In a world of instantaneous modern correspondence, I think we've forgotten the value of the post. These lines of communication - kept open by letter carriers on foot, horse and later train, plane and automobile - were started in colonial America as far back as 1692. The original logo shows a letter carrier on horseback, doubtless delivering something of vital importance!
The US Mail traces it's roots back to the Second Continental Congress with Postmaster General, Benjamin Franklin. The first postage stamps, which was not introduced until 1847 featured Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
The invention of parcel post brought a world of goods and services to rural America, making way for the mail order business. In 1914, after 4 year old Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from her parents to her grandparents in Idaho, mailing of persons was prohibited. While the train fare was the equivalent of a day's pay, the postal rate for a 49 pound parcel was 53 cents. The box was labeled as a baby chick, though the wee girl just rode with the box in the mail car and was delivered by hand to her grandparents home by letter carrier Leonard Mochel. You can read more about her story in the 1997 children's book, Mailing May. Please note, the photo below is NOT of May and Mr. Mochel, but isn't it perfect!
I love our postman. We send and receive packages all the time - usually tiny ones. Our post man is a big part of my life. His name is Steve. My desk faces the street over the front garden and I see the comings and goings of the neighborhood. I noticed when he was gone. First, for a few days, then it stretched into weeks. Johnny and I have become attuned to the hum of the post man's jeep coming down the street. Weeks passed. Then one day, Johnny called me to let me know he'd spotted
Steve coming down the street. I grabbed the baby and ran out to the street and basically flung myself into his arms. Turns out he'd been terribly ill and hospitalized for a month. I joked with Jerry that I needed him to tell me when he retired. "Retire?" he exclaimed, "I've got 17 years left until my 50 year pin and I want to see your kid graduate high school." These types of community connections can make the world feel like an intimate and knowable place.
Check out designs made with historic vintage post office buttons:
