Roger Maley has a keen interest in history.
Among his possessions at his Estevan home is a 1917 crank phone that will be 100 years old this year.
So when he found an old postcard of Fifth Street in Estevan that dated back to the early 20th century, he couldn’t wait to talk about it.
Maley made the discovery while cleaning out the home of Marjorie Matis, who is the sister of Maley’s partner Donna. Maley and others have been in the process of preparing the house for sale.
“The postcard happened to be in her contents,” Maley said in an interview with Lifestyles. “I thought it was quite interesting, and it was nice to see the changes that have occurred from 1911 to 2017.”
Maley was in the lower area of the house when he came across it.
“It’s something, I think, that should be preserved, instead of just sitting and hiding in an envelope where nobody can see it,” said Maley. “When you do come across something like this, it’s nice to let some of the old-timers remember. It’s really for the older people.
“And then for the younger people, they can just sort of get a glimpse of how people lived back then from the dress, which is a big change. I grew up in the 1940s, so I’m a bit of an old-time person myself.”
Matis’ mother sent the postcard to her cousin, whose last name was Hausman, in 1911. The Hausmans were land seekers who came to Saskatchewan from Iowa before Saskatchewan became a province. A member of the Hausman family eventually married a Matis.
The postcard was sent to a Hausman who remained in the U.S.
Eventually the postcard made its way back to Saskatchewan, and Marjorie Matis kept the postcard as a keepsake.
While the postcard itself is 106 years old, Maley noted the photo is obviously older, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it dates back to 1909 or even earlier.
Maley took the postcard to the House of Stationary, who created several 8 1/2x11-inch photos that allow people to get a better look at what life was like more than 100 years ago. Matis said the House of Stationary did a good job with the postcard, and they were quite interested with the contents of the image.
“I’ve given some away to some of my friends, and the people at the nursing home were spending time looking at it, because they remember the hotel,” said Maley.
He expects the Clarendon Hotel to be the structure that many people will remember the most. Also in the photo are an old theatre, the Sam Woh’s Laundromat and what appears to be a grain elevator.
“They built the grain elevators along the railway tracks, and so the town just grew up around the grain elevator,” said Maley. “That’s the way it happened in all of the small towns.”
Maley said it was interesting to see how the people were dressed at that time, with the men sporting bowler hats.
“There’s just nothing similar to the way we’re dressed today,” said Maley.
There are also some antique vehicles in the picture.
The postcard has proven to be a good learning experience for Maley. He resided in Swift Current, Calgary and Stoughton, so it has helped him learn more about local history. He is happy the photo has helped bring back a lot of memories for people.
Maley expects he will frame one copy of the photo, and hold onto a few more, so he will be able to give some away if asked. The original will be returned to the Matis family so they can keep it among their belongings.
Maley noted they also found an old pump organ that was made in the 1880s, and it is in pretty good shape. They want to find a safe place for the organ as well eventually.
