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The Huron Expositor • December 9, 2009 Page 19
•
Seaforth's post office celebrates its 125th anniversary
Susan Hundertmark
411111111/1111111.
When Seaforth's postmaster Jane
Smale joined the post office 36
years ago, she remembers mounds
and mounds of mail coming in each
Christmas season requiring extra
work for four to six weeks to ensure
it was all delivered on time.
"It was so overwhelming. We don't
get near to that extent now," she
says.
And, that's just one of the memo-
ries shared last week as the Seaforth
post office celebrated its 150th anni-
versary.
Officially opened on Dec. 1, 1859 at
a location that is now\ unknown, the
Seaforth post office was located at
the corner of Main Street and John
Street in the James Dickson Block in
1863 where it operated six years be-
fore moving to the Samuel Dickson
Block, just south of Main Street and
Market Street.
In 1911, construction began on the
present building where the Seaforth
post office has been located since
1913.
Cheryl James, manager for Wood-
stock operations
on Canada Post,
says the Seaforth
post office is one
of very few in On-
tario where the
post office build-
ing is owned by
the community.
"We just love
being a tenant
at this site," she
says, of the build-
ing which is now
owned by the
Seaforth Com-
munity Develop-
ment Trust.
A history of the
Seaforth . post
office says the
building is a cor-
nerstone of the
designated his-
torical district of
Seaforth's Main
Street, with a
"striking facade
and use of white
stones which
complement the
other historical
buildings, spe-
cifically Cardno
Hall and Sea -
forth Town Hall."
While mail
was delivered by
stage coach in the late 1800's, trains
and horse-drawn wagons were used
as the century turned and then
trucks, cars and planes took over by
the middle of the century.
While 11 postmasters have served
the Seaforth post office, with Ruth
Cluff and Helen MacKenzie serving
as acting postmasters, only two were
available to attend the 150th anni-
versary celebrations at the post of-
fice.
Clarence (Casey) Holmes, who
served as Seaforth postmaster from
1982 to 1991, and lives in Mitchell
says he enjoyed his time in Sea -
forth.
"I enjoyed the staff here and the
people of Seaforth," he says.
Helen MacKenzie, who retired in
1984, says people still stop her on
the street and tell her they remem-
ber her working at the Seaforth post
office.
"I always enjoyed meeting the peo-
ple," she says.
One of the highlights for her was
the Christmas parties former post-
master Orville Oke, who served as
postmaster from 1961 to 1979, used
to host.
"We had a big meal and we all got
together," she says.
Smale, who was hired by Oke, re-
members his parties too.
"Orville always wanted a party. He
was great at organizing them," she
says.
Pondering the
changes that have
happened over the
years at the post
office, Smale says
computers and
high speed credit
cards have made
the job much easi-
er.
"When I started,
we didn't even
have cash reg-
isters. We just
wrote it all down,"
she says.
But, while the
Internet and e-
mail have de-
creased the
volume of mail
coming through
Canada Post,
Smale says receiv-
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