Saturday, February 26, 2011

Snail Mail Anyone?

I've had some nice comments and some questions about my
picture of the mail boxes.

I think it's time I tell you all about them.

First of all, a long time ago,
I was born and raised in a very small
Minnesota town.
The population of McGregor
was 360 when I graduated.
Students were bused in from
a 60 mile radius.

It was a wonderful town.
Everyone knew everyone and
neighbor helped neighbor.
I was not a country girl,
I lived "in town!"

My Mom was a substitute teacher
when she wasn't working for an attorney
or being the city clerk.

After many years of owning his
own gas station,
my Dad served as the Postmaster for many years.
I can remember many early mornings
of walking the two blocks to
the back door of the Post Office.
Yes, I was allowed in the back door,
before office hours,
to collect our personal mail.

My favorite time of year to make this
trek was spring.
Yes, the weather was wonderful,
especially with the wafting scent of lilacs
guiding my path.
Yet, the real reason I enjoyed it so much,
were the boxes and boxes
of baby chicks lined up
along the walls of the backroom,
awaiting their delivery to the local farmers.
On more than once occasion,
my Dad (Mr. Postmaster)
let me kneel on the floor
to peek at and pet
the little fluffy babies
through their air holes.
What a delight!

Hence, the mailboxes on my blog.
I have such warm and wonderful memories
from growing up as a Postmaster's
daughter.

I wish this picture were from that little
post office in McGregor
but I actually took it
at the Landmark Center in St. Paul.
They look just like the ones
I remember from
a time long ago.

They also remind me of when
people actually hand wrote letters
and sent card through the USPS
to find their way to
the mailboxes dotting
the roads.

Today,
we call it snail mail.
It seems that if it weren't for bills,
advertisements,
and magazines,
I could pretty much remove that mail box.
I refrain though,
as once in a great while,
someone actually
takes the time to send me
"real" mail!
You know who you are
and I thank you!

This all got me to wondering
if any of you, Dear Readers,
miss receiving
good mail in your mailbox?

If you do,
I'd like to make an offer to you.
In honor of my 100th post,
I would like to send you
a "real" card via snail mail!

If you would like one,
please email me your address
and I will get right on it.
You can email me at:

I am ubber excited about doing this
and I hope you are too!


6 comments:

Young Adventures... said...

Thanks so much for sharing that beautiful story Jill. I too was wondering about the mailboxes. What a great idea to send mail to your readers. Yes, I do miss getting "mail". That's one thing I just love about my birthday and Christmas...cards.

RKO Ideas Galore (by Karen) said...

I bought one of those little post boxes at a craft fair for hubby years ago. A little piece of lockable history! What a great idea about the card...I'll email you my address!

Valerie said...

Sign me up! You have my address. Dad would have loved this story. I didn't know about the boxes of chicks. Isn't it funny they could be sent through the mail? I remember going uptown to see Dad at the P.O. He always seemed so pleased to see me. As I get older I really miss having a reason to go to McGregor.

Kandi said...

I LOVE getting mail and you've already blessed me recently with one of your beautiful cards (it still hangs on my fridge, I love it!)...,but I would be so happy to receive something from you! It's such a joy to get something from a friend...

p.s. I love it when you share stories about your parents and childhood!

Unknown said...

I spent time growing up (summers) and then lived on a little island for almost 20 years- people used to send me mail at - Kelli Parker Boca grande, FL 33921- and the postmaster "Bud" would set it aside for me! then the island grew and grew- and now the Bush family vacations there too. I can't afford to live on the island any more- but live just off (still a lovely area) and we are still a part of the little island community. it is a total of 7 miles long on the gulf coast of florida- thankyou for sharing your story! made me reminisce about mine!

Young Adventures... said...

Hi Jill,

I received my card today. What a lovely surprise! Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to send it, I love it.