Adventures of a Rural Mail Carrier.
“Had lots of adventures on the roads over the years.”
Written by Mary Lee Burhoe…
Memories of a Rural Mail Driver…
SABLE RIVER, SHELBURNE COUNTY, NOVA SCOTIA.
Remembering the days of Kitchen Post Offices and roped canvas mail bags to Now — the Postal Outlets and High Tech Scanners & Lettertainers instead of canvas bags.
As a 4 year old girl, I used to ride in the back seat of the mail car, which was driven by my Mother. And my Grandmother would be in the front passenger seat.
The back seat would be full of big canvas bags full of letters and parcels. I would be surrounded by them.
At that time, people ordered their items from Eaton’s, Canadian Tire & Simpson’s Sears catalogues.
Back then, the mail got delivered 6 days a week.
We would go to the Sable River Canadian National Railways station which was located down a road opposite the old Stan Giffin property, where Stan ran a Kitchen Post Office out of his home (303 Highway #3).
CNR Locomotive 2629 Yarmouth-Halifax Line circa 1960. It arrived in Sable River 9:10 AM, with a brief stopover before moving on to Allendale, Lockeport & Shelburne.
As I was little, I remember being cautioned about not getting too close to the train.
There was no worry of that. I remember hearing the roar of the train coming into the station and the loud whistle. As the train came closer, I would keep backing up to the station.
I would be well back when the brakes went on and the big puff of steam came out.
The locomotives still burnt coal back then but they were beginning to switch over to diesel engines.
The conductor would be in uniform and wearing bright white gloves. About what seemed like only 10 minutes later, the conductor would holler “all aboard!” People knew they had to get right to the train and board or they would be left behind. It was soon headed to Allendale and Lockeport.
The rural mail at that time was sorted on the moving train…
In a RPO (Railway Post Office) sortation car — which made it efficient. If you mailed a letter from Sable to Halifax, it would get there that night and out for delivery the next day.
At the Louis Head Post Office, there was an elderly gentleman who would hitch a ride to the station. He would be going to Shelburne. He would always be carrying a heavy brown paper shopping bag with twine handles. The bags would make a cling-clang sound, a noise of glass bottles.
My Mother would ask him, “Tom, you don’t have any alcohol in that bag do you, because I am not allowed to take alcohol in this car — opened or not.”
Old man says “Tsk tsk, hell. A couple cans of corn and a couple of cans of beans. Women, that’s why I never had one.”
This gentleman was staying with friends for the winter. One night they had people over to play cards. The man got ready for bed. He held up a hot water bottle that was wrapped in a towel and said, “Tsk tsk, hell. I take one of these to bed with me — can’t get into trouble with one of these.” He was witty.
One time he had a letter he had written to a catalogue company. He handed it to my Mother & said, “There, mail that one for me – every time I order something in there, they say they don’t have any. So I tore off the front & back cover and told them that when they get something between these two damn covers, write & let me know.”
The Way We Were…
“At that time, people ordered their items from Eaton’s, Canadian Tire & Simpson’s Sears catalogues.” We sure loved getting those Christmas wish books!
Also back in the day, the mail had priority over almost everything else. If a road wasn’t plowed you could call Canada Post Transportation Dept in Halifax — they would call the Department of Highways (as it was known then) in Shelburne. They would come out right away and plow and get you through so the mail could get delivered.
There was a wash-out one time up in West Sable — same place that floods now sometimes, but it was a dirt road then. My Mother couldn’t get through. She called Halifax and they called the Shelburne Highways Dept and they sent men out to shovel gravel and lay down boards for her to drive over to get across. I was scared about going over those little narrow boards.
Canada Post mail delivery was the only way for people to get their cheques, parcels and letters. These days of course there are other alternatives for parcels & letters and cheques get deposited. “If the road isn’t plowed,” they will say, “if you can’t get through the road — stay safe and return the mail to the Post Office. It’s a Health & Safety issue.”
On The Road Again…
When we left the train station, we would make our 1st stop — the Giffin’s local Post Office right there in Sable River.
After my Mother unloaded several mail bags there, we went on to West Sable (as it was known then — not West “Middle” Sable). The Postmistress there was Mrs Mimi Thompson, in her house opposite the old Bangay property — 653 W S RD.
Next was the Louis Head Post Office at the house of Mrs. Maggie Swim — what is known as The Blue House now. Mrs. Maggie always seemed to have a fresh orange for me.
We travelled on to Little Harbour Office — known as Swansburg’s Post Office — where Grammie Fanny and her daughter-in-law Florence Swansburg, ran the Post Office.
Every small Community Kitchen Post Office had its own Postmark. Here’s a sample of the postmark for Arnold, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.
We left there and went to Arnold’s PO which was run by Mrs. Roby (Roberta Harding).
Mrs. Roby and I shared birth dates.
She had several cows and used to make homemade butter with her own butter print. She would take a 5 gallon kettle full of pounds of butter to Laing’s Store in Lockeport and use the value of her butter toward other groceries. I remember her churning the butter — she worked hard.
When they closed her office on September 30th, 1967, she went on the route with my Mother, which she enjoyed.
When we left Mrs. Robie’s, I actually could see out of the car windows — fewer mail bags.
We travelled along further to Rockland Post Office where my Aunt Shirley (Wolfe) was the Postmistress.
Further down the road was the little community of East Side of Ragged Island (as it was known then) where the Postmistress was Mrs Margaret Hupman.
All of these Post Offices were in homes — known as Kitchen Post Offices. One by one those home-based offices were closed down and replaced by individual roadside boxes and big green community mail boxes.
It’s A New Day…
When my mother retired, Canada Post transferred the contract to me.
I was diagnosed with chronic asthma in 1984, so it turned out that delivering rural mail out in the fresh air with the windows cranked down was the finest kind of job. The “finest kind” for many reasons.
In 2003, we became employees (instead of just private contractors). And joined the CUPW (Canadian Union of Postal Workers), of which I became a Local President for several years. It was a very rewarding experience. I suggest that any employee, including new ones, get involved with your union.
As employees, we were now called Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs).
Back before postal codes, you knew people & even their pets by name — because some pets got Christmas cards. Back then customers were known by their names and not by civic numbers. Not that civic addressing hasn’t been an improvement, but it has made mail delivery less personal.
Times changed. Used to be Cheque Days were the most important: big bundles of Old Age Pension, Family Allowance and eventually GST Rebate Cheques. Now it’s dozens of parcels (mostly Amazon) sorted and scanned with digital mobile devices known as Personal Data Terminals (PDTs). Although some things haven’t changed — today it’s Amazon, back in the day it was dozens of Eaton’s parcels.
Adventures of a Rural Mail Carrier
Had lots of adventures on the roads over the years.
Like opening box covers and finding men’s underwear (a woman had put them in for her “neighbour”), buzzing wasp nests and a crazed red squirrel jumping in the car widow and peeing on the dash. As well as goodies left by customers like bottles of wine, delicious home baking and fresh garden vegetables — not to mention Christmas items.
The squirrel story.
This squirrel ran out of the mailbox and sat right up on the dash and looked me in the face. I screamed and when he ran out, he left that puddle on the dash of the car.
When I saw the box holder several days later I said, “Frank, you had some interesting out-going mail the other day, but it didn’t have any postage on it so I couldn’t take it.” When he asked what it was, I said it was a squirrel. He laughed and he said there was a hole in the bottom of the box.
A deer story. One day a deer thought he would try to hitch a ride. He literally came right up out of the ditch and his hoof landed on the hood of my car. It pitch-poled upside down & went into the ditch.
I couldn’t look — my son Greg was with me that day, so I asked him to tell me if the deer got up. He said after a couple of minutes, yes, he is getting up, shook its head & walked off.
Well it was hunting season & I was afraid for the deer. Dana Hicks lived in Sable then — he worked for Lands & Forest, so I called him & asked him if he could check it out. He called me back later and said that he checked the tracks — no dragging hooves and no blood so he was ok. I was relieved and thanked him for his help.
There was always a dent of a hoof mark in the hood of my car.
April 5, 2005. “…as the mail driver, with noisy muffler, passes by.” Every Spring: new ball joints, struts, muffler, etc. At our own expense. But my deer-dented Intrepid got me there. And the fresh air was invigorating. Loved it all!
I retired in December, 2021, after 37 years of driving the Rural Mail for Canada Post. But as you can see, I grew up on the rural mail.
I have seen lots of changes. From the steam train pulling into the CN station, with canvas mail bags tied with rope being dropped off to kitchen Post Offices — to Highway Service mail trucks with lettertainers (plastic totes) and high tech electronic scanners.
It’s been an interesting ride! With a lot more stories to tell…
UPDATE:
“Yes, we’ve finally retired. Brian, to work full time on his writing, including his Civilized Bears. And me on my Maritime Folk Art and hand-crocheted Sloth Plant Hangers, which I love doing. Arts & Crafts!” – Mary Lee. SEE Mary Lee Burhoe’s Folk Art Paintings…
— Mary Lee Burhoe, Rural Mail Driver.
To read more about us, go to – All About Us & More
“Birds flying high, you know how I feel. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me. And I’m feeling good.” Michael Bublé
Memories of a Rural Mail Driver: From Kitchen Post Offices to Personal Data Terminals.
Does the Mail run on Sunday? While there is no Sunday Mail Delivery in Canada, some private post offices in retail outlets are open to pass out letters and parcels sent there.
Allendale train station, Canadian postal history, Canada Post history, Canadian Union Postal Workers history, CN history Nova Scotia, East Sable Road mud, kitchen post offices, Laing’s Store Lockeport, Louis Head Post Office, Mary Lee Burhoe, Personal Data Terminals, PDTs, Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers, rural mail driver, Sable River Nova Scotia, Sable River train station, Shelburne county history, scanning parcels.
