Mail Delivery

These are bad times for the US Postal Service.  Even with all the postage I spend sending self-addressed stamped envelopes to random courthouses (and for all the cartoons Mom clips out of the newspaper to send for me to put on the fridge) the USPS recently announced it would be cutting back services to 5 days a week.

Newspapers often printed names of locals who had unclaimed mail awaiting pick-up.  Sometimes I don't pick up my mail for a few days (which is why husband insisted on taking over that job).  But mail service, for all its woes, could be worse. 

But before the Rural Free Delivery Service was enacted in 1896 people who lived in rural areas usually had to travel quite a distance (by horse, or shank's mare) to a general store to pick up their mail.  Sometimes mail would be picked up by private contracters who would gladly deliver it to a settler's door, for a fee. 

Imagine setting aside a day's worth of travel to retrieve a long awaited word from family back home, only to arrive at the general store to find out your letter never arrived or was lost. Bummer.  Newspaper's often ran ads to try to coax readers into picking up their mail.  

So we are spoiled.  Sure, it looks like my very important letter from the amazing gentlemen at the Washington County Free Library was attacked by squirrels.  But at least I didn;t have to get saddle sores to retrieve it.