POSTCARD OF OLD MASSEY FOUND ON EBAY

7/28/2014

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by Jayson Stewart

This photo of a postcard was posted to Facebook by Don Dube titled "Portion of Massey, Ont. Canada".

He found it on eBay and posted it to the "Massey Then and Now" group on Facebook.

If I am reading the photo right, the photgrapher was on "The Rock" facing North. You can see the Catholic Church in the top left which would mean that the street that you're looking at in the foreground is Grove Street and the open space between the two-floored building on the left and the white building on the right is where the library sits today. The next street north would be Highway 17 and I believe the flat-faced building is where Hub 17 is right now. There certainly were a lot more trees between the rock and the highway!

Members of the group identified some of the features. Please note that none of these identifications have been verified but we would love to know what you think!

The building on the left front is the old legion hall, where our post office now stands. -Claudette Lachance Buzdygan

The bank turned haircare center is very easy to recognize as, even back then, they had the staircase on the left-hand side of the building leading to the upstairs apartment.
-Jayson Stewart

You can see Burns garage on the right of the old RBC Bank (current Family Hair Center) and you can just see Hallett's store peeking through. The white building in the front right was a church (gospel hall) at one time.
-Donna Cranmer Mcinnis

That building on the left is the school my grandparents went to - public and high school. My grandma had to walk the railway tracks fom the old Massey Mine (Seldomseen Road) with her siblings just to get to school."
-Brenda Skibinky

QUESTION

What do you make of that open swath of land north of town? Share your comments below.

CHALLENGE

Take a photo, from The Rock, showing the same part of town for a comparison, and send it to us! We will post then-and-now comparisons.

3 Comments

jack sadowski

2/27/2016 05:22:55 am

building on bottom left corner is massey high school 3 door garage across street was sadowski garage ice house tied on and family store not in pic but over to left.other white building on bottom right is little pres church and north see brown building blights horse shoe building

J R Bruce Cassie

3/8/2018 06:34:52 pm

This photo brings back rich memories for me. My parents rented the unpainted house in front of the church on the right (Presbyterian) in 1949 to 1950 from the Ouelette family. We had a chemical toilet. The garage and storage buildings to the left, in front of the Continuation School (originally both an elementary school until 1951 Massey Public School opened), housed Max McNally's hearse and various funeral resources.

Beside the church, you can make out a ball diamond where we played baseball. Typically, we would not close the shutters on the church. Larry Burns and Lanny McDonald could drive the baseball to where the photographer (probably Hugh Cummings) must have stood to take this picture.

My father was the Principal of Massey Continuation School from 1949 to 1959. My friends and I walked past the Continuation School to Massey Public School. Virginia Armstrong, Velma Hobbs and I walked this road with our mothers for the first day of Grade One in the new school.

Although it is hardly visible, behind the unpainted house you will see a roof line that was a farm implement centre run by Mr. Jewitt.

McNally's house (previously owned by Byers I believe) was the funeral home and it is located in front of the McNally garage and storage sheds across the street from the Continuation School.

To the right of the Presbyterian Church and not shown in this photograph was the home of the Sauve's where Joe Medve, Keith Carlson and I stole a few apple. At the time, Keith Carlson's family lived in the apartment above the Bank seen in the picture. To the left and between the Bank and Hallett's Store, Carlson's had their restaurant, serving the best hot fries and gravy in Northern Ontario. It is hidden by the tree in the photograph.

In front of the field between the Ouelette house and McNally's place was Hobb's Men's and Boys' Store and the Greyhound Bus made its regular stops here, right across the street from Hallett's Store.

ALLAN ALEXANDER link

3/3/2019 10:37:02 am

I often wondered what happened to you??? Recently I was in touch with Joe Medve. Met Keith Carlson In the NW Territories a long time ago?? 1970mish. He passed away some time ago. I live in Sault Ste. Marie on Queen Street.Please get in touch with me if you can . I remember your dad typing my name on a piece of paper at your house. I was amazed to see me on the BIG SCREEN Yes , Massey Town . Often think of it and always fondly.
Allan Alexander [74 yrs old]

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