Harman Retires From Rural Mail Service
The Bainbridge News & Republican, May 11, 1933
Martin W. Harman, rural mail carrier on Route No. 2, retired on April 15th, 1933, because of disability. Mr. Harman, who is 55 years of age, has been in the carrier service for thirty years. He has been a resident of Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY] for about 45 years.
When he began his service, in 1903, on route 2, which was 24 miles long, the other carriers were Horace Eddy, route 1; Albert Strong, route 3; and James H. Bartholf, route 4. At that time, of course, all mail was carried in horse-drawn vehicles, and it took a whole day to cover the route. There was no parcel post service at that time. The post office was then in the Willsey block, and the personnel consisted of the late Charles Norton as postmaster, and Will Fletcher as assistant. There were no paved streets in Bainbridge, the town hall was not yet in existence, and the park had not been laid out. Many other changes and improvements have been made in those thirty years as well.
Mr. Harman also served under Postmaster Ira B. Cushman and the present postmaster, Harold L. Payne. He has had varied experiences during his thirty years of service; putting out fires, rescuing people from freezing, reporting deaths, assisting in the capture of thieves, and other interesting events have come his way.
Mr. Harman states that one of the changes that has impressed him most is the fact that there are twenty-seven less inhabited dwellings on his route at the present time than there were when he started his work. This change, he says, is to be deeply regretted, marking, as it does, a gradual movement away from the simple farm life to the more complex existence of villages and cities, and the passing of many of the older generation who have left no one behind them to keep up their homes.
No comments:
Post a Comment