Washington C.H. Record-Herald from Washington Court House, Ohio • Page 6

Traveling Post Offices Daily Serve County's Rural People Rural Carriers Have Close Touch With Customers Have you ever seen a traveling postoffice with a built-in postmaster? Every morning during the week you could see a half dozen leave Washington C. and you wouldn't even recognize that they were these unique postofficcs. They look just like any ordinary car, but inside you could find piles of mail, all sorted and ready to be deposited to any of several hundred mail boxes in this county. ti rn THE MAN BEHIND the wheel would be the postmaster, and in all probabilities a veteran of perhaps a quarter of a century of service to rural people of this county. This unique mail and driver with a memory a mile long on postal spells the rural mail carrier.

There are six of them who oper ate out of the Washington ll postoffice and one each out of Jef fersonville and Bloomingburg. Early each morning, long before the sun comes up, the rural carriers report in at the postoffice here to pick up their mail; sort I it, and get it ready to deliver. In the basement of the postot fice the rural mail carriers sort out their mail, kid each other and discuss a thousand and one things, including the weather, but then minds are concentrated on getting the mail in the proper bundles. VIRGIL SEXTON, like all the other carriers, starts loading mail into his car long before the sun comes up. He is shown (above) checking the address on one of the many packages before It goes into the back seat.

(Record Herald photo) WITH AS MIJCII us 56 miles to cover on some of the routes the rural carriers have much I half the size time to make up for mistakes many cases which they might have made in the postoffice They not only have to place the mail in the mail boxes but they must be ready to sell stamps, money orders, CODS, handle regis tered mail, packages and post. Rural residents can get practically everything from their rural mail carrier that they can get from their postoffice There is a closer bond between the rural carrier and his customers I though, for they can see him evcrv carriers gel day, if they want to and talk brief- 8 oach Iv to him and wave a and mormnf th, routes between 12:30 and 2 P. each day Virgil who is the president of the Rural Letter Carriers Association in this county, said carriers were fortunate in this county since they had such good roads to cover. But during the daily runs of the rural carriers there are some dif ficult bouts with the weather which must be faced from time to time During the Thanksgiving blizzard which swept this county for al most a week a little over a year ago some of the rural car liers reach their points of delivery for several days Driving was especially had along the sol dom traveled country roads. Once when Purcell was driving along a country road along his route he saw a house on fire.

and promptly rushed to the scone and put it out, perhaps saving an old man and his sister, who lived there mud when roads in this county were not what they are today. In the early days, though, the rural carriers have routes of present rot it aa, in s. Hizer recalls that I some of the routes were only 20 to 29 miles long Now, with roads considerably im proved and with modern antonio- biles available the rural carriers cover up to 50 miles every day parcel during the week on their routes. Oran VV Ellis, who has been a rural carrier here since May of 1919, has 56.08 miles to cover on his route. Purcell has 56.49 miles: Eddie Sexton, 4190, and Hiser, 51.76.

PEOPLE ON THE DIFFERENT ROUTES often wait beside their mail boxes for the mail carriers to bring the mail. They are almost always on time. too. Mrs. Beryl Cavinee, who lives on the Leesburg Road (shown above receiving her malt from Chester Dunn) said she could set her watch by watching for her mail carrier.

always right on she said (Record Herald photo) es so that they are more accessible. I The rural carriers say I hat they have a long enough reach without straining for a box that is bent par I way over. I Incidently, the carriers said they I preferred to drive standard make cars, with the conventional steeling wheel on the left side. While they have a long reach to make for the mail boxes, they would rather make the reach than have I to drag mail over a steering wheel. Believe Mastodon Died by Trampling Scientists, checking the bones of an immature mastodon, found on the Or Ie ton Farm in Madison County two years ago, expressed the belief that the animal might have died by being trampled.

Their findings, published in the FEW PERSONS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY to watch the rural mail sort the mail before leaving on their morning runs. Shown above are the men as they put each piece of mail into a separate pigeon hole corresponding to the names of the persons on their route. Often there is so much mail for one of the boxes, particularly magazines, papers and Christmas cards, that one bunch has to be tied in a bundle and another one started. In the above photo six of the rural carriers are shown sorting the mail. Frm left to right are: William Markley (foreground), Edward Sexton (behind Markley), Chester Dunn.

Harry Hiser, Charles V. Sexton and Oran Ellis. Roy Purcell, another regular carrier, was home with the flu when the above picture was taken. Record Herald photo) teachers in Wilmington schools by were voted for janitors, high school the board of education. Boosts also I principal and the superintendent.

EDDIE SEXTON, one of the younger mail carriers, has a couple of customers who are out waiting for him practically every day. except days when there is a howling blizzard or other inclement weath er. They are Mrs Forrest McAl lister and Perrin Ellenbcrger. Others who have such a close daily contact with their traveling postmaster let their rural carrier know that he forgotten, especially around Christmas time. During the last yuletide season one of the rural carriers.

Roy Purcell. who is from Bloomingburg, received 16 Christmas presents. Eddie Sexton said he got 12 presents. There were auch things as eggs, steak, pork tenderloin, homemade cake and hand knit socks in mail boxes for the rural carriers when they came along Some of them I His efforts were In t)ie daily process of reaching January issue of the Ohio Journal of Science, indicate the mastodon was not full size. It died in a shallow pond or small lake which existed in Madison County following the last glacier.

Dr. Edward S. Thomas, curator of natural history of the Ohio State Museum, said the trampling was indicated by the fact that many of the bones were broken squarely. The animal Is believed to have lived 9,000 to 15,000 years ago. It is also possible that the ani- mal might have perished in boggy It cost Fayette $567.50 terrain.

anti werp later pay the bounty on 227 foxes crushcd by other hugp in tho county last year. either mastodons or mammonths, both of which roamed this area thousands of years ago. I hundreds of times across their front seals to the mail boxes the carriers find that their seat covers and arm sleeves take a boating. One of the carriers showed where the bottom part of a coat sleeve was getting tattered from wear. County Pays Bounty On 227 Foxes in 1951 killed were turned over personally by the rural people ONE OF THE REAL old timer rural carriers here is Harry H.

Hiser, who spent his first year do livering mail from a horse-drawn wagon and who has marked up 33 years as a rural carrier But Virgil Sexton is the oldest rural carrier from the standpoint of service with the U. S. Festal Service. He will have completed 39 years with the service on March 22 These old timers spent many years delivering mail in the re liable old Model Fords, which had an amazing alacrity for climbing over ruts and through sloggy We Deal in Sound Protection! When we place a policy in your Hands, you con depend upon it that we are providing you with the soundest protection available anywhere in the world. We are in a position to render complete Insurance Service.

Coll us before purchasing your next policy. There is only one kind of insurance to buy THE CEST WE SELL IT! Sam Parrel! in vain, however, for not long afterwards the burned down house RURAL CARRIERS are generally a happy contented lot who have considerable pride in their jobs and take their responsibilities seriously. Therfr is one thing that their customers do which the earners would like to see corrected, name ly, that the customers would buy enough to last them longer than a day or two Of course, the carriers would get a big boost in morale if rural resi- last year. The bounty paid by the county is $2.50 for each set of feet of a slain fox Many of the feet were those of vFry young foxes. on which the bounty was the same as on the adult foxes.

Practically all of the animals were red foxes, and they were brought in from practically every part of the county, with a liberal number from the southern part of the county and areas along the main streams of the county. Tho bounty is offered to help keep the number of foxes reduced to save pheasants and other wild life, as well as to stop inroads on I the fanners poultry, Teacher Salaries Up WILMINGTON. Jan. 12 increases of at least $100 annually have been voted for all NOTICE DOG OWNERS A representative of the Fayette Co. Auditor Office will be at the following places for your convenience in purchasing your 1952 dog licenses.

Price male dogs $2.00 female dogs $2.00. JAN. 15 Knisley's Grocery, Madison Mills 12 to 2 P. M. Waterloo 2:30 to 4 P.

M. JAN. 15 Frederick's Grocery, Yatesville IO A. M. to 12 Robert Jefferson's Ins.

Office, Bloomingburg 2 P. M. to 4 P. M. JAN.

16 Foster's Grocery, Good Hope 2:30 to 4 P. M. Coe Store, Bookwalter 9 A. M. to I I :30 A.

M. Evans Grocery, Pleasant View 2 P. M. to 4 P. M.

JAN. 17 Grocery, N. Martinsburg 12 to 2 P. Eldrick's Grocery, Buena Visto 2:30 P. M.

to 4 P. M. Jeffersonville Auto Co. O. 9 A.

M. to 4 M. JAN. 18 Mark's Grocery, So. Plymouth 12 to 2 P.

Mongold's Grocery, Milledgeville 2:30 P. M. to 4 P. M. Jan.

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