Prairie Post (East Edition)

Delivering the mail on the prairies in the 1940s

- By Craig Baird

Today, we take for granted that there are many forms of communicat­ion. From e-mail and text messages to the mail itself and courier services, there are many ways to get a letter or message. Back in 1942, things were very different and for John Schorr, who started as a mail carrier on Dec. 3, 1942, it was quite the experience to deliver mail.

His first day was a blustery, winter day and he didn’t have a good handle on his route. Add in the fact he was also transporti­ng a new teacher to her school, and it was a busy first day. Unfortunat­ely, all the snow made the going tough and he spent a lot of time out shoveling snow off what barely qualified as roads.

As a mail carrier in the Woolcheste­r area in southeaste­rn Alberta, he was responsibl­e for delivering mail to six country post offices in the area, twice every single week. Within a few trips of delivering mail, he quickly realized that often people needed rides and his mail carrier job doubled as a taxi service as well. In addition, he also brought supplies such as eggs and cream from the city and delivered it to people who ordered it. It made for a very busy 110-mile route that he would take.

To help himself with delivering mail, he built a covered sleight with three teams of horses stationed along his route. This ensured he always had a fresh team of horses during his route.

Things were a lot easier in the summer, except when it was raining. When it was raining, he would have to plow mud out of the way as gravel roads were not used yet.

During the war years, everything was rationed and buying a new vehicle was nearly impossible. Thanks to being a mail carrier though, he was given priority to buy a truck, but John still had to wait a long period of time before he got it. In his first trip with his new truck, he delivered the mail and two lady passengers. Each lady had precious cargo. Mrs. Lehr had her newborn baby and Wilma Anderson had a stack of records to play on the radio.

John would continue to deliver the mail through the 1940s, through good and bad weather. In 1949, he was able to buy a four-wheel drive truck that made travel on the roads much easier for him. By the 1950s, that truck was getting good use thanks to the wet summers that were experience­d. Even with the truck though, the winters were still tough to get through.

Suggestion­s for columns or questions? E-mail Craig at crwbaird@gmail.com. Listen to his podcast by searching for “Canadian History Ehx” on your podcast platform. Find his show on YouTube by searching for “Canadian History Ehx”.

Informatio­n for this column comes from Plains, Trains and Wagon Wheels.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada