Two Special Occasions

(Welcome, BBC listeners / viewers! And Penn Current readers.)

To get a good semblance for what this photo journal is about, I suggest exploring the Favorite Entries at the left side of this page.

I would like to commemorate two special occasions this fine November 30th: First, my father's birthday. My father was the man who inadvertently got me into the hobby of postmark collecting. He's been collecting postmarks and visiting post offices since 1960. I must confess, my first impression of the hobby, as a kid, was one of pain endured while waiting in the car for him to stop in post offices and get cancels during our family vacations. I wanted to start playing Mini-Golf already! He also spurred me on to my first attempt at obtaining a postmark at the age of 15 in Northampton, MA, while I was up in the area attending a summer math program. This was also my first unsuccessful attempt at obtaining a postmark. "We can't do that," the clerk at the counter told me. Lies.

During my post-college, all-American cross-country road trip of 2008 (which my father helped finance), I thought it would great to drop by some post offices near where I had some memorable experiences, thus documenting my trip and getting him some new postmarks. By the end of the trip I was hooked on the hobby, traced a postal path clear across the country, and presented him with a stack of 250 postal cards, each cancelled in a different town. He says it was the best present he ever received. (Even better than that mug I got him for his birthday during my freshman year? Fine.)

Happy birthday, dad!

(And I've got a lot to be thankful for in this regard, don't I? After all, there's the fact that you're here reading this now!)

Second, I would be remiss if I didn't commemorate an important occasion in the life of my stalwart traveling companion: my 1999 Toyota Camry. (Let's put it this way: humans with both the time and postal wherewithal are difficult to come by.)

On November 28, 2011, at 3:02 p.m., my Camry traveled its [her?] 100,000th mile. The setting was the majestic [cough] West Shore Expressway of Staten Island, just south of Victory Boulevard: Exit 7, and approaching the site of the Great Kills garbage dump (now park). There isn't even a post office there! Perhaps 150,000 will be more photogenic. My Camry has helped me explore 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. I fully intend on driving it to Alaska some summer.

Here's the magic moment:


(Yes, I was still watching the road.)

The car has only known life within my family; my mother drove it from 1999 to 2008. Beginning with my cross-country road trip in August 2008, I've put 56,000 miles on the car, and it [she?] is now mine. I maintain my car thoroughly, taking care of it just as well as it takes care of me.

Being Thankful: Rozet, Wyoming

The thought should have occurred to me to write about Rozet earlier. It was one of my first postal experiences while I was exploring the country during the summer of '08, and to this day I would still call it the most meaningful. (Not to mention it's nice having people visit your blog, and several hundred of you have done so by searching "Greenville, PA post office" after my touting of it on NPR. I'm sure several hundred more have also tried with "Rozet, Wyoming post office".)

I have quite a lot to be thankful for this year. Not only the fact that you're all here, actually reading this (thank you to the fantastic writers and editors at The Washington Post, Time, NPR, and Save the Post Office, as well as to several other outlets to be unveiled shortly). Thank you to those who have contributed, through comments or email: photographs, suggestions, and your own meaningful post office stories. Keep 'em coming! This year I've not only started to do interesting graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, but I've been able to make the time to visit more than a thousand post offices -- getting postmarks, taking photographs, meeting some very wonderful people, and learning many unique stories.

I know that millions of you nationwide are thankful for the fact that your community is [still?] served by a U.S. Post Office. Remember, the U.S. Postal Service's core mission, by its birthright, is to serve us; it was founded to bind our country together -- and this means all the communities of our great nation. Its mission is most certainly NOT to be profitable in every small town or non-affluent community: it's the U.S. Postal Service; not the U.S. Postal Business. I ask that you do not take this distinction lightly.

But back to Rozet...

Let's explore this corner of Wyoming. I suppose it's best to do so the way I did it: starting with Devils Tower, our nation's first National Monument. That was one of my intended destinations for my cross-country road trip; it fit in-between the Badlands of South Dakota and the wonder that is Yellowstone.

Here's our geographic fix:


But to fully comprehend the story behind Rozet, Wyoming, you need to understand Devils Tower:


What is now one of the recreational climbing meccas of America has been a sacred location for Native Americans for centuries. Many tribes' legends pertain to bears -- the "Bear's Tipi" is a common reference. Many tribes' legends and rituals are kept private, but you can learn more about Devil's Tower as a sacred site here. The site was formed about 50 millions of years ago -- underground -- as an intrusion of magma that bubbled up, separated the sedimentary rock, and solidified. The hexagonal columns you can still see are a result of the cooling of the molten rock. Scientists believe that the formation was exposed as the covering rock was worn away within the past couple million years. Experienced climbers can register and go up; an experienced guide can lead you up for $250 (at least back in 2008). The National Park Service provides an FAQ about the site. The total height of Devils Tower, from base to top, is 867 feet. Approximately 4,000 visitors climb Devils Tower every year.

I write all this so you can appreciate what the Postmaster in Rozet, WY gave to me. But as for Devils Tower, which became our nation's first National Monument on September 24, 1906, a post office was established in 1925:



The post office is currently threatened with closure as part of USPS's "Expanded Access" [Thousands Fewer Post Offices] initiative. Here's a list of all offices in Wyoming threatened as part of that program.

On to Rozet:
Here's a photo from a railroad overpass, showing the town of Rozet, several miles away, in the distance. If you can look closely, you can even see a coal train making its way from one of the coal mines around the large town of Gillette.


Postmaster Bruce Redfield has served Rozet since 1990 as an Officer-in-Charge. He's been Postmaster since February 23, 1991, and as I stated over the air, he was responsible for "servicing" a set of seven commemorative, limited-time, pictorial cancellations honoring Devils Tower. (That is, post offices around the country can commemorate events by using postmarks that aren't just circles, but which feature images -- they're available for a limited time, but you can find out about them through Linn's Stamp News or USPS's Postal Bulletin. You can mail items, bearing proper postage, to be cancelled at that location, which will then be mailed back to you ("servicing"). Generally the time window to obtain such special cancellations is 30 days.)

I've gotten dozens of pictorial cancellations, but this was different: Postmaster Redfield literally climbed the sack of mail with thousands of people's requests for postmarks from all over the world, and applied the postmarks ON TOP of Devils Tower. He had the sack of mail on his back while he climbed that 800-foot, vertical-walled behemoth. That is astounding in and of itself.

Rozet, Wyoming post office:


So when I stopped by Rozet, stated that I drove out from New York and that I wanted his postmark, not only did I get a standard Rozet postmark... he saved a special set of those envelopes ("covers") which he had carried to the top of Devils Tower, each with a different commemorative pictorial postmark on it, and he gave it to me. It was incredibly generous and meaningful, and so I thank you, Postmaster Redfield, today. The envelopes are in a safe place.

This day also included experiences at other offices in northeastern Wyoming, which I detailed in my fourth-ever entry for this blog: As Rural as it Sounds -- Recluse, Wyoming, et al. This was the very day that my appreciation for post offices first took hold, and during which visiting them became an integral part of my overall experiences while exploring America.

Here's a parting scene of some of the residents of Rozet. I'd never seen antelope before!

---

Followup: 11/28/11 10:47pm
This quote is taken from a comment left below the NPR writeup of the All Things Considered piece. His perspective of the story is fantastic, and I thank him for sharing:

Frank Sanders (Towerguide) wrote:

I am Proud to be the climbing guide that was privaledged to take the Rozet, Wyoming Postmaster Bruce, to the top of Devils Tower, for the Special Hand Cancelation of the envelopes. It was in 2006 and Devils Tower was celebrating its 100th anniversary of being a National Monument. The Special Cancelation was set for July 4th!!! The Post Office collected mail,for anyone who wanted that Special Cancelation. We started our climb to the Tower Top that afternoon, arriving at sun set. Bruce had me haul a large cutting board, along with all the mail, so that he had the Best possible place to work. And work he did; hundreds of envelopes, each carefully stamped and cancelled!!! We were able to enjoy the view, looking DOWN at the local fireworks going off BELOW us!!! AMAZING!!! When the fireworks were over and the cancellations were completed, we rappelled down, with the headlamps on. What a Wonderful Night.

The Real Story is Postmaster Bruce!!! He CHOSE to do the job himself, although he had never climbed before. He trained with me through several weeks, learning to climb! On top that night, his feet barely touched the ground! He radiated American and Postal Pride. It is a Huge Shame that his Post Office is slated for closure...

Friday, November 25, 2011 3:25:00 PM

(Rozet's post office is not presently being studied for closure; but I could see why one might think it was, given the context of the article.)

Considering all things...

Welcome, NPR listeners and readers! I hope you enjoy Going Postal, a photo journal of post offices and places across the United States. If you've got any questions or feedback, or would otherwise like to submit your own postal-related story, do contact me at the email address at left. Thanks for tuning in. I was a bit nervous inside the studio, so hopefully I was articulate enough and you thought it was interesting! Anyway!

To get a nice introduction for some of the work presented in the 150 entries of this blog, I suggest exploring some of the Favorite Entries at left. Some common tags are also provided for you should you have a field -- say, "beautiful post offices" -- or geographic area ("Philadelphia") of interest.

An NYU professor has created a brilliant website, called SaveThePostOffice.com [opens in new window], in which he discusses pertinent issues for both the postal service, as well as for communities whose post office are facing closure, quite thoroughly. He's got fantastic reference pages, from maps of thousands of threatened post offices to how you can file an appeal with the Postal Regulatory Commission if your post office is indeed closed.

The importance of rural post offices to their towns extends far beyond money orders, for the record. I'll post more thoughts on his later. Check back in a couple of days and I should be able to get something up.

Have a look around, and I hope you enjoy! If you're interested in my most recent postings, I just completed a three-part series about small-island offices off the coast of Maine.

Do check out the Post Mark Collectors Club (PMCC), a nonprofit philatelic organization with a museum in Ohio which maintains the world's largest collections of postmarks and post office photographs. That's for whom I volunteer. (Nobody pays me for this, for the record.)

Cheers,
-- Evan Kalish

P.S. Since everyone's clamoring to see Greenville, PA, here's the link to my entry about that beautiful office [opens in new window] -- it's one of the first entries I ever wrote for this blog, and I might revise it with more photographs and details shortly.

Beautiful POs: Islands of Maine, Part III

Hello, again. In case you missed either of the first two entries in this trilogy, about the lovely little offices of Squirrel and MacMahan Islands, please do head on over to Part I or II!

[View of the Bustins Island float, from the boat:]


Let's head on to Bustins Island, ME, the last of my postmarking trio's three Maine island postmark treks. Once again, we were not disappointed. This excursion took us just 15 miles northeast of Maine's largest city Portland, and through Freeport, Maine, which is best known as the home of L.L.Bean. Freeport is from where they do all their shipping. Did you know: L.L.Bean's Freeport operations, in and of themselves, have their own TWO reserved ZIP codes? (They do not have their own postmarks.)



As with Squirrel Island, there is scheduled ferry service between Bustins Island and the home of its 'parent' post office -- in this case South Freeport, Maine. The $10 trip takes about half an hour, with about a 10-minute layover on Bustins Island. The ferry we happened to take was also the mail ferry! We accompanied the official contractor with his daily bin of mail over to the CPO, which was quite photogenic.

Let me also note that Bustins Island is yet another community that takes pride in its post office. Here's a screenshot from the community's homepage; other images include the school and pleasant landscapes.



The building, located a couple of minutes to the east of the pier, is yet another gem of local flavor:
Bustins Island [Community] Post Office (parent office: South Freeport, ME)


You can once again see that this is where the community comes for information. There's building also houses community bulletin boards as well as the town's public library. A woman was reading in there while the postal tourists explored the post office.
I've come across libraries sharing spaces with CPOs [Community Post Offices] before. What I didn't expect to see was a full room full of posters and specimens detailing local flora and fauna:


But let's have a closer look at the office. Here's the window, in the surprisingly muted lighting environment that is just inside the front of the building:
The office supplies several pieces of reference information, such as the ZIP codes for neighboring towns along the shore, as well some adorable postal-related comic strips, and even information for how to contact a Bustins Island resident who was in the hospital. This is an example of how a post office can bind a community together. (And again, since this one is run under contract, they're allowed to be more engaged in the community by publishing notices like this.)

While buildings might subscribe to a numbered address system for the ease of newcomers, all mail delivered to Bustins Island residents is done through General Delivery: As an index card below the window notes, the address for all residents on the island is: [Your name] // General Delivery // Bustins Island, ME 04015-9999.

You have to pick up your mail at the window during business hours (which are presently 9:30 - 12:30 Monday through Saturday).

The island has possessed a post office since 1897, though until 1908 it was known as Seeket. The office was independent [that is, headed by a U.S. Postmaster] until 1967, since which it has been a rural station / CPO under the parent office of South Freeport.

Here's an additional view of the building:


Hope you enjoyed our little journey along the coast of Maine. Until next time, yours in postal appreciation,
-- Evan K.

Beautiful POs: Islands of Maine, Part II

(For those who missed, it, Part I is below on the homepage, or at this link.)

[Waving good-bye from the Squirrel Island pier:]


One of the wonderful things about USPS's pictorial postmark program is that any small community around the country can receive its 15 minutes of fame with publication in USPS's biweekly Postal Bulletin (and Linn's Stamp News).

For example: When USPS unveiled its popular Pixar-themed stamps this summer, one little island in Maine, as well as several towns across the country -- including the town-of-135-people Woody, CA -- were graced with their own limited-time pictorial postmarks which folks from all over the world mailed out for:



With these special cancellations, USPS was very clever -- commemorating Toy Story in Woody, CA? Right on. What about the Up stamp, featuring a dog? Why in the world would they give it to Squirrel Island, ME? It's actually exceedingly clever, and hopefully this brief YouTube clip [opens in new window] will help shed some light on why. That clip tends to repeat itself a lot in this film.

(Note: The Squirrel Island cancellations were 'serviced' at the Squirrel Island CPO's parent office of Boothbay Harbor, so they didn't actually go to the island itself. What can you do?)

The three postal tourists headed to Squirrel Island the same day we visited MacMahan. We spent a bit of time exploring downtown Boothbay Harbor, and had lunch at a hot dog truck while we waited for the next ferry. Fortunately, in this instance, a ferry does serve the island. It's a few-dollar, half-hour trip from Boothbay Harbor.



The ferry agreed to wait a couple of additional minutes at the island while our trio walked the couple of minutes to the office and snapped our photos. The P.O. itself had already closed for the day [it's open from 10 to noon], which probably worked in our favor since we would have felt like chatting.

That all said, let's have a look!

Squirrel Island [Community] Post Office [parent office: Boothbay Harbor, ME]


Absolutely beautiful. You'll note the wagon out front; since no cars are permitted, Squirrel Island residents use wagons that they'll wheel around with groceries, luggage, and whatnot. (Reminiscent of an earlier experience on Fire Island -- see third photo. [Opens in new window.]) Residents leave their wagons on the pier:



The 'Ora S. Dodge' post office is one part of the de facto community center. Women had gathered inside the other end of the building and were discussing news of the day. The building also features several community bulletin boards, a couple of benches, a fire extinguisher, and an emergency phone as one might see on a college campus!

Here is the front of the post office. I suggest looking closely at the Ora S. Dodge sign and appreciating the adornment. As I've always said, post offices are a mark of community pride.


You can see a couple of the aforementioned items by the beautiful, old-style mail collection box. To this day I've seen fewer than ten of them in my travels.



(Note: You can see more examples of pictorial postmarks, including the above, in this Postal Bulletin. Click down to the Stamps / Philately section. This happens to be a particularly thorough edition.)

You can read more about Squirrel Island here.

The trilogy concludes next time...