British Columbia / B.C. Postal History - 27 February / 7 March 1904 - HATZIC, B.C. (split ring / broken circle cancel / postmark) to Sombra, Ontario (A1-1 / first hammer)

HATZIC is a historic community in the Central Fraser Valley region of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of the City of Mission and including areas beyond the municipal boundary to the east and northeast. A former railway station named Hatzic was located between the outlet of Hatzic Lake and the foot of the rise to the benchland where most of residential Hatzic is today. Related names, which more or less are also considered part of Hatzic, are Hatzic Island, which is in the centre of Hatzic Lake, north of which are the farming communities of Hatzic Prairie and Durieu, which together form part of the Hatzic Valley, along with communities to the north of Hatzic Prairie around Allan Lake, McConnell Creek and Miracle Valley.

William Alphonse Slack (1856-1902) and his wife, Mary Anne (1865-1931) were pioneers of Hatzic in the District of Mission. Originally from Hagersville, Ontario, they arrived in December of 1898 with four of their five children. In 1903, Mary Anne purchased an acre of land in Hatzic and built the Slack family home. In 1908, she went into partnership with a Mr. A.B. Catherwood and began operating the Hatzic General Store and Post Office. She held the position of Postmistress until shortly before her death in 1931. Mary Anne was able to supplement the income for her growing family by providing lodging on the upper floors of the store for men and in her family home for women. She also sold farm and dairy products including: fruit, cheese, and butter. LINK - www.memorybc.ca/slack-family

The HATZIC Post Office was established - 1 November 1891 and closed - 20 November 1978.

LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the HATZIC Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...

When this letter entered the postal system at the HATZIC Post Office - the Postmaster was John A. Catherwood - he served from - 1 January 1903 to - 8 September 1908.

John Alexander Catherwood
(b. 26 October 1857 in Bolton Village, Ontario – d. 21 December 1940 at age 83 in Mission City, British Columbia) - he was a Postmaster, fruit grower, bee keeper and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Dewdney from 1920 to 1928 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Conservative. In 1886, Catherwood married Edith Margaret Solloway. He was reeve of Mission, British Columbia for 17 years. Catherwood was unseated in February 1925 by a decision of the B.C. Supreme Court after a recount reduced his majority in the election to 5; he was reinstated in June 1925. LINK to his marriage certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/92...

John Alexander Catherwood was Missions first schoolteacher. He also ran the Hatzic store and was postmaster for that community. He came to British Columbia to do survey work for the CPR. Catherwood homesteaded near Mission, developing cereals and fruits on his farm. LINK to his newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-obituary-for-john...

- sent from - / HATZIC / FE 27 / 04 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-1) was proofed - 19 October 1891 - (RF C).

Addressed to - Thistle Rubber Type Works Company / Sombra / Ontario

The Thistle Rubber Type Works was not just a place for stamps. Here you could purchase a multitude of items needed for writing. LINK to the complete article - m.facebook.com/SombraMuseum/posts/thistle-rubber-type-wor...

(clipped from the - The Windsor Star newspaper - Windsor, Ontario, Canada • June 13, 1957) - Mr. Dalgety opened the Thistle Rubber Type Works, still in operation, and now one of Canada's oldest manufacturing plants of its kind. His son Murray now manages the plant. Mr. Dalgety died in 1913 and Mrs. Dalgety found herself with the responsibility of the type works and raising three children. Even with these heavy responsibilities, when World War I started she led the community effort in war work. LINK to the complete newspaper article - www.newspapers.com/article/the-windsor-star-thistle-rubbe...

- arrived at - / SOMBRA / MR 7 / 04 / ONT / - cds arrival backstamp.

- arrived at the Thistle Rubber Type Works plant in Sombra, Ontario on - / RECEIVED / MAR / 7 / 1904 / 1145 AM / - time marked arrival marking in red ink.

Taken on: June 19, 2023

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