USPS appoints a new historian

  USPS appoints a new historian

Stephen Kochersperger has been named USPS historian, a role he assumed on an acting basis in December.

He succeeds Jennifer Lynch, who retired last year.

Kochersperger began his USPS career more than 40 years ago, first as a clerk in Milesburg, PA, and then as postmaster of Julian, PA, where he served for 25 years.

In 2011, he became a writer/editor for the former Capital Metro Area. The next year, he joined the historian’s office at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC.

Kochersperger spearheaded two recent oral history projects: arranging interviews of employees with 50 or more years of service for the 50th anniversary of the Postal Service’s as creation an independent federal agency in 1971 and interviewing postal executives on how USPS handled delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His master’s thesis was on the postal system’s role in American independence.

Kochersperger is a distant cousin of John Wanamaker, the 35th postmaster general, and is related to Charles Kochersperger, the defendant in an 1860 court case that led to the development of the Private Express Statutes, which guarantee the Postal Service’s exclusive right to carry letters for compensation.

“Postal history is in my blood, quite literally,” he said.

Reference: USPS via NPMHU Local 317
 

From the Postal Museum | Precious Packages-America's Parcel Post Service

  From the Postal Museum | Precious Packages-America's Parcel Post Service

"...Parcel Post Service became available to Americans on January 1, 1913. Farm families, having made Rural Free Delivery a nation-wide success, were especially anxious to welcome the new service. Prior to 1913, farmers had to convey their produce to the nearest town large enough to support an express office, which added to the price of transporting their goods to the city. But with the combination of RFD and Parcel Post, package service was provided right from their mailbox. ..."

Reference: postalmuseum.si.edu
 

Right to Strike? It’s still against the law for federal workers to walk out on the job

  Right to Strike? It’s still against the law for federal workers to walk out on the job

"...Though Nixon drove a hard bargain while the strike was in progress, his government did not retaliate against those who walked out. Not a single striking worker was fired. Nobody was fined or jailed for acting against federal law. But when labor laws were amended in 1978, allowing collective bargaining for federal workers, provisions that made it illegal to strike stayed in the law. It’s still against the law for federal workers to walk out on the job. But the strike reminded the government—and the nation—of the power of rank-and-file workers. ..."

Reference: www.history.com
 

The Post Office Department issued its first postage stamps on...

  The Post Office Department issued its first postage stamps on...

"...On March 3, 1847, Congress authorized United States postage stamps. The first general issue postage stamps went on sale in New York City, July 1, 1847. One, priced at five cents, depicted Benjamin Franklin. The other, a ten-cent stamp, pictured George Washington. ..."

Reference: usps.com
 

Book: They Carried the Mail: A Survey of Postal History & Hobbies (Paperback)

 
They Carried the Mail, Mathew J. Bowyer
"...Description: The postal system, from its beginnings in the 17th century, has been a matter of both aggravation and dependability to every man and woman in America. In They Carried the Mail, Mathew J. Bowyer presents the fascinating history of these bearers of ill and joyous tidings. "There is nothing quite like this book when Bowyer writes about the people who move the mail, their attitudes and their jobs, their gripes and their jokes."
-The Washington Star..."
Reference: www.amazon.com