Creemore post office was a gathering place with more than mail

When I left you a month ago, dear readers, I said, “Creemore needs a new postmaster.” Creemore hadn’t needed one for a very long time. The Gillespie family had filled that role for 70 years. Appointed postmaster was Cecil Hayward and his assistant was Miss Grace Lemmon.

Creemore needed a new post office as well. The Gillespie building was no longer available. The place that was chosen was the Hisey office, now the location of the 100 Mile Store on Mill Street. The office had been built to house the very busy Sam and Jake Hisey business. Sam had moved on to Toronto to run a buying and selling potato business. Jake, probably overworked, died in 1926. The entire business had been sold and the office was no longer needed.

Renovations had to be done. A partition was put across the room approximately half way giving a roomy lobby. The partition consisted mainly of glass fronted mail boxes.  Two wickets, one on either side, were in the wall. If we weren’t picking up mail from a mailbox we went to a wicket to do our business. Now, to digress. The mail came into Creemore six days a week by train. The northbound train came at 12:30 p.m. and the southbound train at 4 p.m. If on time, of course. A local man pulled a wagon up to the door of the baggage/mail car. The outgoing mail bag was loaded and the incoming mail bags were tossed out. The wagon was taken to the post office. The wickets were closed while the mail was being sorted.

The baggage/mail car on the train was a sort of moving post  office. A postman on board sorted mail as the train was moving. A letter posted in Creemore for Collingwood might be delivered that very afternoon to the person in Collingwood. An added convenience on the mail car was a mail slot. People could write a letter minutes before train time, dash to the station with it and shove it in the slot, feeling assured that it would arrive at its destination that day.

Now, we go back to the post office. As you are aware, there was no Amazon or internet ordering. Charge cards or cheques were not used for payment of items ordered. Money orders available at the post office were the method of payment. Most often items ordered were from Eatons or Simpsons stores in Toronto. The person ordering went to one of the wickets in the post office and requested a mail order for a certain amount. Mr. Hayward or Miss Lemmon filled out a form, accepted payment and handed the customer the form which was included in the envelope with the order.

As in today’s post office world, stamps were sold, parcels and envelopes were weighed and advice was given. My favourite memory of this post office comes from my high school days in Creemore.

Although it may seem strange to today’s students, we anticipated the arrival of the new issue of the Creemore Star on Fridays with a great deal of interest. My friend, Ann Russell, and I would wait in the post  office lobby until the mail was sorted. The lobby would be filled with Creemorites, eager to collect their mail, but having a good time gossiping and laughing while waiting.  Finally the wickets opened. Ann would ask for the Russell mail and  triumphant, we would race back to the school hoping to have time to read the paper before the bell went for classes.

A Glimpse of Creemore’s Past pays tribute to Mr. Hayward and Miss Lemmon. Cecil Hayward “served for 21 years until he was forced to retire. He was  a cheerful, efficient, courteous public servant and served the community well. Miss Lemmon was appointed Postmistress and served with the same level of efficiency that the public had learned to expect.”