was still earning a living as a photographer.
John R. Melcher passed away on December 18, 1925, in Seattle, King County, Washington. He is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Seattle.
Copyright 2016. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.
TUNNEL No. 2 AND BRIDGE No. 19 BELOW LEWISTON-GRANGEVILLE LINE.
Date: Circa 1912
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Lillian M. Bell
Postmark: None
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: Two Camas Prairie Railroad trestles located in Lapwai Canyon, Lewis County, Idaho, are visible in this postcard image. This section is referred to as the second subdivision of the Camas Prairie Railroad line. The trestles are located between Nucrag, Idaho, and Reubens, Idaho.
This photograph was taken facing northeast. Immediately beyond Tunnel No.2, but not visible, would be Tunnel No. 3 as the railbed descends into Lapwai Canyon. If one were to walk uphill on the left side of the track seen here, then they would come across the railbed at the top of the canyon rim.
The track laid through this canyon is considered one of the major engineering feats of North American railroads. Seven tunnels are located in the canyon, including horseshoe shaped tunnels (Tunnel Nos. 1 and 5) that turn back on themselves so that trains could continue their climb or descent within the tunnel itself.
Information Source:
Riegger, Hal. 1986. The Camas Prairie Railroad. Edmonds, Washington: Pacific Fast Mail. 159 p.
Copyright 2016. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.
A scarce Railway Postmark...
You can see this postcard in - Maple Leaves / Journal of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain - from 2007 - Fig 46 - Page 117 - www.canadianpsgb.org.uk/mpl/mpl-2007-03-v030n03-w305.pdf
END OF TRACK AND PRINCE RUPERT RAILWAY POST OFFICE - A brief history of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway sees its starts in 1903 when Canada's oldest railway, the Grand Trunk, announced plans to extend its line to the Pacific Coast. In 1905 construction began from Winnipeg and the various sections were opened for traffic as completed. By August 13 of 1909 the first train entered Edmonton with daily service coming the next year. Wolf Creek, near Edson, was reached in 1910 to complete the prairie section. Railroad building in British Columbia was another matter with part of the roadbed more rugged than any other in North America. It was in 1909 that final arrangements with the McBride Government in B.C. were made for the terminus at Prince Rupert. Construction started here in that year to meet the line coming from the east. The 100 miles east from Prince Rupert was completed the next year but the Skeena and Bulkley River Canyons, involving rock cuts, tunnels and bridges, held construction back and it was not until 1913 that the line reached Telkwa. The rails were joined on April 7, 1914 at Finmoore, 35 miles west of Prince George, which was exactly half way between Prince Rupert and Wolf Creek. Railway Post Offices were in operation at the "end of steel" as the lines progressed. Three different designations were used on the Grand Trunk Pacific in Alberta and. British Columbia:
1) GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC WEST OF WAINWRIGHT
2) END OF STEEL GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC WEST BRITISH COLUMBIA
3) END OF TRACK AND PRINCE RUPERT
These construction Railway Post Offices were part of the 'End of Steel Villages' and advanced with the railheads. As soon as the line was completed a regular R. P.O. was usually established. In the case of the G.T.P. and B.C. there was the Edmonton and Prince George, and the Prince George and Prince Rupert Railway Post Offices. Service of the R.P.O.'s on this line terminated in June of 1955.
A regular post office is proposed for the western extremity of the track of the Railway; the office will move as the track extends westward. This railway post office becomes known variously as "Western Terminus," "End of Steel," or "End of Track." With the completion of the G.T.R. Railway and the driving of the last spike, the "End of Steel" railway post office shuts down.
This postcard, addressed to Guelph, Ontario was probably posted on a train travelling westbound near Prince Rupert, B.C. where it was cancelled - / END OF STEEL G.T.P. WEST / AP 10 / 13 / B.C / - split ring cancel - unknown when this hammer was proofed. (RR-42 / RF 500) - this hammer was in use from 1912 to 1914. (Grand Trunk Pacific Railway - reporting mark GTP)
From the - "The Daily Colonist (1913-08-31)" - PRINCE RUPERT, B. C, August 30. 1913 - Forty-eight members of the International Geological Congress arrived at 10:36 a. m. on the steamer Princess Maquinna and were given an Informal welcome by the city. Sixteen took the special train for the "End of Steel" and will return tomorrow night. The remainder are taking motor car rides about the city, and leave for Granby tonight.
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (reporting mark GTP) was a historical Canadian transcontinental railway running from Winnipeg to the Pacific coast at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), running across northern Ontario and Quebec, crossing the St. Lawrence River at Quebec City and ending at Moncton, New Brunswick. The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) managed and operated the entire line. Largely constructed 1907-14, the GTPR operated 1914-19, prior to nationalization as the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Despite poor decision-making by the various levels of government and the railway management, the GTPR facilitated huge social benefits in the form of local employment opportunities, a telegraph service, and freight, passenger and mail transportation. To secure concessions from the BC provincial government, eastward construction from the Pacific Coast began in 1907. The last spike ceremony, heralding completion of the rail line across the prairies, through the Canadian Rockies, and to the newly constructed seaport at Prince Rupert, was held one mile east of Fort Fraser, British Columbia on April 7, 1914.
Railway Construction on the E. D. & B.C. Railway - by George Robinson - I came to the Peace River country on railroad construction and arrived at the "End of Steel" on the E.D. & B.C. Railway in early June 1915. This was somewhere in the vicinity of Culp and it may have been the Culp siding where we unloaded the outfit. Culp, by the way, was named for Joe Culp, a conductor on the E.D. & B.C. in those days, it is, and was, located some few miles from the top of the Smoky River banks. Our contract was across the Smoky and a couple of miles up the hill from where the bridge was to be built. Quigley & McPherson built this bridge during the summer of 1915 and the following winter and it was completed in May or June 1916. Link to the rest of this article - calverley.ca/article/03-009-railway-construction-on-the-e...
sent from - / END OF STEEL G.T.P. WEST / AP 10 / 13 / B.C / - split ring RPO cancel - this split ring hammer was not listed in the Proof Book - it was in used from 1912 to 1914. Ludlow RR-42 / RF 500.
Message on postcard reads: Dear Ethel :- Your letters have come regular & you will be thinking its nearly time for me to write, but we have been so busy getting in freight that I never seemed to get time. Will try & write you a good long letter soon. The winter is still on here yet. Winshing (?) you lots of ????? tomorrow. Colin
Addressed to / correspondence to : Miss Ethel Simpson / 345 Woolwich Street / Guelph, Ontario
The Liverpool Post Office opened in 1802. The population in 2011 was 2,653.
/ LIVERPOOL, / 31 / V / 1966 / N.S. /
/ LIVERPOOL, / 3 / IX / 1966 / N.S. /
- large MOOD cds cancel - approximately 33.0 mm in diameter - appears to be a rubber hammer - unknown when proofed - although most likely was proofed c. 1950's. The measurement on the diameter is sometimes not very accurate because the measurements could vary due to a heavy strike, or a strike made at an angle or even the type of ink used - could cause the rubber on the handstamp to expand.
It is a device which are known as "MOOD" (Money Order Office Datestamp / Device), which were first issued In Canada in 1927 and distinct looking round rubber CDS cancels of about 24 mm diameter (sometimes with ornaments). The definition of these cancels has come to include all circular rubber hammers under about 30mm diameter that were issued before 1973.
MOOD cancels are usually seen in various colours, not often in black. MOODs were used concurrently during the period 1928 - 1945, with the majority seen in the 1930's. Almost all MOOD's have a comma after the town name, and this helps to differentiate them from other postmark styles.
These devices were issued to post offices in order to date stamp money order and registration receipts as well as official mail. They were occasionally used for postmarking regular mail, but this use was not officially authorized.
Koksilah is 27 miles (43.5 km) north from Victoria on the Trans Canada Island Highway #1. There are many reasons for the name. One is a native was found hanging on a tree about half a mile from the Koksilah railway station. The translation of the name means suicide. Another meaning is a place where hunters with their dogs met in the early days before going hunting. There are many other given names but there is much uncertainty as to the proper translation.
First Settlers: Probably the first white men to set foot in the Koksilah area were the surveyors sent from the government in Fort Victoria, and the representatives of the Hudson's Bay Co. The first settlers to arrive on a steamer at Cowichan Bay was in 1862. At that time there were already people living there. John Nelson from Sweden was one of the first to meet the steamer when it arrived with his fresh produce from his farm. Mrs Nelson later bought a house in Koksilah in 1910. The settlers bought property at one dollar an acre. Some of the oldest families from Koksilah area were the Corefields, Dodds, McLays, Croziers, and Boles. Robert McLay and his son Robert McLay Junior were contractors and built the Koksilah school house as well as other buildings in the area.
After the building of the railroad in 1886, many settlers came and the area flourished. Mr. James Boal Sr. built the Koksilah Hotel opposite the train station. Mr. John Ferneyhough later bought the hotel, and Mrs Ferneyhough operated the post office on the covered porch of the hotel. The hotel held 10 bedrooms including high class meals.
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - KOKSILAH - a post office and farming settlement on Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway, 39 miles north of Victoria, and 2 miles from Duncan, in Cowichan Provincial Electoral District.
The Post Office at Koksilah was established - 1 January 1887.
/ KOKSILAH / JA 18 / 09 / B.C. / - split ring arrival - this spit ring hammer was proofed - 9 March 1887 - (RF B).
Message on postcard reads - January 17, 1909 - Dear Sister - thanks for the PC - glad to hear that you are all well - Ella Calvashy was up last Monday to see how you was not to Church to practice and Ma and Pa say you have to come home - love to all I remain your loving brother Richard.
Postcard was addressed to: Miss Ada Freethy / Koksilah Hotel / Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway / B.C.
Ada "Freethy" Gardom
Birth - 26 Dec 1883 in Yorkshire, England
Death - 27 Jan 1986 (aged 102) in Kelowna, British Columbia
Burial - Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Her Husband - Laurance Gardom
Birth - 1 Oct 1879 in Bude, Cornwall, England
Death - 17 Mar 1931 (aged 51) in Victoria, B.C.
Burial - Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, B.C.
Her parents - (father) - Richard Freethy (b. 5 August 1850 in Perran Downs, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall, England - d. 4 June 1932 in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
- from "1909 Waugh Directory of Vancouver Island" - Richard Freethy, is an employee of the Nanaimo Electric Light, Power & Heating Company, his home is on 403 Milton Street, near Franklyn Street in Nanaimo, B.C..
(mother) - Mary "Eustice" Freethy (b. 5 June 1850, St. Erth, Cornwall, England - d. 2 December 1940 Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia)
(brother) - Richard Henry Freethy (b. 24 Oct 1878 - d. 16 Jan 1931 in Nanaimo, B.C.)
The family immigrated to Canada from England (father) c. 1887 and the rest of the family c. 1891.
The Nanaimo Electric Light, Power and Heating Company operated a coal-powered electric plant in Nanaimo built in 1888, primarily for lighting streets and homes. In 1904, the company, then owned in Victoria, built a hydro-electric plant and dam on the Millstone River. In 1907, No. 2 dam was built at Westwood Lake. The company was sold in 1926 to the International Utilities Corporation. William Lewis started as bookkeeper and collector for the company in 1897, and was manager of the Nanaimo operations until 1931.
1911 postmarked postcard view of Lakeville, Indiana. This view was looking south on Michigan Street and shows a two-story wood frame building on the left with a POST OFFICE sign. The 1911 St. Joseph County atlas¹ shows the Lakeville Post Office on the northeast corner at the Second Street intersection. (That street is identified as East Washington Street today.) The sign painted on the display window to the right of the entrance advertises _____ MOORE HARDWARE [and] COAL. The postcard owner found that the Moore brothers opened a hardware store in Lakeville in 1894. A decade later, Alex Moore was identified as the coal and hardware business owner.
In this scene, a young girl sat on a crude bench in front of the store. The two signs leaning against the building on either side of the entrance advertised LOWE BROTHERS PAINT. The Lowe Brothers Company was founded in Dayton, Ohio and was later bought by the Sherwin-Williams Company. The partial sign pasted on the post in the foreground advertised SYRUP OF FIGS, a common laxative product.
The single-story wood frame building south of the hardware store advertised A. O. VANLIEW. DEALER IN DRUGS & HARDWARE. A 1910 Van Liew family history identified the druggist as Alpheus O. Van Liew. He was also listed in a 1905 directory of druggists.² A genealogy website says he died in August, 1906. If the man posing in front of that store was Mr. Van Liew, then the photograph was taken earlier in 1906 or perhaps 1905.
The sign on the small building beyond the Van Liew store advertised DR. HOW. A report³ issued in 1904 listed John T. How as a physician in Lakeville. He had received his license to practice in St. Joseph County in 1902 after graduating in 1897 from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Chicago.
None of the signs posted on the utility pole in front of the doctor’s office are clear enough to read. A sign on the small structure beyond Dr. How’s office appears to include the word FEED.
Typically, the store owner where the post office was located served as the community’s postmaster, but the list of postmasters for this period does not include anyone with the Moore name. The following were the Lakeville postmasters during this period:
1893 Douglas Rush
1897 Charles W. Moon
1908 Frank A. Barkley
Postmaster Moon owned a building across the street where he ran the C. W. Moon & Son general store, and operated the post office. His building was next to the building commonly known as the Rensberger General Store. The Moon building was destroyed by fire, but the Rensberger building is still in use today. Mr. Moon was postmaster from 1897 until December of 1902, when he filed for bankruptcy. The sheriff closed the Moon store and Deputy Sheriff Frank Barkley was placed in charge of the post office. The records don’t indicate if the deputy sheriff was the same Frank A. Barkley that became postmaster in 1908, nor do the records indicate when the post office was moved across the street to the location shown in this postcard scene. If the gentleman standing in the background in this scene is Mr. Van Liew, then the post office was moved across the street from the Moon building long before Mr. Barkley was appointed postmaster. It is possible the post office was moved out of the Moon building shortly after that building was closed by the sheriff at the end of 1902. Mr. Barkley may have been acting as postmaster from that time until his official appointment in 1908, or Mr. Moon may have resumed his duties as postmaster in the new location while the bankruptcy was being adjudicated and for the years following. We have not yet found information to explain the situation during this period. Mr. Moon was 62 at the time of the bankruptcy filing.
When this photograph was taken, Michigan Street made a sharp turn to the west at the south edge of town. The house at that corner in this scene is shown on the 1911 plat map. That property belonged to F. E. Van Liew.
1. Standard Atlas of St. Joseph County Indiana Including a Plat Book (Chicago, IL: George A. Ogle & Co., 1911) page 83. Available online at www.historicmapworks.com/Atlas/US/7719/St.+Joseph+County+....
2. The Era Druggists Directory, Eleventh Edition (New York, NY: D. O. Haynes & Co., 1905). Available online at books.google.com/books?id=bantAAAAMAAJ&printsec=front....
3. Indiana State Board of Medical Registration and Examination, The Sixth Annual Report (Indianapolis, IN: William B. Burford, 1904). Available online at books.google.com/books?id=yk1JCeJJsPAC&printsec=front....
From a private collection.
The full postcard image can be seen here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/26024994576/i...
Copyright 2007-2016 by Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This image is part of a creative package that includes the associated text, geodata and/or other information. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - OTTER POINT, a post settlement in Nanaimo District, Island of Vancouver, B.C., southwest of Sooke, which it adjoins, and 30 miles from Victoria. It is situated on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and has a telegraph office, and a population of 45 in 1908, who chiefly lived by trapping salmon off the coast.
(from 1918 - Wrigley's British Columbia directory) - OTTER POINT - a post office, farming and logging settlement on southwest coast of Vancouver Island, in Esquimalt Provincial Electoral District, 30 miles west of Victoria and 23 miles from Goldstream, which is the nearest E. & N. Railway point. Has telegraph office. The population in 1918 was 50.
Anderson William Henry farming
Clark Alfred farming
Dods Alfred farming
Dods Henry farming
Gordon Mrs Kate farming Government telegraph agent and postmistress
Kirby Austin logging
Kirby Ralph logging
Tindell Eric logging operator
Vogel & Gordon logging operators
Otter Point, in the north of Discovery
Passage, 22 miles north of Campbell
River.
Scarf Post Office & Store - Otter Point once had two post offices. The first was in the farm house of Ted and Kitty Gordon; later, between 1911 and 1917, another was in a building located across the road from Scarf House. The post office building is long gone but in its day, was operated by Oscar Scarf who bought Scarf House in the 1890s. Oscar Scarf had a store in the same building as the post office. His was not the only business in the area though; there were also two traveling or “peddler” stores operated by the Olsen and Ness families. These were covered wagon affairs with a canvas top, and they supplied dry goods and trinkets to the local homesteads. The Ness family lived on the south side of Otter Point Road, near present-day Sellars Road – the location now remembered as Ness’s Hill, on Otter Point Road, as you approach the Otter Point boundary from Sooke.
Link to the complete history of Otter Point - www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/jdf-pdf/otter-point-his...
Link to - Seeking the oral history of Otter Point - www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/seeking-the-oral-history-of-...
The Post Office at Otter Point was established - 1 October 1886 and closed - 31 December 1920.
/ OTTER • POINT / AP 9 / 09 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer was proofed - 9 November 1886.
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Message on postcard to her friend reads: Dearest Eric, I hope you have quite got over the exams by now & also that you didn't forget to get 9 's shoes as I am going to meet Oliver at Melly ....Ed and I then take them down & get the black suits to put them on - Guess you have heard by now that I have had a dose of grippe this last week, but I am ok now & out of air & my cold in nearly all gone too. Loving you - Kathleen
Addressed to: Eric H. Gordon / 814 View Street / Victoria, B.C.