Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum-Snedden’s Hotel

Ray Paquette left these comments on my WordPress site yesterday and I had to share as they are very important to keeping our local history alive. Thank you Ray!

The Words of Ray Paquette

I grew up, ages 7 to 12 years old, living in the apartments in the former hotel that is prominent in the first photo (Snedden Hotel). During our youth, we spent a lot of time at the station and not on rare occasions earning the wrath of Mr. Mitchell for climbing the Norway Maples that lined Miguel Street.Mr. Dunphy was in charge of the Express/Baggage as assisted by Mr. Simpson in Express and Joe Hawkins in Baggage. *Mr. Raeburn was the Station Master (he lived on Lake Avenue east in your current home (Springside Hall). Ted Lemaistre worked the telegraph and assisted Mr. Raeburn.

Trains ran through Carleton Place beginning at about 2:30 a.m. with the Trans Continental from the West ending the day about 9:30 p.m. with the final Toronto Pool train.

The Ottawa newspapers arrived in Carleton Place aboard the 4:30 Toronto Pool Train and all the carrier boys congregated in the express area to get their papers for distribution throughout the town. Later Mr. Paul won the contract from the newspaper and delivered the papers to the back of Ernie Foote’s Photography that was on Bridge Street about three doors south of the Queens Hotel.

Author’s Note– I was privileged to meet Mae and her son Bert Raeburn a few times and Mae told me many times that she used to hear the train coming down the tracks which used to be a few 100 feet away and say,“There comes my bread and butter down the track!”

comments

George Giles-–I grew up with Ray Paquette and remember picking up my papers at the station. We spent many hours playing in the area around the station and the old Wool Growers. Enjoy seeing the photos of Carleton Place.