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Postmaster History

Marcel Agarand
b- Aug 8, 1879, in Luxemburg, Halanzy, Belgium
d- June 4, 1956 in Winnipeg MB

married Oct 15, 1900, in RM of  Lorne MB
wife- Anaise Agarand
b- Oct 1879
d-
Immigrated in I think? 1905, per 1911 census
crossed the border at Sumas, WA, USA, to Canada, Dec 1907,
so he might have immigrated to USA first.

Marcel Agarand served in WWI
Reg # 622956
Army, Canadian Army, 44th Batt., B Company
Aug 2, 1915, enlisted at Sewell Camp, MB
discharged as medically unfit due to deafness, Dec 21, 1916
(see postcards below)

father- Eugene Agarand
mother- Alexandrine Melane "Melanie" Nicolas

Marcel had 4 sisters.
2 sisters born in Holland MB

He came to Alma first, coming from Manitoba..

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Here are some great Postcards with the Forget Postal Strike,
sent to me by Mr. Darcy Hickson, Brandon MB
Re: Forget and Marcel Agarand
with thanks!

 Postcard above, Info from Mr. Darcy Hickson
 "My hobby is postal history and I love to collect old envelopes (covers) that were mailed from the little hamlets and farm homes near me before 1900. Also, I enjoy hunting for postal history and postcards that were mailed from Sewell Camp and Camp Hughes during the WW1 training camps of 1915 and 1916. Please find attached the postcard that Marcel mailed to his wife on October 16, 1915. That would be one of his last opportunities to send mail home from there as the 44th Battalion left Sewell Camp on October 18."

Another Post Card and more info from Mr. Darcy Hickson
 "One of the little mysteries of Marcel centres around the postcards he sent home from Sewell Camp in October of 1915. As Marcel was the postmaster of Forget, he certainly was acquainted with the finer points of philately and the usefulness of a quality postmark on a letter or postcard. Many postcards that he mailed in October have made it into the collecting realm,  One reason so many have gotten into collectors hands is because of the quality of the postmarks. Very nice, crisp strikes with heavy inking,"

Another postcard from Mr. Darcy Hickson, with his comments below:
"Please find attached a postcard that was mailed from Mariapolis, Manitoba to Marcel Agarand at Forget Assa. in July 1905. The Forget Assa. receiver postmark is a reasonably early strike for the Forget Assa. Post Office, considering it opened the year before in 1904. The one slim source of Assiniboia information that I have at hand suggests that the Forget Assa. hammer was used well into 1908, with a postmark appearing as late as Feb 18, 1908."
If any other stamp collector has info on this stamp or Mr. Agarand, please contact me,
or Mr Darcy Hickson directly in Brandon MB.

The postcard above has a great photo of "Rain in the Face"
a famous Sioux Warrior.
Rain in the Face, a member of the Hunkpapa Sioux,
was born near Cheyenne River, North Dakota, in 1835.
After the Battle with General Custer's Troops at Little Big Horn,
he moved north with Sitting Bull into Canada.
Rain in the Face remained there until 1880,
when he decided to surrender to the American authorities at Fort Koegh, Montana.
Rain in the Face died at the Standing Rock Reservation on Sept. 14, 1905.

44th Battalion Band, Camp Hughes, 1915
Another postcard from Mr. Darcy Hickson, with his comments below:
The 44th Battalion band photo came to me from a dealer in Ontario who specialized in Canadian Military postmarks. He was attracted to the red ink on the side of the photo, as he thought at first glance that it was an Orderly Room marking, or some kind of special postmarking...  Marcel identifies some of the people in the photo...Marshall, Girard, Miller (?), and Cote.
marked with an x on front of photo.

Oct 13, 1915, Victoria Park, Regina Postcard
Knox-Metropolitan United Church, at 1978 Lorne St. Visible in background.
Fountain designed by Frederick Todd,
was dedicated to Nicholas Flood Davin, PM
replaced ca1926 with a cenotaph.
Another postcard from Mr. Darcy Hickson, with his comments below:
"postcard with the Forget Circular Date Stamp (CDS) is the front side of a postcard that Marcel sent from Sewell Camp on Oct 12, 1915.That is a very good example of the postal hammer being used in the 1910's Forget post office."