July 1, 2021 – National Postal Worker Day | National US Postage Stamp Day

Back In The Day, Folks Found A Way To Mail The Oddest Things! Welcome to July 1st, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate special deliveries come rain or shine.  “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Everyone knows this is the motto for the United States Postal Service. Except…it isn’t. The Postal Service doesn’t actually have a motto. So where did this well-known phrase come from? It was written by Herodotus around 500 BCE to describe the postal carriers of his time. When the New York City Post Office opened in 1914, one of the designers liked the quote and had it engraved into the cornerstone. Today is National Postal Worker Day, when we celebrate the men and women who make sure all our letters and packages find their way to us. Except for the bills. We don’t mind if those get lost.  The United States issued its first postage stamps on July 1, 1847.  They were not, however, the first of their kind.  In the United Kingdom, the Penny Black stamp attempted to fix a broken system.  Before then, mail recipients were good at dodging payment for this service.  Here in America, a letter could be mailed without prepayment until 1855. Despite new regulations, people continued to take advantage of a system that charged only 15 cents for an 11 pound package.  The strangest of these was a small baby that was delivered to his grandmother who lived a few miles away.  Even the stork couldn’t compete with those prices!  On National US Postage Stamp Day celebrate a valuable service that still delivers come rain or shine.   I’m Anna Devere and I’m Brian Reinbold.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.