Hello & happy first Monday of April!

I hope you all had a lovely Passover and/or Easter!

With graduations and Mother’s Day fast approaching, I write to kindly inform you that graduation cards will be on the site at the end of this week. Mother's Day cards & gifts will be listed at the end of the following week. Feel free to reach out with questions or unsolicited input.

Being the first Monday of the month, today’s topic is Paper & The Post Office. I present to you five post offices that you never knew you needed to know about (say that 5 times fast). Enjoy learning about The Five Most Unique Post Offices in the United States.

From my desk, to yours.

xo,

FP

PHOTO: Jasperdo [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]/Flickr

5. Valentine Post Office - Valentine, Texas

If Kacey Musgraves dropped an album in-between “Same Trailer Different Park” and “Pageant Material”, the Valentine Post Office would’ve been the album cover backdrop. This tiny outpost has one of the purest postal traditions - a Valentine’s Day Postmark. You can write a Valentine’s Day card to your one true love, send it to the Valentine Texas Post Office, and they will send it to your lover, with a special “Valentine’s Day - Valentine, TX” postmark (the mark that goes over the postage stamp, thus canceling it so it cannot be reused). All the sender has to do is address their envelope to their desired valentine and add a stamp, then place said ready-to-mail letter in another envelope that is stamped and addressed to the Valentine Post Office, who takes care of the rest. There is no additional charge for this because love is free, baby! This has been a just-because offering for over 30 years. Call me a romantic, but imagine getting a valentine, from Valentine, from your valentine. Should you want to do this next year, send your love letters to:

VALENTINE’S DAY POSTMARK
POSTMASTER
311 W CALIFORNIA AVE
VALENTINE, TX 79854-9998

4. Ochopee Post Office - Ochopee, Florida

This south Florida post office is akin to my future letterpress studio (shed) - small, but incredibly charming. Formerly a shed for irrigation pipes that supplied the surrounding tomato farm, this post office is a whole 7ft x 8ft. The former Ochopee Post Office was located in the Guant Company Store, but was sadly destroyed in a fire. It became an official United States Postal Office in 1953. Today, it continues to be a fully functional post office, serving three counties, which include residents of the Seminole and Miccosukee Native American Tribes.

3. Hoolehua Post Office - Molokai, Hawaii

The Hoolehua post office has a bit of a cult-following for residents and tourists alike due to their “Post-A-Nut” program. You can decorate a coconut and mail it to your friends, lovers, or nothings à la John Mayer. This endearing activity frequently earns a spot on “Things-To-Do in Molokai” lists because, why wouldn’t it? Post-A-Nut in name alone will get people in the door. Why send a postcard when you can send a coconut? Should I move to Molokai and continue to come up with rhetorical questions surrounding this kitschy offering? But seriously, since 1991 this unique and frankly hilarious offering has significantly helped the island’s post office generate revenue, accounting for up to 40% some years. On average, 3,000 coconuts are mailed from the Hoolehua Post Office every year. Nuts!

2. J.W. Westcott II - Detroit, Michigan

The J.W. Westcott II is the only floating zip code in the United States. This boat delivers mail to maritime vessels underway on the Detroit River in Michigan. Postal carriers load this 45ft boat with the mail intended for crew members of ships in the surrounding area. Said carriers drive the boat around 6 days a week, delivering mail via buckets and rope. Yes, maritime vessels lower pails to be filled with mail and then pull it up aboard. Very little margin for error seeing as how the enemy of paper is water. Thrill-seeking pen pals can address mail to sailors as follows:

VESSEL NAME
ATTN: NAME
12 24TH STREET
DETROIT, MI 48222

Why text or email when you can have your message delivered via boat & bucket?! The nostalgia of it all. Sigh.

1. Supai Post Office - Supai, Arizona

The Supai Post Office personifies what the mail system in the United States is about; equal access to all. The Supai Post Office is located in the village that is home to the Havasupai Native American Tribe, inside the Grand Canyon. Six days a week, postal carriers load up mail on 10-22 mules - yes, mules - and deliver mail and supplies to residents of the remote community. Postal carriers double as wranglers, traveling via horseback. On average, it takes around 3 hours to get down the canyon and 5 hours to get back up the 9-mile stretch. Once the deliveries are made, the mules are untethered by the wrangler, freely finding their way home. As Rip from Yellowstone says, “Them things? Mean as sh*t, but those sons-a-expletives don’t get lost”. I defy anyone to not feel a sense of pride and admiration for these postal working wranglers and mail mules serving their community, day in and day out. Also, credit to me for not making an ass joke.

Photo credits in order of appearance: Jasperdo [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]/Flickr, Romrodphoto/Shutterstock, wallix/iStock Editorial, Robert Hensleigh via Glen Mannisto, Christina Dulude [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]/Flickr