Several hundred customers joined Canada Post officials on the morning of June 13 to celebrate 100 years of postal service here, at a country office about five miles north of Guelph on the Waterloo-Wellington border.
It was Friday the 13th, but that did not scare anyone. By 10am well-wishers jammed the Ariss store, where the post office is located, to hear several brief speeches and enjoy a piece of birthday cake. Many of those present had used the post office since childhood. It has operated at the same location since the day it opened, on June 15, 1908.
Present and former Canada Post officials took time to drop in and offer best wishes. Postmaster Betty Begg told the Advertiser that she opened early that morning to let in some regular customers, who reminisced about old times and viewed some historical items, including several old cards and letters mailed from the Ariss office, loaned by Wellington Advertiser historian Steve Thorning.
Postmaster Begg said she is on the job daily a few minutes after 6am when the incoming mail arrives. Sorting the daily mail takes about three hours. She normally has that job completed by 9am, when customers begin calling at the counter for their mail.
About 70 families pick up their mail at the post office. Another 520 are served on RR1 and RR2, Ariss. Steve Wilson is currently the carrier for both routes. Sorting and delivering the mail takes him six to seven hours.
By noon the crowd was thinning out, but new arrivals walked in through the day. Some bought envelopes with strikes of the special centennial cancel. One woman wanted 10 of them, to be saved as souvenirs for family members.
Those present all agreed that the Ariss post office remains the centerpiece of the community, just as it was when it opened 100 years ago.
