Stories of Iris McFann Woodard

The Lesage Post Office In Our Store

My parent's store was located beside the B&O railroad track. My father was the Lesage Postmaster for a large rural route and the mail came by train.

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One train traveled from Huntington to Parkersburg. Known as The Fast Line, it was a non-stop mail train that passed by at 12:30pm.

The passenger train going down to Huntington stopped at 11:30am. The trains returned around 4:30pm for Parkersburg.

A locked bag containing our First Class mail was hung on a large iron crane near the Post Office. Then, a large arm on the train bound for Parkersburg would grab the locked bag it was in.

Parcels and empty bags were taken by me (or a helper) and I waited on the platform until the whistle blew for the station. I would flag the train down with a white cloth on a stick. When the train stopped, the mail car would be opposite me and a man would leap from the mail car and collect the bags, throwing them up in the long mail car. Sometimes, after jumping back to the mailcar, he would kick off our parcel post of Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogues. People in the community would order from these catalogues and their parcels would be delivered from our Post Office, or they would be taken by horseback to their home. Our two mail carriers were Hayes Langdon and Pearl Roberts.

During the winter months, the mail carriers delivered by horseback, then in summer, they delivered by horse and buggy. The mail route was 40 miles long and the carrier worked long hours, between sorting the mail and delivering it on dirt roads. Dad would be at the Post Office until late, sorting mail and writing money orders.

I was certified and bonded at the age of 14. This permitted me to hand out and receive mail. I wasn't allowed to write money orders, however.


The arrival of the mailman was an important part of the day for rural families. The mail would bring letters from sweethearts, relatives, or friends. The Cincinnati Post was a weekly newspaper and was delivered to some residents, as well as household magazines. Since there weren't any telephones in the community (we finally got one installed in the store), the mail was a way of communicating with the outside world.

The Lesage Post Office In Our Store
Written by Iris McFann Woodard
1985

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