Sommer
delivered mail a number of years. Glenn Collins was a rural
carrier 34 years, from 1918 to 1952. the present two routes are
served by C. W. Mueller and S. C. Burger.
When the routes were established in 1900, there were many long hard
pulls through mud and disagreeable weather with slow-moving horsedrawn
vehicles. In 1925, Henry Ford simplified the work
considerably. However, none of the drivers would contradict the
statement that even so, under some conditions for which Iowa is famous,
many of the trips on the routes were not exactly a bed of roses.
Prior to the rural mail delivery, farmers called for their mail and
perhaps several of their neighbors' mail whenever they got to
town. The early newspaper listed local mail which had not been
picked up at the post office.
For a number of years post cards could be mailed for one cent and a
penny post card was a reality. In 1925 the rate was raised to two
cents, later to three cents, and presently is costs five cents for that
one-time penny post card to be mailed. Likewise, first class mail
has increased through the years from two cents to the present six cents
per ounce.
|