Photo by Norma Thatcher

Are you aware that the US Postal Service is celebrating an anniversary this year? It’s not too late to send them a card (pun #1) to acknowledge it’s been one hundred years since airmail was established.

The 23^rd issue of the USA Philatelic (tagged as “the official source for stamp enthusiasts”) arrived in my mailbox this week. While stamp enthusiast is not a title I’d normally bestow upon myself, I found the catalog an interesting read filled with background stories on current stamp images.

The cover story on the new stamp commemorating airmail service, complete with fascinating photos, was captivating.

I had no idea that the concept of getting America’s mail delivered faster by using planes propelled (pun #2) the widespread growth of commercial aviation in our country.

In order to test the expediency of using planes instead of trains to transport mail (in order to gain government funding), the Post Office set up a test to prove a mail plane could carry the mail between New York and Chicago in less than ten hours.

Yes, ten hours. That timeframe from 1918 seems laughable today, but the planes being used were left over from the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, which was disestablished  in May 1918.

The first test of two planes trying to “go the distance” between NYC and Chicago failed miserably. Poor weather and mechanical problems caused the planes’ times to be 37 and 48 hours!

But a return trip in better weather was made in less than 9 ½ hours, setting the stage for daily airmail between those two cities by 1920.

Let’s talk about money. When the price of a first class Forever stamp rose to 50 cents this past January, an online version of Money magazine blared this headline:

Stamps Just Got More Expensive. Here’s How Much They Cost Now.

But let’s put that into perspective. The price of one of those initial airmail stamps in 1918 was 24 cents. In today’s dollars, that would be about $4.50!

Suddenly our 50 cent Forever stamp feels like an incredible bargain.

I know sometimes the USPS gets bashed. But it amazes me. Despite my horrendous handwriting (sometimes even I can’t read it), the USPS delivers my cards in 2-3 days.

We can buy stamps online in our pajamas instead of having to wait in line. (I’m trusting that you’d be wearing something other than pajamas in the Post Office.)

And the new service “Informed Delivery” provides the opportunity for us to preview our mail, track packages, and manage mail deliveries on our smart phones.

I think the negative meaning of the phrase “going postal” needs to be reinvented in a positive slant.

Work on that, will you?

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You can request your own free copy of the USA Philatelic here.