From the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre:
Today, at this time of year, we fight the crowds or panic when our parcels haven’t arrived in time for Christmas. This week we look back on a December 1935 Christmas season.
Dec. 23, 1935, a special service was given for the convenience of the public in regards to the volume of mail.
Citizens were advised that due to the volume of mail, the trains were running late. A promise to work overnight was published as a way to help with time restraint on these holiday parcels.
The incoming mail had reached a total of 146 bags and was climbing. The Advanced published that it was not expected that the Christmas rush that year would equal other years at the local post office since the “paper days.”
There was also a turkey crisis that year. A price increase and fowl scarcity were experienced across the province but Timmins residents wanted their birds nonetheless. The turkey shortage resulted in an eight to ten percent increase per pound; however, the 25,000 residents here consumed 110,000 pounds of turkey.
Many decided to consume fine meats like beef, veal, and pork. There was also an increasing demand for large quantities of chickens, ducks, and geese.
Each week, the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins Museum has to offer at www.timminsmuseum.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.