Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-02-07
GETTING DOWN 10
THE MAIL MAN
BY EDGAR /. SYVERUD

Out here In the country, watching
for the mail man has become one of
our daily habits. To some he fills a
very important part Of the days &C
tivity especially in the winter. To
the Shutlns he Is the necessary div
ersion. without the mail man the day
is long and lonesome. He comes 50
close to US and our part in the
worlds activity. He has become an
institution, a very necessary part In
our social life. To the nor isolated
districts he is actually one of the
necessities.
During the holiday season our mail
man is especially a much looked for
and welcome caller. Then Is the
time that we live in high anticipa-
ton. so much OF JOY and surprise as
well as expectancy is in store-he Is
Santa's right hand man, his delivery
man. To miss a day or two at these
times, oh, what tragedy in some OF
those waiting hearts. what sadness
in those farm homes away from the
rest OF the world. His services are
doubly appreciated at this time.
When the weather turns bad. lots
Of snow, lbeastly cold, and badly
drifted or impossible reads, then our
mail man has to put away his car
and 90 back to his old standbys, the
horses. His time on the road be
comes much longer but he tries to
maintain his schedule and quality Of
service. With his team and Jump
err" a very light rig. he will always
be sure to get thru-the rule of
the postal service must be upheld.
1t must be tedious. uncomfortable
and lonely after having used q a
for the greater part OF the year, per-
haps several years.
In a corner of his Jumper" he has
a small heater. On cold still days
his outfit can be spotted away down
the road. the smoke from the heater
trailing skyward marking his prog
ress across these froey plains. 1t
sort of reminds n Of those odd
hometead days when those steam
err outfits were busily breaking up
our prairies. They also formed a
picturesque sight as they trailed
their smoke columns over our land,
weaving a pattern Of life and activity
amid solitude and isolation.
In the development Of these west
ern plains our mail men, both the
star and regular carriers, have play
ed a most intimate and important
part. Theirs has been the duty OF
keeping open the lines OF communi-
cation between us and that great
outer world. They have also per
formed passenger service as we'll Is
other Accommodations. They have
been the connecting link in our 70
mantle chain Of pioneer life. And
now with improved roads and facil-
tiles those old days become but far
off memories yet interesting to re-
call.
Way back in 1911, in May, / rode
out from Williston with the mail
man up the valley of the Muddy to
this north country. 1t was an inter
esting trip, stopping at Marmon,
Gladys, Howard, and ending at Dane
willie, p. o. That mail man was q
good entertainer as well as stage
driver and those so miles or more
trailed away very Economically "
the fresh green hills and prairies to-
wards a land Of promise, a land that
has lured and held so many Of our
people.
During our recent depression years
when everything seemed going
wrong with us, losses OF various
kinds, crop failures, disasterous
prices, and no income, this Job OF the
mail man has appeared a most desir-
able one We couldn't help but feel
somewhat envious. His Job seemed
a snap, a sure thing, he surely had a
cinch. With the exceptionally dry
weather OF the past several years the
roads have been unusually good and
the weather also has been most fav-
orable. How we all would like a
good job like that.
80
But now, when a real winter sets
in and the roads get so tough, oh
how nice 1t is to stick around home,
close to the home fires, and Just
walk out a little ways to our mail
box for the mail. With these cold
snappy days, % to 80 below, roads
badly drifted, If any at all-then, the
pinch comes. Our mail man must be
prepared, he must 90 thru with the
mail, rain or shine. For days he Is
the only n on the roads, sometimes
we wonder why he doesn't get lost
or badly frozen. We also feel for
the horses that faithfully plug along.
80 below Is tough on them.
Officials of the postoffice depart
ment tell us that Our rural free del
livery service costs the government
about times as much as is re-
ceived in the reyenue from It. That
seems a rather expensive PROPOSE
ton for the benefit of rural folks.
There was no mention made OF the
amount OF benefit received by the
folks at the other end OF our routes.
Surely that must be of some very
material account, otherwise we'd lose
the service Or pay more, a great deal
more, for it
We have drifted into the habit of
taking our mail service for granted,
something that was coming to us.
TOO Offon nc fOruoA ar hooomo nm