U.S. POSTAGE BULK RATE PERMIT NO. 119 SALEM, OH 44460

Vol 5, 'J\[o. 25 'Iuesrfay, 'lJecember 5, 1995 Section of 'The Safem 'J\[ews • rs s 1 rl st I From beginning, officials wanted to transport farther and faster By Vicki Moeser Smithsonian News F THE U.S. POSTAL SER-· I vice had a motto - which it does not - it might well be "faster and faster, and farther and farther," says James H. Bruns, director of the Smithso­ nian's National in Washington D.C. America's postal system has been obsessed with speed and distance, he says. "To carry the mail faster and farther over the years the Depart­ ment has experimented with many innovations, such as bal­ loons, rail lines, streetcars, i~~~~--..~.;~~~~;S;~~:~~ buses, pneumatic tubes, heli­ copters, rockets, satellites and ~e horse 1Yas the vital link. in th~ US. postal service through the years, from mail delivery to rural homes like the farm of motorcars." And, he adds, Eli Taylor m West Township to maccessible places in the west. animals. For the first 200 years of its In all fairness, Bruns adds, ladelphia and Pittsburgh on a Steamship Co. to carry mail anxious not to allow Caiifornia, existence, the pace of America's slow service was not always two-week schedule. from New York to Panama, with its vast gold resources, to postal system was largely the carrier's fault. "Horses were Statistically, in 1791, roughly where it was taken by horse­ be wooed by the South. "The determined by the speed of forever losing shoes, coaches nine-tenths of America's mail back or rail across the isthmus, Pony Express was the perfect horses. The first attempt to broke down and ferries were a was carried by riders on horse­ then put aboard ships bound alternative," Bruns says. "It establish regular horseback problem. Because there were back. The remaining tenth was for San Francisco. Under the operated over a central route mail service was made in the few bridges, ferry operators largely transported by coaches best conditions, a letter would that was about 1,000 miles the 1670s by Francis Lovelace, grumbled at having to carry and boats. To improve service, arrive in California three to perfect alternative," Bruns says. Bruns writes in his book "Mail post riders across rivers and a frenzy of road construction four weeks after it was mailed. 'It operated over a central on the Move." (Transportation streams in the dark and during began in the 1790s. As a result, Some mail also was hauled route that was about 1,000 Trails, Polo, Ill.,1992.) storms." by 1799, more than 16,000 miles by stagecoach across the coun­ miles shorter than the Overland Lovelace, the Colonial gover­ The Articles of Confedera­ of post roads had been try. The Post Office Department Mail's southern route. And, nor of New York and New tion, adopted in 1777, gave con­ established. issued a contract in 1857 to the more importantly from the Jersey, decreed that "a post gress "the sole and exclusive By 1806, mail-coach service Butterfield Overland Mail Co. Northern perspective, it was shall go monthly between New right and power" to establish was extended beyond the to provide service from Mis­ outside Southern control." York and ." Although and regulate post offices. Fol­ Appalachian Mountains. "Early souri to California. The adver­ Pony Express arrives the distance was only about 260 lowing the adoption of the U.S. mail wagons were not pleasure tised traveling time ~as 24 Pony Express riders were miles, the trip took more than Constitution in 1789, Congress palaces," Bruns says. "They days, but mail service was sought through an advertise­ two weeks, partly because created the U.S. Postal Office lacked most creature comforts. often delayed for months. ment stressing adventure to there were no roads connecting Department to "establish post There were no glass windows, "By the 1860s," Bruns any young, skinny fellows who the two cities. offices and post roads." functional heaters or comfort­ explains, "two events sealed were expert riders and willing Delays accepted Throughout much of the 19th able seat cushions. Leg room the fate of the Overland Mail, a · to risk death for $25 a week. As postal service expanded century, the Post Office Depart­ was scant. The trips were slow systeffi\i; which ·was once Orphans were preferred. throughout the Colonies, ment favored the practice of and long, and by journey's end, referred to as one of the great­ Although the postage rates placing contracts with private the aroma and hygiene of one's est overland transportation were expensive, the time travel delays in mail delivery were an from St. Joseph, Mo., to San accepted way of life. "Post rid­ firms, rather than using feder­ traveling companions frequent­ ventures ever undertaken:' ally owned animals, vehicles or ly left much to be desired." These were the Civil War, Francisco was ten days. ers escorted travelers they Despite its popular mytholo­ might come upon, and they watercraft. ~ Swanning prospectors which resulted in the disrup­ were known to simply tarry," Horses were link After gold was discovered in tion of the southern Overland gy, the Pony Express contract 1 Druns ,. :Ser ii. coin er tvvo.r PJ.s mail ser::.,-ic~e begaii mo,~-- 1848 at S11~~::: : ~:'.:::~! :::-_ ·::.:~S::::- Mail rot2~2; c-::-"td '.l-~2 c.dc,-.:c::: ': ::.' some cou.1C.C :Oe per- 1ng riders or vehi- niaj prospectors -v':tl: the ,., '"'"'::..~ £::.ct from 1861 - l8 r11ont~:s - until suaG.e·~ -io i-.. tid oxer~ a.~(Jr~g the cles drat-vn ~-:.orses linked ·:he horrlesteaCe~s flocking west­ that the 0\-e::::,:.;:::C : ::c:'.~ ::cd way, while ·others were often sparsely populated frontier. In ward. That same year, the Post through Texas, New Mexico. the transcontinental telegraph .....,.....,,...l A __ ;_,..._ ...... ~~,.l~ 1\.T-;....,~J..t....,,_ __ '1'1"'100 -~,-".!- - ---",..::J---~ --~ _'!!_. ______f""\t..t.:.,...,,.. n,...,,--~.!.-_...,_,1.. ---·---...J,,_,... - '.)'esteTl{ears 'Tuestfay, 'Deaiiiber 5 ]')95 shire re ecte as mericans wanted By Country Living printed images of America's reached the height of its popu­ ISTORICAL ST AFFORD­ Founding Fathers and military larity between 1820 and 1845, H shire was a smart public heroes, celebrating their when pictorial art was largely relations move by the British exploits in bygone battles. The absent from American interiors. pottery industry after the War pro-American designs were a Prior to about 1850, only the of 1812 - and today collectors marketing device to help Engl­ wealthiest Americans could pay hundreds of dollars for ish potters regain the American manage to exhibit works of art these English ceramics with market owned by them during in their homes, and even th.en, American themes. the Colonial era and lost dur­ most paintings found on the Although Historical Stafford­ ing the American Revolution walls took the form of dour shire was produced and distri­ and the War of 1812. family portraits. buted in great quantities dur­ When the popularity of Transfer printing, an early ing the early and mid-19th cen­ images depicting military victo­ mass-production technique, tury, time, frequent use and ries and political figures waned allowed Staffordshire potters to breakage have made it scarce. somewhat in the 1820s, pastoral provide popular quality wares Collectors can expect to pay scenes glorifying the beauty of at prices low enough to appeal about $75 for a 3;0 -inch _!:Up the American countryside to families of modest means. plate, $200-$600 for ·a. dinner replaced them. Later, images of Although historical images ~ --~·::i.,~--,....~,,._ Ji?T"l::~...... ,-- :::-l-,,.J ,.,~~~re;_ 'l;irere founC~ :::>'1.ost 0f~en o:-;

the~~~~:~~t; J:~~~, the ;~e~~cd~~~~ ro the White pots. The earliest examples valued at $12,000," said author House in Washington, D:C. featured designs printed' in and expert Jeffrey B. Snyder. cobalt blue, followed in the late "It made me a little nervous to The transportation revolution 1820s and 1830s by an expand­ suddenly realize that if I provided additional subjects to ing range of colors, including This engraving of Andrew Jackson was based on a portrait dropped the piece from shock, decorate everyday dinnerware - light blue, brown and painted by Thomas Sully in 1819. It's included in the exhibi­ I would soon be working for the Erie Canal, steamboats and mulberry. tion, 'From Jackson to Lincoln: Democracy and Dissent' at him." railroads. Until roughly 1860, Each of the potters estab­ the Pierpont Morgan Library. AP Photo all these images were presented lished distinctive border It was shortly after the War to the American public on the designs, which were considered pieces that made up a single try, Historical -Staffordshire of 1812 that potters in Eng­ "printed pearlware and .white­ the sole property of the firms dining service or tea set, pro­ served as a goodwill ambassa- land's Staffordshir<:> district ;:A.rare" kr:.:-.::r'f,l\T;'. !:) todc-::/ ~ cnJ1eC"- tl:2_: ;;rccicc:ed tl-~~:-:-~. C)£~en. .. ::, ·vi dir. 0:" buvers vJitl.-.. 2 E:::e-i:,'"' d:=·::-1 -:;·.,-hile t 1:=, _ thes::: began to produce tea ser~\lices wrs as Historical Staffordshire. number ot center images would tour C:i the Hudson Rive;: \l~i= English-rrtacie wares presented and tableware decorated with Historical Staffordshire be used to create the various ley, for example, or views of a view of the as far-flung American cities. Americans wanted it to be. Whatever the center motif, the. border remained consistent, videnc Trojans could· rite identifying each item as part of Arbaugh-Pearce By Assodated Press ably the scribe's wife. the same service. The great inches in diameter, was found majority of the pieces bore reeni;eri Troy, which lies in today's MERICAN AND GERM­ in perfect condition this sum­ stamps and marks that reve­ Turkey, was a major center of GJ Funeral an archaeologists have mer in a trench near a Roman aled the name of the maker. Home A trade, and historians have found a 3,000-year-old seal in concert hall and contains hiero­ .For the British pottery indus- Bronze Age Troy that proves glyphs in Luwian, a language always known itwould have RAY J. GREENISEN 332•4401 something they had always used in Turkey under the Hit­ been necessary for Trojan mer­ OWNER assumed: Trojans could write. tite empire. chants to keep written records, PERSONAL RECORDS The bronze seal, about 2 All the hieroglyphs have not said Brian Rose, a classicist been deciphered, but the most from the University of Cincin­ & PLANNING BOOK ~·" -Z-4 ~-.;fii>:·~...... ,,.~~ interesting word is "scribe." It nati in Ohio,"who led a team of Because your last wishes ,{' CC'C'~dC0,7·":':' ~~ii appears with a man's name on students at the excavation site. are so important one side of the seal, said Man­ The seal, which dates to just --~.· fred Korfmann, a Bronze Age before 1100 B.C., contains the This FREE specialist from the University first writing sample ever found Record of Tuebingen in Frankfurt, G~r­ in Troy at a Bronze Age level, many who directed the excava­ he said. In Troy, the Bronze Book J,resteryearsl tion. On the other side of th.: Age lasted from 3,500 B.C. to Archer's Allows You To: seal is a woman's name, proJ:>- 1,000 B.C. •Fill In Vital Information ~1 A h•t'""'1 joomol ~ Restaurant • Pre-Plan Your Funeral ~~- Published Every Tuesday fl) • Select The Funeral You Wish ;:::>t~ byt he Sal em News ·o-··'if.. What a Pharmacy and • Relieve Your Family Of Worry !l-" ·""'i ';~·, Founded June 8, 1991 :Yii• Was Meant 1b Be! Antique Shop ?1ease-sendDo This For The us:- Ones--- You·· Love -- ,,.. . 161 N. Lincoln Ave. :I Store Hours: 627-9971 9-6 Mon.-Fri., 9-1 Sat. ~ D The Family Personal Salem, Ohio 44460 '.tg Offering Free Delivery and Record Book Fast Friendly Service O Information on Inflation­ sekely Proof Funeral Pre-Plan ~:;;~J1i ,.,,,,. D Information about ~~:. ~- l!r.·. Lois A. Firestone :t. funeral costs, procedures :. '.<' editor ~:;,., Name ___~~~~~~ -.:·. )~ Industries Addre••·~~~~~~~~-J

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·.. ~--':-~-·._._, --- 'Yesteryears Tuesday, '!Jeanwer 5 1995

By Thomson News the interior lights still burning, ARLY IN THE MORN­ "The ship was designed to the Titanic's stern rose in the Eing of April 15, 1912, air, she broke in two, and sank more than 1,500 people lost remain afloat with four, may­ to the ocean floor 12,000 feet their lives when the "unsink­ be five of the compartments below. able" Titanic went down in the Andrick tells of survivor Eva flooded, fl Andrick said. "But North Atlantic on her maiden Hart, 7 years old that day, who voyage. not six. fl remembers hugging her father Floyd Andrick, of Midland, as she climbed into the lifeboat. Ivlich., has spent the better part He smiled and told her every­ of his life keeping the memo­ lounges. The atmosphere was thing would be OK, that eva­ ries of that night afloat. festive, Andrick said. cuating the women and child­ Of the 705 passengers who "The cream of Europe and ren was just a precaution. survived what many consider America were c-n that ship," She told Andrick that as the to be the greatest maritime dis­ Andrick said. lifeboat rowed away from the aster in history, nine are still The 882-foot vessel, speeding vessel she looked back and alive. across the ocean toward New could see the ship's massive Andrick, a Titanic memora­ York at 24 knots, was the finest propellers were already above bilia buff and amateur histo­ ship of its time, Andrick said. It the waterline. She knew even rian, has interviewed most of was reported that the ship's then that she'd never see her those survivors. He now travels owner, the White Star Line, father again. the country presenting a said that "even God couldn't There were 2,233 passengers lecture/ slide show that por­ sink it." aboard the Titanic and room trays the disaster in the words God didn't have to. At 11:40 for only 1,175 in the lifeboats. of those who were there. p.m., lookout Frederick Fleet "Why would they need Some 71 Superiorland resi­ sighted an iceberg dead ahead more?" Andrick said. "The dents packed into the First and rang the crow's nest warn­ ship was invincible." United Methodist Church ing bell. The ship swerved to Many passengers were so recently in Marquette to hear miss the berg, but a submerged sure that the Titanic would not Andrick' s story and view his piece of ice connected with the go down that the first lifeboat, collection of paintings, photo­ starboard (right) side of the which had a capacity of 65 peo­ graphs and original newspap­ vessel and ripped a gash ple, had only 28 passengers. ers proclaiming the disaster. through six of 16 Only 12 climbed in the second, Survivors recall April 14, compartments. which had a capacity of 40. 1912, four days after the ship "The ship was designed to There are still 119 lawsuits remain afloat with four, maybe pending against Lloyds of Lon­ pulled out of the harbor in .. Postal Service has unveiled a stamp featuring West Southhampton, England, as a five, of the compartments don, the Titanic's insurance T~e ~ s. Vug1ma. hero John Henry. His statue, shown in this 1981 calm but cold day. Most pas­ flooded," Andrick said. "But company, Andrick said. The fol~ sengers stayed inside the ship, not six." White Star Line went bankrupt photo! sits m Talcott, W~st Virginia on a bluff overlooking taking advantage of the luxuri­ At 2:20 a.m., with the band during the Depression and was !he Big Bend Tunnel whe.re the 'stee~ drivin' man' died try­ mg to outwork a steam dnll on the :railroad. Associated Press ous staterooms and dining still playing ragtime music and purchased by Cunard. Photo 1 -years testing before .45 recommended for troops By Popular Mechanics recommended against it. Some Service sidearm. Colt was one er1:1n:ent rebuilt and repaired are still being manufactured, COLT .45 AUTOMA- of the Ordnance Department's of the companies. Three Ger­ ex1st~ng .45s for military use. including the recently was the standard-issue distrust can be attributed to the man handglins also were sub­ During this time, which upgraded Colt M1991Al. sidearm of the United States newness of Browning's auto­ mitted, including the .45 Luger included Vietnam, the govern­ loading design. Automatic Pistol. Prices for old Ml 911 and armed forces for 74 years and ment ordered no new guns. remains the most widely Soldiers of that time used Final trials began on March The United States retired the M1911Al pistols have shot uo. Run-of-the-:.mm firearms start used and thoroughly single-action revolvers, in 15, 1911. On March 23 the Colt Ml911A1 in favor of the Beret­ ~t pistol of which the shooter manually .45 was recommended to "be ta M? 9mm autoloader 10 years ~-5~0 and go to. $2500 .. Spring- all time. back the handgun''s for use foot and ago ~ecause NA TO allies pre­ 11e1d Armorv M1911's from fer ;?very round fired. mounted ferre·d the 9rrt1n Parabellum. ~nd Brovvnin ne-0/ pistol .45 auto}oaders lv11911s reloaded fa:cddi- Less than 3. '/v'eek ·~ec- an a.crier~ that "/ion hira t2.e

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the Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore talk to Larry Matthews who plays their son on the 'Dick Van Dyke Show' in 1965. Many people feel they know Moore through her characters on that show and 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show.' But in her new autobiography 'After AU,' she draws distinctions between herself and her characters. Associated Press file photo

Ornate wood carving, colorful murals and intricate gold Vandals designs figure prominently in the antique dock collection of Dr. Lew Katowitz, a doctor of internal and nuclear medicine strike at Mount Clemens General Hospital. The dock is a closely copied replica of the Reims Cathedral at Notre Dame in Colisseum France. Associated Press HE COLISSEUM, SURVI­ Tvor of 1,900 years of war and tourists, is being picked apart by vandals and antique hunters. Recently, thieves took an inscribed block of marble so big they must have used a truck and hoist, archaeology officials told the newspaper Il Messaggero. The Colosseum "becomes a no-man's land at night," said Piero Megrossi of the state archaeolog_)i office in Rome. The officials said meet soon v1ith police

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.. AllctIQUE ~~~OR~~~\ JUNQUB By Anne McCollam Briggle pottery is very collecti­ Copley News Service ble. Your vase was made in the early 1900s. It would probably Q. Enclosed is a picture of a be worth $275 to $285. child's roll top desk that was Q. I have a set of Nancy in my parents' attic. It Drew Mystery books num­ belonged to my grandfather. bered one to 50. I think at one We are pretty sure it is more time they had dust covers. No. than 100 years old. It is one was copyrighted in 1930 approximately three feet high and No. 50 in 1973. Is my set and two feet wide. Could you worth anything or should I tell me when it was made and just throw them away? I don't its value? have a clue, so any informa-. A. A more realistic evalua­ tion will be appreciated. tion of the age of your desk A. This mystery is easily sol­ would probably by 75 to 85 ved. Don't throw those books, years. Children's roll top desks out; v0'!_: m::"J ha:ve ?r. hid~eri

§£>2I6.e- at a timt· sect10rkai distLoid, j·fs aman.g Girt s1101Ai in :Fror£L ren' s series under foe name ~oi ~":TOrks ,~~·~u'u' similar to yours is currently coln: Democracy and Dissent' at the Pierpont Morgan Library. AP Photo listed in "Collectors Ency­ "Carolyn Keene." She was a clopedia of American Furniture young woman from Ladora, Vol. II" by Robert W. and Har­ Iowa, with an interest in riet Swedberg at $1,150. archaeology and intrigue. Statistical a stract paints Prices rtin the gamut. For example the first edition of "The Secret of the Old Clock" with the dust cover lists at portrait of American culture $600. A 1968 copy of "The Spider Sapphire Mystery" is By Associated Press That of 187.7 million adults Nearly 18 percent of white -_:,"-...-.,~~-,~ $.? T(o,::::.-, ;_.., :_:-.3~~="?. -:-· .;~the 1993-1994 ne:-i0:3 f'.:~ ~~ 1 - ~ethers ~::-~c;.!ze~ ~~--~::·i=-:.g p:.~~ 1 r_ POKiRKL Ol~ lion had no cable television. gnancy, as did 14 percent oi copyright dare 'is not always America? Read a book, That in 1992, there were 6.4 black mothers. Mothers who the printing date. Some of the just out, that sizes up the coun­ million pregnancies, 4 million never attended high school or Nancy Drew books are valued try in a thousand-plus pages of up to $40 to $100, but most sell births and 1.5 million abortions. were high school graduates tables, numbers, percentages The rest were miscarriages.- were less likely to smoke dur­ in the $2 to $10 range. and dollar figures. BOOK REVIEW Seventeen percent of women of ing pregnancy than those who There is little linguistic bag­ childbearing age used con- finished their educations at "Victorian Furniture, Our gage in the new Statistical American Heritage, Book II" by traceptive pills;· 10.5 percent grades nine through 11. Those Abstract of the United States. relied on condoms. Thirty per- with more than 12 years of Kathryn McNerney is a suitable Just stacks of stats. You have to companion to her "Victorian cent were surgically sterile. education were even less likely conjure up your own images. Also in 1992, there were to smoke. Furniture, Book I." More than The raw material's there - 500 photos (no duplicates) from the labor force to labor 400,000 injuries involving beds, Of reportable diseases, which illustrates all the styles of the rooms - the kind of stuff mattresses and pillows; 44,000 include rabies, tetanus, tuber­ Victorian era. McNerney important to public officials, involving cleaning agents and culosis and typhus, the largest defines the terms "substyle" business analysts, educators, 24,000 involving cigarettes. But number by far was for cases of Q. My mother gave me her and "traditional." She explains librarians, research workers, the most injuries of all by far, AIDS - 103,691 in 1993. The how the massive and fussy Waterman pen. It is sterling students and the merely 1.8 million, had to do with secorid-ranked was aseptic designs led to the arts and silver filigree pendant and I stairs, ramps, landings and meninoitis, 12,848. crafts movement and ultimately curious. floors. . n· believe it has the original pen the bold linear lines of Mission Here's a sample. The book is a set of statistics On a less somber note: point. It is marked "452Y, V." furniture. One in three Americans is in itself, bringing together the -In 1993, movies took in $48 Can you tell me the approxi­ still exercising after 75. Rock most recent figures from the . billion, an increase of nearly $5 mate worth at today's prices? Readers will enjoy stepping music sales are twice those of last year or two or three. The billion over the previous year. A. In 1884 Waterman was a back in time to the colorful country and 10 times those of government has put it out since There were 2 billion books trailblazer in successfully pro­ romantic world of· American jazz. 1878, drawing on both public sold, 1.2 billion of them paper- ducing commercial pens. Four Victorian and learn how their Thirty-four percent of Ameri- and private sources. backs. The 35-44 age group years later, Parker joined the furniture reflected their lives. cans 26 and over have smoked The new edition, selling in bought more books than any ranks of leading manufacturers. The book may be ordered marijuana at some time in their the Government Printing Office other. You·r pen was made in 1920s. It from Collector Books, P.O. Box lives, but only 3 percent are for $37 in paper cover, adds 76 -Amateur softball engaged would probably be worth $600 •3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009, current users. pew tables for a total of 1,5-12. 42 million Americans on in good condition. for $9.95 plus $2 shipping. It is Eight percent of households They include estimates of 200,000 teams for adults and Q. I have a pottery vase that also available in antique shops have herb gardens. undocumented immigrants, use 62,000 for kids. There were 24.6 is marked "Van Briggle - and bookstores. A family of four pays more of computers, bond ratings for million golfers, playing 498 U.S.A." that is from an old state and local taxes in Newark, states and cities, union mem- million rounds, and 22 million estate" in . The height Letters with pictures are N:J., than in other big cities. bership by state and home tennis players using 230,000 is approximately eight inches. we I come and may b e \ The 115th edition of the sta- ownership rates. , courts. Americans bought 13 The color is rose and it si answered in" the column. We tistical abstract, published by It drops some, too. No more million bicycles, 5 million of decorated with an abstract cannot reply personally or the Census Bureau, is a book of does the abstract list household them imported. ', . design .in relief. The vase is in return pictures. Address letters · more than 1,000 . pages, some pet ownership; medical device . And there ~a~ recorC:i att~n­ mint eondition. I would like to tO Anne· McCoUa~, ·po Box - ~ith enough ~~cts for~, gai;ne. of implants by age, sex and race; dance, 71 nu~ion, at ma1or know the value of .my vase. .4,~'· Notre Dame IN 46556. . Jeop~~dy! or Trivial r summary Df-.O~OIJS of·· ~gue !'a$eba~_:tn.t~J,. /!... \'-our V,a:se. was made by 9 •last . : V~ Briggk.?~ry :Ca; Co!Ot­ .. -.n-,~~~-.· .ii. ~·~.. ->.~~~.!hal:~tir~ -~~~~:~feigi~·~:~=~i;:~~=~- · :. ~dD~ Sp.ri~; ::(:OJo: :lt.. has~n 6 _ :in~·busiftm. '$iilce·· t~.- V~n .~:::;;~~{~_·,_~.:r~!~;!lf!:O;;.i~~~-~~= 1;~:!~:C~::?_~~~~~:;:.. ~. - .. ~ ----_;_' -. -· --- : ··- ·-·~ - - <: .. ~~-~ -- - -..• - .. ·-:. ~--~~-4 .- ·--- ... ·-----·~;-: - - -~--·;- - - ....___ .. - -- - :~ ---~_:..--_ ....-:~ :- . -:--·- - _:_·- --:_ ;: - - : . -~.:- . ~· .. .~= ·. - - !_ --.;. - .... - ~:. .. ~.··- ...... -·~_-,. !. ~ - -., - ·--·~:·:-. .... :.._ .. - ...... - - :...... ~-- -- ·- . - ...: ... •- ... ·- -- -'~~"'-'."'-'" ~i_, · q.~~~.:.,2. ~.. \ ---~-es-te-nje_a_rs_ ~~~ ':§~~~ _ Tuesiay,'December51995 Owney traveled over the world line was completed. Afterward, stagecoaches and trains served By Vicki Moeser Museum of American History as the primary mail movers in and will be on view at the new the West, and elsewhere, well Smithsonian News . into the early 1900s. T'S BEEN SAID THAT Owney was a celebrity. He Not all four-legged creatures the dog is man's best made an appearance at the were successful mail movers. friend. Mail carriers may growl Fifth Annual Convention of the Consider the camel. Surprising­ at that suggestion, but there National Republic League, held ly, camels were imported from YOUNG, are, of course, exceptions. One in 1892 in Buffalo N.Y. He the Middle East to deliver the cold, fall night in 1888, a mon­ attended the Iowa Bankers' mail in the· American South­ grel puppy crept into the Association Convention in 1893 west from the late 1850s to the Wiry fellows not Albany, N.Y., post office and in Council Bluffs. Owney was a early 1860s. "It was a disaster," cuddled up on a pile of old guest at dog shows across the Bruns says. over 18 .. mail bags. Instead of chasing country where he received Although camels had been him away, busy postal workers many awards - although none used successfully to carry mail took pity on the puppy, fed for breeding. His awards were in such places as Egypt and him and let him stay. for his accomplishments. A Los Syria, where the desert is san­ Must~ ex.pi!? rt riderg, The dog, basically of terrier Angeles kennel club presented dy, the terrain in the Southwest w1Uing to risk dooth stock, came to be known as a silver medal to Ownel, in is a rocky desert, which caused Owney, although the origin of April 1893 for being the 'best the camel's feet to become cut do:il y. Orphans p:e · his name remains a mystery. traveled" dog to attend their and bruised. Owney felt comfortable among show. The surly camel !erred. the mail bags and would ride Owney even traveled around "It seems camels hate every­ on the soft piles of pouches on the world. Leaving Washington thing," Bruns says, "most of all the wagons that moved the state on a steamship in 1895, their drivers, who learned nev­ mail between the Albany post Owney first visited Japan and er to turn their backs on the Waqes S2S~OO per week office and the local railroad China. Then it was on to Singa­ dromedaries for fear of being depot several blocks away. pore, Suez, Algiers and the bitten, spat upon or kicked. The Soon, the pooch was hopping Azores before landing in New leg action of a camel is not like from one railway mail car to York City 132 days later. Hun­ the canter of a horse. The the next, first traveling to New dreds of his friends turned out camel's loping stride makes the York City, and them to points to welcome him back. All told, rider's body shift from side to beyond - without regard trou­ the mail-loving mutt logged side with each alternating step. ble. The inscription read: some 143,000 miles in his These "ships of the desert" "Owney, Post Office, Albany, career. caused most riders to get New York." By HSY7, Owney -was begin­ deathly seasick." Not wanting Before long, Owney was ning to show signs of age. He to prolong a bad decision, the Despite its mythology, the Pony Express operated for just 13 away from Albany for months had lost his vision in one eye camels were either released in months. Young skinny riqers were sought for the arduous at a time. "The railway mail and reportedly could eat only the desert or given to zoos. 10-day trek from Missouri to California. clerks loved having Owney soft foods and milk. For his Reindeer were used in Alas­ aboard and they made sure he protection, he was sent into ka to deliver mail from the ances - from railroad cars, was warm, safe, and well fed," retiremet at the Albany post 1890s into the early 1900s, but also, at cerfain times and says James Bruns scheduled to office. But Owney preferred to places, were treated like the streetcars and airplanes to open in Washington D.C. in roam. He slipped out and they also proved to be cantank­ royalty of the road." buses, vans and jeeps - expe­ July. "They treated him like boarded a mail train bound for erous. They were hard to train, Mail drivers vital dited the mail delivery around one of the crew." Toledo. "While in Toledo, he Bruns says, frequently kicking In "Mail on the Move," the nation, animals continued Knowing that his trips were was shown to a newspaper their drivers and sometimes Bruns tells how James Wicker­ to move the mail. "Horses were taking him across the country, even biting them. sham, who was one of the first used for mail delivery in reporter by a postal clerk," Prior to the turn of the cen­ the mail clerks in Albany U.S. district judges in the territ­ Washington D.C. until 1922," Bruns says. "During that inter­ tury, Star Route contractors fastened a note to Owney' s col­ view, Owney became ill­ ory of Alaska during the great Bruns says. "On many of the lar asking employees of the served in every portion of the gold stampede {in 1897) narrow streets of Philadelphia, tempered. Although the exact country. They used dog sleds (which curcumstances were not satis­ recalled how the contract mail horses were used until 1995." to deliver mail in Alaska and drivers were the most impor­ Animals are still instrumen­ was operated by the Post Office factory reported, Owney died the Great Lakes region well tant people on the trail. In tal in getting mail to its Department) to record his jour­ of a bullet wound on June 11, into the early 1900s. "Years winter, Klondike carriers typi­ intended destination. A mule neys by attaching leather and 1897." ago, they not only had the right cally operated four-horse train leaves the post office in metal bagging tags to his collar. Postal clerks chipped in of way over every other vehi­ bobsled stages of eight to ten Peach Springs, Arizona, five Soon, Owney' s collar col,lld money so a Toledo taxidermist cle," Bruns explains, "but they barely hold the trinkets; it got could preserve Owney. dog teams over some of the days a week, hoofing 2,400 feet so heavy that he could hardly roughest terrain imaginable. below the south rim of the hold up his head. For their daring, the drivers Grand Canyon to the Havasu­ "To lighten the load," Bruns were treated like kings. At pai Indian reservation. says, " -General John roadhouses enroute, they were In addition to letters, greet­ Wanamaker presented Owney given the best chair for dinner, ing cards and junk mail, the with a special, harness like the nicest bunk at bedtime and mules deliver groceries. "Baked jacket on which the dog's the first batch of hot cakes in "goods, dairy products, bever­ souvenirs could be more evenly the morning (perhaps as an ages, even eggs are delivered spread around." incentive to get started as early as U.S. Mail," explains Linda Some railway mail clerks as possible). In addition, their Padilla, the officer in charge of occasionally would remove a leader dogs were allo~ed to the Peach Springs post office. few tokens and send them to sleep under their beds without "Hikers often mail their back- the Albany post office for safe­ even the slightest complaint -- paGks so they can make the keeping,_ thus preserving Own­ from other travelers. '' eight mile journey into the ey' s tag collection as a record "Nowadays, most people do canyon unencumbered." of Lis travels. In all, Owney not even know that Star Route The mules illustrate that four As mascot of the Mail Railway Service, Owney logged some accumulated more than 1,000 service exists," Bruns savs footed friends can do what four 1~~ ~1 00 rr'I~~~~ in tds ~?,11"PP.r -~/r:t~ the mail. ~ =._-.....523 &iLG. i ... ·~.::..:.i.c..1::: - "This is largely due to the t~ct his jDumeys1 mail clerks wcnld fash:>r'l leSLther and mel:211 :::g;- :orries to s~eitlg that the mail -. ~., ~og ---~i£enses tron~ ei-co.c fr1ese contractors' trucks ,:ags en Ovsrney' 5 <::o1lar. 1·'\lhen ::: b€came too CUiY:!::,2-:~ goes through. "The only vvay i11 i:>:ooK1yn1 1'-J.Y.; ~:i.dn~y, I\Jetic<.S- "!~ prerty much indistinguish­ some the gave the dog a special hamess- or out of the canyon is to use a ka; and ~~~nd Rapids, Sp. 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