December
I Jy
THE STATE
Page Seven
Smallest
Postoffice
In the
World
»!/
LULA N. \\ UK
н
\.XI»I.ING i In'
«
Grinishnw* postoffiee ns at tin*
hundred* of other postotliec* in X>*rtli
Carolina. In fact t In* holiday "rush"
of gift |tarkap'> and greeting card-
d<x*s not threaten to over-tax tin- phys¬
ical strength of I V-t master Warren S.
Alexander who presides over the* small¬
est postotliec ill the Foiled States.
“Alex " as he is familiarly railed, b
not sorry that business is light now nt
his oilier which has only two seasons,
the slimmer season and the hunting
season, for he is ju»t reeu|*erating from
a protracted illness.
Almost hidden by the trees ami
vines that grow along the garden walk
at the country home of the Alexanders
in Jackson County, far hack in the
Western Carolina mountains, the little
postoflico with a working spine of only
six bv live feet, servo* about ten fam¬
ilies the year around but quite a num¬
ber more in the summer months and
during the hunting season in the fall
when the world heats a path to the
rural mountain lodge of the post¬
master.
The midget postoffiee building i- of
log construction with outer dimensions
measuring eight hv six. It was estiih
lished some fifty-live or sixty years ago
by the Grimshaw*. an English family
who came to Jackson County, pur¬
chased
и
large mountain farm tract
and established residence. For some
reason they dccid<-d to migrate to an¬
other locality in later years, and in de¬
posing of tin' e-tate, gave to a young
woman relative who became the wife
of the present postmaster, a section of
the mountain tract embracing about
one hundred acres. Mr. Alexander
added to his holdings and now pos¬
sesses quite a large acreage.
Postmaster Alexander ha* served as
postmaster for two decades and his
summer patrons include people from
many states.
Located some three or four miles
Here’s Postmaster Warren S. Alexander, handing out some mail to "The
Judge” at Grimshaws, which is believed to be the smallest postoffice in the
world. Judging from this photograph, we’re not inclined to dispute this
claim.
from t ‘ashler's near the Jaeksou- Macon
county line, in a wild, scenic section
of the mountains, the traveler to Griin-
-liaws gazes in awe down into the tops
of tall tree* on one side and lip to the
towering cliffs on the other, thrilled
into forget fulness of the whirl of the
rilv and the sophisticated world left
behind.
lint il is the postmaster and not the
midget building that is the interesting
part of the show. On hi* huge moun¬
tain tract, “Alex” raises quite a va¬
riety of products which appeal to the
appetite* of hi* summer hoarders. The
lamb frequently served from his table,
and always cooked to a turn, is from
his own Hock. The vegetable* are from
his own garden, the milk i- furnished
by his own herd. He is not an edu¬
cated man in the strict sense of the
term, hut possesse. native intelligence
which coupled with a brood, varied ex-
jMcrieiiee makes him an extraordinary
entertainer. An adventurer in youth,
he migrat'd west with hi* youthful
bride at the age of eighteen and led
the lifi of a cowboy. He worked for
the Santa Fe railroad out of Kansas
City and. quoting his own words,
“owned an automobile before North
Carolina knew of such a bird."
Growing home-sick afterward, for
lib native hills, lie return id to what
is now (trim-haw*, built a comfortable
residence f” replace the old Gritnshaw
home that burned and equipped it
with modern conveniences. Water from
the mountainside ha- been piped into
the house.
Summer guest* at the Alexander
Imine for fourteen year* have found on
the dining room register the
паше
of
a most interesting personage familiar¬
ly known as “The Judge." Judge
He net. I believe was hi* name, hut few
took the time to inquire about hi* last
name, so interested was every one in
his absorbing yarn*, his entertaining
stories of places, personages and occur¬
rences and above all. bis occasional
organ recitals in the evening when he
would sit at the little organ in the
mountain homo and play and -ing for
the pleasure of the household. Al¬
though "The Judge" chose to forsake
the bustle of tin' great city for the
peaceful joy of the secluded mountain
retreat at Grinishnw* he never lost
touch with world affairs but kept in¬
formed through the medium of the
New York press.
While a few North Carolinian*, in-
.siIUo.i iirnfMsnrs chiMisc
cllldUig ' "liege
рГ01С*гОГ*,
ChOOSC
Grimslmw* ns a vacationing place
each summer, Ihhuiiisc of its quiet, rest¬
ful atmosphere and it* utter seclusion,
it b from distant -tat.* that most of
the visitor» come. Writers — authors of
wild life stories in particular find this
an ideal place to combine play with
work. They go to hunt with “Alex"
and on these ex|H-ditions frequently
glean material to weave into stories
(Conti *ur,i on pane twenty)
