This year, the US Postal System will celebrate 250 years of service. As most of us learned in school, the service was begun by Benjamin Franklin in 1775 as a crucial means by which the 13 colonies could communicate and unify against British rule. Later on, in 1787 when the US Constitution was created, it specified the postal system as an essential service of the government. Today, the USPS is the largest postal service in the world, processing about 318 million pieces each day. To recognize this moment in history, the USPS will later this summer issue a sheet-sized stamp mosaic of postal functions. Leading up to the release, the USPS podcast, Mailin' it!, has put out an episode examining the history of rural free delivery, an important service of the USPS. From the episode notes:
USPS Historian Steve Kochersperger joins us to discuss the origins and lasting impact of rural free delivery—an initiative that began in 1896 to bring mail directly to farm families across the U.S. Learn how this historic service helped bridge the gap between urban and rural communities, supported economic growth, and laid the groundwork for modern mail delivery.
Give it a listen at the link below.
No comments:
Post a Comment