Show t t V Veteran Postoffice JOSH BILLINGS 81 SJ years ol old who entered ent red United States postal service over fifty t two fifty ro years ago after discharge from army at Fort Douglas becomes reminiscent of days n 5 of stage when mail room was in old Constitution building in upper Main street lIe He is IS oldest mail man of in America I a m o N Nt t w 1 f b z I S Sc c 4 4 Y 4 s k I r rt t j 5 S.- S. 4 S S 4 4 4 j St S SC Sl S C l S S S. S S. S S 4 S S S S S S'S 4 q 5 S 'S 5 5 l r m te sg g mJ j ww Nine l Postmasters ers Have Served Uncle Sam Sanz in Salt Lake Front From Nate Arate Stein to Present t I Incumbent 1 Noble oble Warrum War War- ar rum ruin All Commend Efficiency as Public Servant TWO FIFTY years Jear and three months n ago o this morning morning- there walked into t the Salt Lake postoffice ce a young young- soldier The hour was 8 0 clock At Atthe Atthe Atthe the same hour to today ny th this s same man will have reported at nt the same hour fo for forthe the same work times to be exact His name is Uncle Josh Billing Billings Bill Bill- in ings ing ol oldest est known postal in m point of service among among- the who arc are connected with the United States postal department When B Billings s entered the postal service December 1 18 Salt Lake was little more than an an- overgrown rOWIl town tc Next to l. l Bentons Benton's Bar the postoffice postoffice postoffice post- post office afforded the best loafing place in town toun When the daily stage stag arrived arrived ar ar- ar- ar rived either cither from the thc east or the west the nati natives rushed to the postoffice while the travelers rushed rustled to Denton Bentons Benton s 5 Nat Stein was postmaster also a agent ent for Cor the Wells Far Fargo o company when the veteran entered th the thi servIce ice At that time only ono one other I worl worked td In ut the office During the years of his service Uncle Josh has s seen the dally daily business of the Cf c grow rn until t t the present time 20 clerks and carriers are used at tle Ie central and substations Oldest t J e The moro more fact that he has been In Inthe Inthe inthe the service longer than an any other man manIn manIn manin In the tho United States does oes not mean much to Undo Uncle Josh It Is not a high highlight highlight light in his life HC b by a whole lot and he says say so himself II lie does not see co anything anything any any- n- n thing unusual In the tho matter lie lias las always had a good job and plenty to cat which Is moro than nas been aCCorded afforded afforded af aC- af- af forded Corded to men who have held down a hundred d jobs in the tho same length lenth of ot time is tho the way va he thinks Uncle Josh has line been a member of oC the tho Salt Sail Lal Lake e Masonic lo lodge go for forty years cars carsI I Last Christmas the members presented him with an honorary life lite membership paid in full That Thal and not tho the fact tact that he Is tho the oldest known in the postoffice department i Is the real high hiSh light in the old gentleman's gen gon- life Other men might equal or even e pass his record as alS government go worker but few fe are arc going to have havo I conferred a Masonic honor In tho the way of ot an honorary membership says saya Uncle Josh When he ho started in the service the Salt Sail Lake was located In the theold theold theold old Constitution building on eli upper Main street It was hero that ho he learned theart tho the art of oC o a mall mail pouch without using a l knife and heard the neighbor neighbor- i. i u 1 n I In it Tt wax dM here that the tho vii vii- uI bu lago Jago talent including the cutup chronic grouch and tho the nations brains came each day to bask In the sunshine In summer or absorb tho the heat from the tho little stove O in winter Carrl Carried tl Paper 1 With Tho Those o were tho the days of oC real sport says say Undo Uncle Josh It was a time tim when morning morning- Java whisky whisk was the towns town's and the tho man who wiio could get store to tobacco tobacco tobacco to- to bacco had more friends than a popular motion picture artist of oC the tho present day Uncle Josh broke Into tho the mail mall service via a city paper route Ho He Housed used to carry tho the Daily Union Vedette published at Fort Douglas Douglas Douglas Doug Doug- las his only assistant was an nn army musket which never no left him The publisher of at the tho paper and some of ot the leading leading- citizens did not get got alon along very ven well hence the gun bun In reciting early day incidents Un ole olo Josh said ald that lots loll of or mall mail was lost after 11 it left Salt SaIL Lake duo due to roving roy rov in ing bands of ot Indians attacking the tho stage stase and killing driver and guards During During- the winter months mail mall was often otton delayed for Cor weeks and when It did arrive It was wet and frozen They used to set the pouch up near tho the stove and sorta shuck off tho the letters as they thawed tha out out Outgoing Outgoing- malls mails usually weighed about fifty pounds each day When the town was WiS big enough li ug-h ug to support a adaily adaily daily paper the tue activities of or the tho postal clerk were sere necessarily greater It was wasat wasat at that time that Uncle Josh and his only assistant s st nt decided d that that t they ey could could I I noi nUL longer Keep up worK wora as non- non I cst eat representatives of the government go and nd continue reading all of oC tho the Incoming Incoming ing lag and outgoing outgoing- postal cards The post card reading reading- habit says saS the veteran veteran vet vet- eran cran was discontinued then and has haa never been taken up since ames Stein First During During- tho the period period- that Salt Lake grew to a metropolis and its postoffice ono one of or the busiest places in the tho west Uncle Josh has hns served un under er ten different dif dlf- brent ferent postmasters First was Nat Stein Stoin under whose whoso management he hc learned how to throw v letters Then In their order came Wattis Street J J. M. M Moore John T. T 1 Lynch George Geore Brough Drough J J. J A. A Benton Denton A. A H. H Nash C. C A. A Barret A. A L. L Thomas and the present postmaster ter Noble Warrum Uncle Josh claims to have handled more moro mall mail than any other man In th the Uis w world 0 rid At the present time he Ito has n. n desk des job but he Is busy from the time he herings herings herings rings In at nt the office at 8 S In the tho mornIng morning morn morn- ing until he quits at 5 in tho the evening The only time he is away way from his desk I h about aboUl 3 o'clock in tho the afternoon afternoon after aner- noon when he lie goes to the offices of ot otono one ono of the afternoon newspapers where he watches the weighing of or the outgoing outgoing out out- going papers t- t Dur During 1 the the r. r recent cent Influenza epidemic no IJ cO contracted the thO disease and hopes of or his r. r recovery ery were doubtful But he soon rallied d and within two weeks was back at his desk although it robbed him of or his helpmate something ho he has never ne ceased to mourn It is s said scId ld At tho the present time limo tho the Salt Lake L handles on an average of ot pieces of oC maIL mall daB dalI dally Persons who work with him declare his memory memory mem mom ory still retains its keenness despite his 81 Si years and ho he is dally daily called Into the office of his superiors to fix the date dato of oC an event long past Th There Thero ro was a time when newcomers in the service considered him superior to tho the city directory Life Lite Dr Dry This man who has received over a Do thousand paychecks from tho the government govern govern- ment mont does not grasp the reason a news neWs- paper should want to lo run his hla picture In tho the Sunday paper with a graphic story story on his career Ho says lIfo liro in inthe inthe inthe the postoffice is pretty dry and the tho reporter who writes moro more than tin fifty words about the whole affair ought to keep a goodly odb supply of or candles in the house in case of oC sudden death When asked to recite a n few tew incidents Continued on Page Pago 30 SO TETE VETERAN VETERANS RAN S Continued from Page 1 I. I Section 3 3 of earl early life lite In Salt Lake he said Baid I r suppose you OU want ant me mc to tell you stuff about how the postoffice was vas robbed and how tho the bandit carried off oft S. S the the bankers banker's daughter or Orne something thing like that Well you are not going to get any such euch stu stuff The only robbery J W we have ever er had in the tIle Salt Lake L. came like the break In the Republican party in 1012 from 1912 from the In In- In side Occasionally we had some men who think they are arc a little wiser than the rest of us fellows belong to some sort of ot a club down In LeavenWorth Leavenworth Leaven- Leaven Worth Kan r J n t C oi T t v vj v S v L LOU irom nia where I was a soldier with Gen P. P OConnor We were on our way east when we received orders orders to stop at Fort Douglas When m my discharge came I Iwas was offered a Job In the postoffice postoffice post- post office and because It was a place where 1 I could meet every one Including the tho belles of at the town I took It At that time there was another fellow workIng workIng workIng work- work Ing there but I have forgotten his name He did not stay long IonS I got s-ot 59 9 a a. month which was an unusual amount those days Mall Rooted to 10 AIzo Arizona S I was the first person who was not a Morman to be bo employed I In theoffice tho the office During my fifty two years' years ex- ex parlance here I have never worked un under un- un der cler a n. Mormon postmaster ter That might 8 seem strange to persons who take lIttle littie lIt lIt- tie tle Interest In the matter maUer During those d days ys we had ono one mall mail from the tho cast east and and nd one from the west dally daily In the wl winter If the tho stage did not arrive we Ve e figured that they they- were In a snowdrIft snowdrift snow snow- drift somewhere BO we wo got our shovels shovels' and went out to look for them But ix In the tho summer er wo we always alwa's went out alter a a. a missing stage with something with a J. J little more convincing power than shovel above a Sometimes we found 1 the tho stage tA e and sometimes weS we wo S never found It S Mail was routed out of ot Salt Lake during those days to to- nearly every point J In the west Lots Lots' waa wa sent to AnI Artl Art Arl- I j l zona but had to go by way of ot here to t catch stages for tor those points i r The Tho postoffice was originally loj lo- lo j j In the old Constitution n bun building ding 10 1 j l rpm there It was waa moved to the bund build I 4 1 ins mg now occupied by the Kenyon hotel L L' L then to to another part of or the Ule Same build build- r ing until the present building was j erected S The first letter carrier In the city proved more of ot a curiosity than anything anything any any- thing else Small boys followed him 1 over the tho street Just juat to be able ablo to ten tel their mothers that they were on au speak speak- o jj f. f S 5 5 5 S S. S ing terms with the tho letter letter- carrier Uncle Josh says ho has no Intention intention intention tion of ot quitting tho service serIce A pension pension pension pen pen- sion to him would be bo little short of ot an Insult it is alright for tor the tho Masonic lodge to show their honor to him but nix on the government He lIe says he only haa hM probably twenty more years In the tho service and ho he wants to spend that time In the tho work which he loves loves loves- and knows |