Mail

[Luci]

Central Nebraska, town of 300. Our friends lived on the outskirts of town and had to go to the post office for their mail. Only way to do it in town, but they were only 2 blocks from Main St and the Post Office. The farmers did have mailbox delivery.

In Montana, Wyoming, NW Nebraska, and probably other places, I know some ranches are 5 to 20 miles off of the highway. Their kids go to boarding school (Monday AM to Friday PM) or are homeschooled. Does anyone know how their mail is managed?

This is a cool thread!

I have a question about the little red flag on U.S. mailboxes. A previous poster mentioned that she would raise it to let the postman/woman know that there is outgoing mail. I always had the impression that it was the person delivering mail who raised it, to let the homeowner know that there was new mail in there. Or can both be true?

Two of us mentioned the flag. My grandmother in the 1950 (farm) used it the way we do. (Southern Illinois). Most of the places I've observed are pretty regular with their deliveries, so knowing if the carrier had been there is not an issue.

[Luci]

Two more questions:

When I was reading a lot of British literature, people in cities in the late 1800's to mid 1900's (London, at least) had two mail deliveries a day. Was that true? Is it still true?

Does anyone remember in the US in the 50's when Christmas cards were at their most popular getting two deliveries a day and one on Sunday for the two weeks before Christmas? I was in southern Illinois, and my husband was in northern Illinois and kind of remembers it that way.

OK I'll shut up now and listen to the rest of you. Thanks for reading and answering if you can, and thanks for the information about other countries.

[camlan]

Two more questions:

When I was reading a lot of British literature, people in cities in the late 1800's to mid 1900's (London, at least) had two mail deliveries a day. Was that true? Is it still true?

Does anyone remember in the US in the 50's when Christmas cards were at their most popular getting two deliveries a day and one on Sunday for the two weeks before Christmas? I was in southern Illinois, and my husband was in northern Illinois and kind of remembers it that way.

OK I'll shut up now and listen to the rest of you. Thanks for reading and answering if you can, and thanks for the information about other countries.

I can't remember getting two mail deliveries in the same day at home, but when I started working in the early 1980s, businesses still got two daily deliveries.

[demarco]

I can remember twice a day delivery. It must have been in the mid-fifties.  The letter carriers back then used to ring the doorbell when they left the mail so you'd know it was there.

[demarco]

It's also worth noting that the US Postal Service has been cutting mail delivery.  It used to be that mail was delivered everyday but Sunday.  Now some regions are down to only 4 days a week.

I didn't know they'd cut back anywhere.  We're still getting delivery six days a week.

[veryfluffy]

When I was reading a lot of British literature, people in cities in the late 1800's to mid 1900's (London, at least) had two mail deliveries a day. Was that true? Is it still true?

There were two deliveries per day by the Royal Mail until, I think, 2002. We still get post 6 days a week.

[2littlemonkeys]

I grew up in an area that used mailboxes where you put your mail in it and then the letter carrier would collect it and leave new mail.

I then moved to a large city and was very confused.  I kept leaving mail in our letter box but the letter carrier wasn't taking it.  She finally explained to me that they don't do that here.  I have to walk to the end of the block and put my outgoing mail into an official mailbox.

The horror.   

My current office building has a post office right in it, so that's very handy.

[JoW]

Is theft of mail common? It seems like a very handy way to send mail, but I'm not sure that I'd be able to be trusting enough to send important mail that way. ...

Theft of mail is not unheard of especially in or near a city.  Thieves have learned how to remove all but the signature from a check, then write-in any information that suits them.  We had a run of thefts like that so now in my area the post office will pick up mail from your mailbox but they recommend you not mail your house payment or car payment that way.  The large mail collection boxes someone posted a picture of are quite common.  There are at least 3 within 3 miles of my house.  I use them when I pay my bills. 

[bestimw]

I'm in the US.  My town doesn't have home delivery.  We have to go to the post office to get our mail from our post office box.  I post my mail from there, or from the big blue mailbox (picture previous page) that is by my work.

It's a drag not having home delivery.  Packages that are too large for the box have to be picked up at the counter (they put a card in the box telling you you have a package.)  Since they're reducing hours the counter is only open while I'm at work.  So I can only get those things on Saturday. 

Also, some refunds and rebates say "no PO Boxes."  No fair!  I know it's because some people rent multiple boxes to get multiple refunds.  But  I learned that if submit a rebate with my street address and use "zip +4" (zip code plus my PO Box #) the post office knows what box to put it in.  Sweet.

Despite these inconveniences I still voted "no" when a survey was taken asking if we want home delivery.  The post office is kind of the town meeting place.  You run into neighbors there.  The first aid squad sets up a table to sell tickets to the pancake breakfast, Girl scouts sell cookies.  The post office crew (all women) are like friends.  People can post missing pet pictures knowing that everyone in town has to go to the post office.   I would miss all that.  And I guess most people agreed with me because it didn't pass.

[CakeEater]

Despite these inconveniences I still voted "no" when a survey was taken asking if we want home delivery.  The post office is kind of the town meeting place.  You run into neighbors there.  The first aid squad sets up a table to sell tickets to the pancake breakfast, Girl scouts sell cookies.  The post office crew (all women) are like friends.  People can post missing pet pictures knowing that everyone in town has to go to the post office.   I would miss all that.  And I guess most people agreed with me because it didn't pass.

I like the idea that you voted to be inconvenienced so that a community hub could remain so. I live in a small(ish) town and I don't know if I would do the same, but I like that you did!

[camlan]

Despite these inconveniences I still voted "no" when a survey was taken asking if we want home delivery.  The post office is kind of the town meeting place.  You run into neighbors there.  The first aid squad sets up a table to sell tickets to the pancake breakfast, Girl scouts sell cookies.  The post office crew (all women) are like friends.  People can post missing pet pictures knowing that everyone in town has to go to the post office.   I would miss all that.  And I guess most people agreed with me because it didn't pass.

You got a choice? My cousins live in a small, even tiny, town in South Dakota. I remember when they got home delivery--they were just told it was going to happen by the Post Office. The town had to install signs with all the street names, so that the mail carriers would know where to go. The town was so small, everyone who lived there knew which streets were which, so no street signs had been needed up until that point.

[bestimw]

You got a choice?

It wasn't an official post office survey.  The town took the survey to see if the residents wanted home delivery, then I guess they were going to see how to go about getting it.  I don't know what the official results were, but the mayor reported in his semiannual letter to the town that we "overwhelmingly voted no" so that was the end of it.

[Sophia]

Also, if someone gets caught messing with the mail, the penalty is HUGE. 

My mom is a bit paranoid about someone stealing her mail (incoming or outgoing).  So, she puts outgoing in the box just the carrier comes, and watches for him to arrive.

I remember sending packages using my mailbox.  Then someone sent a bomb(?I was a kid), and they stopped that.  They seemed to have loosened up on that lately.

[cicero]

In Israel:

*the postal service does not pick up mail from your home (unless you pay for and order courier service).

*they deliver every day except saturday. (I think).

*most people live in apartment buildings so they are put in the individual mail boxes in the lobby. in some smaller towns/rural areas they deliver to a central distribution point in the neighborhood (you still get your own mail box that is locked but you have to go and get the mail).

*in really rural places, they have somthing called "mobile mail" which is a little truck (think of an ice cream truck) that drives around to small places and deliver mail and packages, sell stamps, do the postal bank stuff etc. when we lived in such a place, they used to come every day except saturday but that was 18 years ago, not sure what the story is now.

*most cities have at least one post office, many cities have post offices in each neighborhood. you can buy stamps, send packages, use the postal bank, wire money, buy cards for cell phone, fill up your parking gadget etc. lately they are also offering business services such as printing envelopes and stationary etc.

[WhiteTigerCub]

Older houses in my state have slots in the door or next to it for the postman to place mail.

Newer neighborhoods, like the one I live in, have all the boxes in one central location similar to the linked boxes in a post above. The outgoing mail is placed in a locked slot in the upper left corner. The mail person has a key to the backside of the box where he/she can get the outgoing mail and place incoming mail for everyone on our street without having to open each individual box.

Because the mail person needs access to the back of the box and the box is in front of my house, I have to keep my bushes trimmed so he/she can have clear access, otherwise no one on my street will get their mail delivered :/