For Christmas, my Dad made Bryan & I a penny bank out of an old mailbox door. The mailbox was originally in the Richland, NM (Roosevelt County); Richland was an old trading point, located 5 miles east of NM 18 and about 30 miles south of Portales. The post office operated from 1908 to 1936 when the boxes were moved to Pep, NM.
Back in the day, the post masters (or mistresses) had to buy the mailboxes themselves, they were not furnished by the PO. On the mid-eighties that changed, as did the post master of Pep. Gray Wilson took over for Buna Cathey and decided that he didn't want to buy the existing mailboxes from her since the PO would now furnish them free of charge. Buna had them removed and stored at her place until my Grandpa and Dad purchased them from her.
As a side note, Mr Wilson was at the time the oldest post master to be sworn in - there were older post masters than him but none that started out as old as he did. He was in his 90's when he retired.
A word about Pep, NM: Pep is located in Roosevelt county on NM 206, 24 miles south of Portales and has been a post office since 1936. According to the book "The Place Names of New Mexico" there are several explanations for the name of Pep. One popular one is that it was named by Harold Radcliff during the depression for the breakfast cereal of the same name. Antoher popular explanation is that it was named "by Edward Cox in 1925 when he established a store and residence here, choosing the name for a lively and energetic place."
Whatever the origin, Pep will always hold a special place in my heart. My Grandma's parents owned it for a while, then the parents of good friends of my parents owned it, then Mr Wilson. All of whom gave cherished memories to the small place. I remember going into the store as a child (and a teenager and not as often as an adult) and buying a bottled coke. It was "so cool" to punch a couple holes in the cap with an ice pick instead of removing the cap. Great times!!
The new owners, Bruce & Angie, are holding up their end of creating memories. The post office is still there but the store has been converted into the Pep Community Center (complete with indoor plumbing!!) and they host, along with the "Pep Old Timer's Association", lots of community events there. They have started a Pony Express run over the Fourth of July, Halloween parties, craft fairs, Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners among others. They have turned out to be fantastic for the Pep community. If you get to Dora, please drop in the Dora General Store and say hi to Angie!!
3 comments:
Not sure where he got it, but my husband has had one of those old boxes for several years that he is waiting to give to our grand-daughter Victoria when she is a little older.
AND....we used boxes just like that while I was growing up in my small hometown in upstate NY and the post office there still has the boxes. People in the town have resisted home mail delivery for years because they like going to the post office every day to socialize with neighbors.
Thanks for the good memories, Raymona!
Yep, people out there get home mail service three times a week, I think it is... M-W-F and the rest of the time if they want their mail they go to the post office. They still have the old timey looking boxes but they have keys now instead of the combination locks.
Yes! That waas exactly what happened in the small town in New York where my relatives live. Keys now and no more combination locks.
I still remember our combination: C3 M2.
Isn't it funny how we remember little things like that?
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