|
June 30, 2002 "Ontario Postal Update"
by J. Knierim – a work in progress
The items under review do not yet comprise a book, but I think it is worthwhile reporting
on a project undertaken by PHSC member Gus Knierim to update this reviewer's 1988 book
Ontario Post Offices. At the time the book was published, Retail Postal Outlets and
other more recent metamorphoses of the old fashioned post office had not yet appeared
on the scene. Furthermore, the various numbers associated with each office
(MOON, POCON, etc.) were not listed in the book.
Gus Knierim has been working on a project to bring the list of Ontario post offices up to
date by listing all offices which were on April 1, 1973 (the date of introduction of the
POCONs), as well as all those which have been established and those which have been closed
since then. The information in this listing includes not only the name and status of the
office, but also its office number, address, postal code, opening (and perhaps closing)
date, householder count, and name of the business in which it is located, as well as a
photograph or postcard image of selected buildings and an illustration of a modern
postmark. The work is being done county by county, and so far Gus has worked on Bruce
(8 pages), Dufferin (4 pages), and Haliburton (3 pages) Counties, and Manitoulin (3 pages)
and Nipissing (7 pages) Districts. This is of course a long-term and ongoing project with
an indefinite completion date, but it will eventually be a work of immense value to
collectors of Ontario postmarks and modern postal history. In combination with Eric Manchee's
Ontario Post Office Atlas, it will make the study of Ontario post offices and postal routes
much more accessible to the collector who does not have easy access to the National Archives.
Robert C. Smith
|
