State

The First 44R.F.D.” II mis <ksl;il»lisli<‘<l at China Grove*. IN’. C.. in 18%. and an ap¬ propriate marker lias been erected by the Historical Com¬ mission. coninienioratin^ the event. By II. Mc\. JOHNSON President N. C. Rural Letter Carriers Assn. ON July 4. 11138. Carey I*. Low- rance, retiring president uf the North Carolina Rural I-etter Carriers Association reported to the annual convention that ho had re¬ quested the State Historical Commi.- siou to approve the erection of a mark¬ er at China Grove, commemorating the establishment of the first Rural Free Delivery route in North Caro¬ lina. In October the Commission au¬ thorized the erection of such a mark¬ er, and the memorial now stands in front of the post office at China Grove. Before giving an account of the es¬ tablishment of Rural Free Delivery service in North Carolina, it might bo well to give a description of the system of mail delivery to rural com¬ munities prior to such establishment. Briefly the plan was as follows: Small post offices, situated at villages and cross-roads, were served with mail de¬ livered in locked pouches, by Star Route carriers. These carriers were selected through competitive bidding, the contract usually going to the low¬ est bidder. Rural patrons would re¬ ceive their mail at those post office* most convenient to them. In 1893, U. S. Senator Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, introduced in Congress a bill providing an appro¬ priation of $10,000 for the estab¬ lishment of experimental rural route- in various parts of the country. It was several years, however, before tin* first of these was established. In 1896, tif teen such routes were set up, one of which was at China Grove, North Carolina, with Mr. J. B. Goodnight as carrier. Although rural people at first accepted this new service with some reluctance, they soon realized its merit, and Rural Free Delivery service enjoyed a phenomenal growth. The length of early standard routes was twenty-four miles, and carriers used horses for delivery. As roads im¬ proved and automobiles became avail¬ able, the lcugth was increased to thir¬ ty miles; and at the present time the average length of routes in the United States is in excess of forty miles. The present Rural Delivery service com¬ prises some 33,000 carriers, who cover more than 1,000,000 miles daily, serv¬ ing some 26,000,000 patrons. It is in¬ teresting to note that, although the Federal appropriation for the support <>f rural delivery is constantly dimin¬ ishing through u consolidation of routes, the service, on the other hand, is being greatly extended. The "post office on wheels," as the rural carriers' service is familiarly known, has contributed much toward a more abundant life among people of rural sections. The carrier is the only representative of the Federal government with whom the vast ma¬ jority of these people ever come in contact. He brings to them practically all of the services offered by post offices in large cities. One of the great¬ est of these services is parcel post, which was first offered in 1913 as a means of getting small farm produce to the market; the original purpose, however, was never fully realized, as the volume of parcel post delivered to rural patrons has greatly exceeded that dispatched. Rural Free Delivery service has brought to rural people prompt delivery of mail, a more inti¬ mate contact with urban cominuni- ties, and a fuller enjoyment of the ad¬ vantages of rural life. The rural carrier has been charac¬ terized as: "Messenger of Sympathy and Love, Servant of Parted Friends, Consoler of the Lonely, Bond of the •Scattered Family, Enlarger of the Common Life, Carrier of News and Knowledge, Instrument of Trade and Industry, Promoter of Mutual Ac¬ quaintance, of Peace and Good Will among Men and Nations.” During the early days of Rural Free Delivery, practically all of the travel¬ ing was over roads that at certain times were practically impassable. rural free . DELIVERY the FIRST MAIL OVER AH R.F. D. ROUTE IN N C. WAS CARRIED OUT OF CHINA GROVE, OCTOBER 23. 1836. That is — impassable for everybody except the “mail man.” Undoubtedly you have heard the expression many times: "1 don’t 1«- lievo you'll be able to got over that road: the mail man is the only one that can get through.” Since those days, there has been a tremendous improvement in our highway system, but there are still many miles of road in North Carolina where the same ex¬ pression is still in uw. Faithful and dependable service has characterized the delivery of the rural mail in North Carolina, and this service has become more efficient with the passage of each year. It has been very seldom indeed that the mail hasn't been able to "get through,” al¬ though there are few people who can appreciate the toil and sacrifice on the part of the carriers in order to make this possible. It's a hard job, but there are hundreds of R.F.D. carriers in North Carolina who have been traveling their routes regularly for fifteen, twenty and twenty-live years. They take a genuine pride in their work and rightfully so. because they play a prominent part in the lives of our rural people. Without their aid and cooperation, life in the country would hold many more difficulties and prob¬ lems than it now does. 5