Newcastle's post office: Part III

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
With Leonard Cash
 
Last week, historian Leonard Cash left off his series on the post office with the laying of the cornerstone, and in this installment of “History on Main,” he continues with the construction, but first, his records contained a report on the success of the postal service in Newcastle. 
According to a News Letter Journal article titled “Local Post Office is Big Business” from Nov. 3, 1932, the turnover business at the post office in September amounted to a little over $21,000. 
September was picked because it was deemed “one of the ordinary business months of the year,” and in that month 35,778 letters were handled, as well as 3,017 packages; 230 insured transactions; 946 money order transactions; 238 COD transactions; 152 postal savings transactions; 114 official letters received, disposed of and filed; 163 letters written 8 reports filed. A total of 7,288 customers were served. 
“I am giving these details, because of remarks heard on the street on different occasions, as to government extravagance and excess clerical assistance in the office,” postmaster Edna Jessen said. “This statement is … to give the public an insight into the busiest institution in our city, and set right any erroneous impress that you may have.” 
As far construction news, a report from Jan. 12, 1933, said that the interior work was almost complete. The lobby floor was being put in, and they were “setting the marble.” 
“(It) is without question the finest building ever erected in Newcastle,” the article boasted. 
Progress on the interior indicated that the move-in date was expected to be around Mar. 15, according to the Feb. 23, 1933, issue of the paper, but the definite date was to be announced later. 
Around March 23, 1933, the building was completed, excepting some furniture. Jessen said it could be expected to be in use by the end of the week, and once all the equipment was installed, plans for a grand opening would be made. 
“Patrons of the Newcastle postoffice received their mail for the first time in the postoffice building Sunday,” says a news report form Mar. 30, 1933, but they were still waiting on the final furnishings. 
Another article from the same issue reported that Mayor R. Andersen issued a regulation stating that patrons could only park in front of the post office for 15 minutes “because of the danger of double parking which might result if cars were permitted to remain there for long periods.” 
In addition to parking problems, the post office also received threats of vandalism from school-age children who wrote on the desks and marble in the lobby. The article warned that if they didn’t stop, federal law would be called. 
“No partiality or leniency will be shown if the practice does not stop immediately, Mr. Jessen says,” the article reports. 
With the building complete and springtime rolling around, blueprints were drawn up for the seeding and landscaping of the lawn, according to an article from May 11, 1933. Some of the flora plans included spruce trees, a honeysuckle hedge, shrubbery and shade trees. 
“With an underground sprinkling system installed, it is believed a beautiful lawn can be developed within a year,” the article says. 
The June 1, 1933, edition of the News Letter said that Jessen was receiving bids for the landscaping project, and she was instructed to only accept “qualified contractors in this line of work.” The bids were to be opened around June 20, although an exact date wasn’t officially set. 
A different article in the same issue gave a small report on the former post office building. A Seventh-Day Adventist evangelist meeting was held there, and it included a visit from the state superintendent for the Seventh-Day Adventists, C.A. Purdom, along with his wife, Chas. Thompson of Lincoln and Mrs. Rose Irick of San Diego, who all arrived from Casper. 
An April 20, 1933, article titled “Republicans to hold jobs as Postmasters” assured that the Republican postmasters “need not fear a democratic house cleaning,” because Postmaster General Farley said “that the new administration had no intention of abandoning the civil service system of competitive examinations.”
Seven years later around World War I, the Jan. 18, 1940, newspaper reported the closure of a nearby post office. 
“The Hampshire, Wyoming postoffice, located southwest of Newcastle, will be discontinued on January 31,” the article says, due to lack of patrons. This marked the sixth closure in the local area within the past 12 years. The other five were in Rochelle, Roxon, Morrisey, Cambria and Elk Mountain. 
Hugh F. Graham arrived in town to take over as the new postmaster—succeeding Cecil W. Clark, who had been the postmaster since 1935 and previously served as county attorney, according to a report from March 14. 1940. Before becoming a postmaster, Graham was the head of the local commissary. Valdemar and Edna Jessen, formerly of Newcastle, had moved to Colorado to continue their postal service careers.  
The landscaping project scheduled when Jessen was postmaster must have fallen through because in the Aug. 29, 1940, issue, Graham announced that he would be accepting bids for the landscaping on Sept. 5 until 2 p.m. Once the contract was awarded, the company had 45 days to complete it.
“The work covered by the specification includes the furnishing of labor, materials and equipment requisite for planting and landscaping the lot areas of the postoffice site,” the article says. “For a number of years, a great deal of work has been put forth in trying to get grass started. Last year Custodian Mike Koski was successful in getting a good grass in the space in front of the building … The appearance of main street will be greatly improved.”
In addition to grass, evergreen trees and other “deciduous material” were in the landscaping plans and were to be planted in September and October. 
The Sept. 12, 1940, edition of the paper reported that Gate City Nursery of Rapid City, South Dakota, submitted the lowest bid, which was under $500, but it still had to go through “final acceptance” in Washington, D.C. 
In addition to new landscaping, Graham said, a fifth section of post office box rentals would be added soon, increasing the number of boxes from 424 to 530. The postal service was successful because “postal receipts this year also show an average gain of about $100 a month.”
E.A. Gates led the landscaping project, which was finally started, according to an article in Cash’s records from Sept. 19, 1940; a later article from Dec. 5 said that plans for the additional boxes would begin after the holidays. 
“At the present time the 424 boxes are inadequate for the community as approximately fifty persons are on the waiting list for boxes,” the article says. 
On May 29, 1941, the post office accepted bids “for the addition of 104 new lock boxes,” which would cost around $602.40, reported an article from May 22, 1941. The sizes included 72 No. 1 boxes, 24 No. 2 boxes, four No. 3 and No. 4 boxes. Additionally, eight No. 4 boxes were to replace 16 No. 3 boxes, according to Graham.
A few months later, in the Jan 1, 1942, issue, Gillette contractor Fred J. Mason was awarded a contract for the installation of 100 boxes. 
“The new boxes are being installed adjacent to the original boxes and according to Postmaster Hugh F. Graham will fill a long felt need and will provide local patrons with more efficient mail service,” the article says.