Category: 1960-1969

The History of Brooklin’s Post Offices

The Town of Winchester decided to have a post office, but as there was already a Winchester in Eastern Ontario, “our” Winchester wasn’t able to have one. To fix this problem the residents held a public meeting on August 11, 1847 where they decided to change the town’s name to Brooklin.Brooklin post office 1964 Hunter-Darlington House 1853 55 Baldwin St Brooklin 1860
 
At this time the postal service in Canada was under the control of the British government. It was assumed that Brooklin and Columbus opened co-jointly in order to make the one route profitable. Mail first reached Whitby by stage coach on a route that ran from Toronto to Kingston, which was then delivered to Brooklin’s post office three times a week by the first carrier Mr. Thomas, who was paid the princely sum of 15 pounds a year for his troubles. The charge to customers for this delivery was paid at a fixed rate as postage stamps weren’t used until 1851.
 
In 1847 the first Brooklin Postmaster was E.J. Ware, who was followed by Reverend Robert Darlington in 1853. The Post Office in 1854 was the Hunter-Darlington House, at 42 Cassels Rd. This building has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and is possibly the oldest house in Brooklin. (see photo) The building housing Brooklin’s 2nd Post Office, located at 55 Baldwin St., was built in 1860
 
In 1881 Mr. R.T. Harrison became Postmaster, who was then followed by Mr. A. Somerville in 1888. From 1888 until 1928 it was operated in David W. MacDonald’s Store (see photo). G.W Rodd was Postmaster until 1929, followed by his son Stanley Rodd until 1968. The Goodberry store is in this location today. Roy. D. Connell in 1968, T.I. Riley until 1973, Milton E. Spears in 1973, Mrs. M. Peacock until 1974. R. Walker is the last recorded name.
On October 10, 1908, rural delivery began with A. Hannom as the first mail carrier, who was followed by M. Ross. In 1947 B. Hannam took over the route, then in 1962 Mr. and Mrs. Wilman delivered mail until 1978. By this time RR#1 Brooklin encompassed a 60 mile drive for the mail carrier who delivered to approximately 565 customers.
 
Brooklin’s 3rd Post Office was built in 1964 at 2 Price Street. Before Community boxes arrived residents would meet at the Post Office to chat and catch up on the news. Although Brooklin now has numerous postal codes, residents may still remember the first one, L0B 1C0.

The Brooklin Concretes softball team

The Brooklin Concretes softball team, whose successes created a sense of pride for the community of Brooklin, was to be inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame last April until COVID postponed the event for a year. A Shout-Out to Nancy Mitchell who worked hard to put together a full history to secure their nomination!
The Concretes were born in 1963 when players from the Brooklin Stevenson Motors team joined with players from Mount Zion. This new team, which played to exuberant crowds who filled the Brooklin Memorial Park stands, joined the Oshawa City and District Softball League and developed a reputation for strong performances.
In their second season, the Concretes advanced to the league semi-finals. However it was at the regional and provincial levels where the players accomplished their most outstanding achievements. Competing in the Ontario Amateur Softball Association (OASA) Intermediate C division playoffs, the Concretes captured Southern Ontario titles in 1964 and 1966, earning the right to play for the All-Ontario championship. In both years, they played a team from Capreol.
The 1964 squad, coached by Dib Little, advanced through four playoff rounds to capture the Southern Ontario championship. The Concretes eliminated Elmvale, Markham, Selkirk, and Tweed, recording eight wins and just two losses. Their crackerjack pitchers were so skilled that in 10 games, the opposing teams scored just 26 runs.
The 1964 All Ontario championship was a best-of-three series with all games in Brooklin. After they dropped the ball, losing 2-1 in the opening game, the Concretes bounced back to win their first provincial title by securing the next two games with scores of 3-1 and 4-2.
Two years later, with Coach Bill Harper at the helm, the Concretes faced a tougher challenge in the OASA Intermediate C Finals: they had to win six playoff series to become the Southern Ontario Champions. They accomplished it with wins over Battersea, Bridgenorth, Fisherville, Markham, Merlin and Minden, winning 12 of 15 games and with a combined score of 127 to 28. Five of those wins were shutouts! Brooklin defeated Capreol in the provincial finals, winning 2-1 and 5-1 to capture their second All Ontario title.
Photo Courtesy of Scott McLellan.