Apr 25, 2013

Vintage Post Office Postcard

Medicine Hat's original post office was a beautiful sandstone building on the prominent corner of 6th avenue and 2nd street. It was across the street from the original city hall, but just like that building, it was torn down decades ago. Arguably, the original post office is one of the city's greatest lost treasures in that if it was still around today you can bet it would be an icon of the downtown core.

I came across this vintage postcard of the original post office that was mailed on October 23, 1943. It was sent from a father to his daughter in Vancouver. His brief message was simply to check in and let his daughter, Ruth Mary know that he had a parcel on the way for her. I thought the handwriting on this card was especially nice, and the clean postal markings and stamp seem to compliment the image of the post office. A great piece of local history for certain.



Postcard in the same location today.

The Bank of Montreal where the Post Office was.





Post Office demolition ca. 1961

Apr 24, 2013

New Best Buddies



Geez, kids are so much fun! I spent a lot of time playing with my second cousins, Milo and Quinn at my Aunt's memorial. From Lego to Bionicle to Batman and Star Wars, we had a blast! They're at such fun ages (6 and 4) and are really entertaining. I even joked with them about the good old days of 1999 when the Phantom Menace came out. Milo told me all about his favorite Star Wars characters, and Quinn showed off what they'd built out of Lego. By the end of the night I'd made a couple new best buds.








Apr 23, 2013

A Final Goodbye for Bonny

Over the weekend my family reunited for my Aunt Bonny's memorial in Calgary. We hadn't all been together since my Grandma's funeral last fall, which was a clear reminder of what an eventful year it's been for our group. Despite the circumstances, it was a good day filled with tears, laughter, stories and music. One that I'm sure will be remembered for how uplifting and positive it was.

My cousin Leslie documented her mom's memorial and shared her heartfelt experience here. Many members of our family got up to speak, and I read the letter that I had given to my aunt when I first went to visit her in the hospital (which I posted here). Later in the evening Leslie's husband, Chris shared his song Paper Airplane that he wrote for Bonny. It was a touching tribute, and one of the highlights in a celebration that I know Bonny would have been proud of. When all was said and done, I was fixated on one thought: I'm lucky to have all of these amazing people in my life.