This registered letter was posted by W. H. Thurston of Flesherton, Ontario and addressed to Architect Charles Knechtel at 51 Courtland Avenue, Waterloo, Ontario. Charles Knectel was a well-known Kitchener architect having learned his skills from his father. He practiced his architectural skills from 1886 until the 1930s. (For more information on Knechtel see http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/223 )
- It was posted at FLESHERTON / ONT. / MR 24 / 30, and picked up by the
- Mail contractor and taken to the railway station at Ceylon, a distance of 1¾ miles. Here it was placed on . . .
- TORONTO & OWEN SOUND R.P.O Nº 4 / 707 / MR 24 / 30, a Canadian Pacific train from Toronto to Owen Sound.
- At Owen Sound it was received at the CPR Station and transferred by contractor (1 mile) to the
- Post Office, OWEN SOUND / ONT. / MR 24 / 30, and thereafter
- it was transferred to the CNR Station on the other side of the harbour (½ mile) and placed on the
- TOR.STRAT.&LON. R.P.O / 168 / MR 25 / 30 to depart the next morning for Stratford and hence to
- WATERLOO / ONT. / AM / MR 25 / 30 . . . oops! The letter was addressed in error to Waterloo when it should have gone to Kitchener. Ah! Not a problem for it arrived in the afternoon
- at KITCHENER / ONT. / PM / MR 25 / 30 !
That was in 1930. 90 years later, and I think we would challenge our “couriers” to deliver this same letter in that same time-frame! The amazing thing is the amount of handling that letter received and to still make it in good time. So much for progress and automation. Post by Gus K