another post office Hazeldean was established at Peter McBain's (23-17-22) at
the north end of Salt Lake. Alexander McBain was postmaster for the one year
this post office was open. It closed when the Strathclair Post office opened

at The Bend, on November 1st, 1880. It is not known if Marney (2-16-22)

was open at this time or not but it must have been soon after. The mail was
delivered to these points by Angus McB-ain, who drove a stage-coach from
Minnedosa to ”the Narrows" at the south end of Shoal Lake.

R.E. Videl was postmaster at (old) Strathclair briefly from the opening
of the post office to the end of July 1881 when W.H. Whimster took over.
Joseph Dier took over in August 1886 until 1888. There is no record of this
post office for the next two years but it is thought that when it reopened in
August 1890 it was on the farm of John M. Geekie (35-17-22). Mr. Whimster
continued as post master until Mr. Geekie took over on April 1st, 1896. The
name of the post office was officially changed to Glenforsa, the name of Mr.
Geekies farm, on the first of June, 1897, presumably because of the mix up
in mail between Strathclair and Strathclair—Station. This post office closed
about 25 years later and the little building is now used as a workshop on the
farm.

The first post office building in Strathclair was erected in the summer of
1887. It was located where the Co-op lumber yard is now situated. John
Craig became post master there on October 1st, 1887, taking over from Howard
Clark who had sold his store. Mr. Craig delivered the mail to Glenforsa and
Elphinstone until the railway came through that area in 1904.

AR. Sutherland recounts the following incident. Apparently when
the railway came through, they expected the town to give them a bonus of
$800. However, when the reeve did not consent to this, the M and NW.
railway decided the passenger train would not stop at Strathclair-Station. Mr.
Sutherland, who carried the mail then, was expected to hold the mail bag up for
the mail clerk to grab as the train flew past. After he was nearly pulled under
the train, he wired W.W. McLeod at the PO. department in Winnipeg, who re-
plied, "Don't try to hand in the mail bag till the train stops at the platform, if
they don't stop, wire me." The next time the train shot by and went as far east
as the Anglican Church, where it stopped and started backing up, with the
trainman waving for Sutherland to meet them. He didn't move from where he
was standing at the station, and the train had to back all the way. He had no
trouble after that.

Billy Reed was postmaster for about three years following John
Craig, then Archibald McLean was appointed to the position in May, 1904. He
was post master until the time of the big fire in 1913 when the post office was
razed along with several other business places. A new post office was built just
east of the present pool room and JD. Coglin became post master on November
1st, 1913. He retired in December 1949. Mary Bridges, long time postal
employee, acted as post mistress until Walter Glenn's appointment in 1950.
Walter built the new post office north of the barber shop, opening the building
on January 13, 1954. The old building was then dismantled. Clayton Hunter
is the present post master, having taken over from Mr. Glenn at the beginning
of 1969.

The local postal department has provided work for many full time and
part time employees and has given the public excellent service. Strathclair has

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