I am so excited to share this find with you.
If you've been following my blog for at least a month, you have probably heard that my beloved grandfather passed away recently. He was a casual collector of stamps, and his collection was fueled by his 40 years working for the Post Office (as it was called then: "U.S. Postal Service" came later).
In going through his effects after his death, my mother found this wonderful newspaper photo of him demonstrating the newfangled stamp-dialing machine. (Does anyone else think "That is so 1955?" I do.) I can't believe how awesome this is. I would love the idea of postal history involving a stamp-dailing machine anyway, and probably share that with you for the coolness factor, but the fact that the photo shows my dear grandfather (with hair! I never saw him with hair!) just makes my day. It was such a joyous thing, to come across this in our grieving. My mom mailed the clipping to me (along with a letter, of course!), and I scanned it. This appeared in the Kansas City Star on July 3, 1955.
My favorite quote from the article:
"The customers seem to like it," one of the postal clerks said, "but they're sure surprised at seeing anything efficient at a post office."
HA! My grandfather so could have been the one who said that. I can just hear his laugh after making a crack like that.
For anyone who has trouble viewing this small size, I am experimenting with a new way to download documents. I don't know if this will work for you or not, but here is a link to view the PDF of the scan.
