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Show Hiirai lasf . Service A Talk Given by Mrs. Allen Whitney President, Ladies' Auxiliary Bellwood, Nebraska ' In our rural areas there is nothing more typically American Ameri-can than the term R.F.D. and its carrier, "the mailman." He is the bond between the city and the country. He brings news from loved ones and the news of the day. He is an up-to-date salesman, for he delivers the mail order catalogs. He has given advice on all questions, from "How to Take CaiL- of the Baby," to "The Best Way to Store Turnips." There are more than 32,000 rural mail carriers in the Postal Service. More than half of these have carried mail for twenty years and some have carried for nearly fifty years. "The mail must go through." That has been the goal that all rural mail carriers strive to reach in spite of rain, snow, mud or flood. That goal has been attained by going on foot, horse, car, jeep, and even by boat. In some emergencies, the airplane has been used. These are the Rural Mail Carriers who serve in the rural areas. I saw an advertisement which read. "Your mailbox is the window of the world. It's one of the largest windows in the world. Your Mailbox. It brings you news of those who are near and dear to you. It keeps you informed through newspapers news-papers and magazines." Your mail carrier serves that window. He serves it in the same way the postmaster serves the patron in the city or in the town. He is a traveling post office. .Let me tell you about his work. First, he buys his own car and pays his own expenses on it. The government does allow al-low ' him 9c a mile now for equipment allowance. His salary sal-ary is based on the miles of his route. That is, his regular route, not on extra driving on bad roads or detours. He sorts his mail at the post ofuce, stacks it, and then starts its delivery. He delivers all classes oi mail: C.O.D.. Regis-iteiea Regis-iteiea Mail, Special Delivery, I ana Insured Mail. He collects I all classes of mail: C.O.D., Keg-I Keg-I istered Mail, Insured Mail, Mon-1 Mon-1 ey Order Applications. He also collects First Class Airmail and Parcel Post Airmail. He sells stamps, stamped envelopes, postal pos-tal cards, money orders. He sells U. S. Bonds and Duck Stamps. You can help your carrier by having your mail stamped, addressed ad-dressed properly, packages wrapped and tied securely and addressed properly. All this will facilitate the delivery of mail. A good mailbox will help and will add to the appearance of your property, roadside and highway. Good roads hasten the delivery of mail and good roads help to insure highway safety. Having the approach to your box clear of weeds, ruts and snow helps your carrier give you better service. Your box should be set clear of the road or pavemnt so' the carrier can serve it from the right and yet be free from highway traffic while serving it. He has been called an Ambassador, Ambas-sador, a Postmaster and a Diplomat. Dip-lomat. I have told you how he serves as an Ambassador of Good Will and a Postmaster. Now as a Diplomat: A farmer's wife has a birthday and as she comes to the box to get ner birthday mail, the carrier will tell her she hasn't changed a bit in all the years he has carried their mail; or a new family moves in and the carrier wants their names for his roster so ne says to the farmer's wife, "Will you have your mother write down the names of the members of your family?" The motto of the Rural MaU Carrier is: "Service with a Smile." He is serving your Window Win-dow of the World. May your Window shine in his service. |