Wait a minute, wait a minute, Mister Postman! Don’t return to sender, ’cause my baby, she wrote me a letter on
NATIONAL POST OFFICE DAY!
He always rings twice, and since February 20, 1792, Mail Carriers of the U.S. Postal Service have been braving every sort of precipitation, darkness and mean dogs to deliver the mail to everyone everywhere every day.
The Post Office had already been up and running since 1775 by order of the Continental Congress, and the The Postal Service Act of 1792 elevated the Postal Service to The United States Postal Department, the only Federal government department created by an act of Congress. This elevated the Postmaster General to cabinet-level office.
The first Postmaster General? None other than that great American genius, Benjamin Franklin himself, which is why the vast U.S. Post Office still runs so well 231 years later.
Never mind what you might hear from its detractors, the U.S. Postal Service pays for itself and is in great shape, boasting one of the largest and best paid work forces on earth, and still a bargain at 58¢ to mail a letter from Maine to Hawaii.
•Suggested Activities: Licking, sealing, sending.