Postmasters & Political Patronage
by Zina Abbott
Welcome! My name is Zina Abbott. I am pleased to have been invited as a guest blogger on Pistols & Petticoats today.
I have recently written two book for the series, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge. In my second book, Diantha, my character not only ends up taking over the Ridge Hotel in town after the death of her husband in a mining disaster that killed many townspeople, she also ended up taking over her late husband’s postmaster position. When readers first meet Diantha in my first book I wrote for the series, Nissa, she serves as the postmistress.
Before the Postal Reform Act of 1970, there was no United States Postal Service. Mail delivery in the United States was managed by the General Post Office Department, a federal agency based in Washington, D.C. The Post Office Department handled contracts for mail delivery, often awarding them to
freight train companies, stagecoach lines (think Butterfield and Wells &
Fargo, plus a host of one-man operations) and, later, railroads. Then there was that glorious year and a half where the freight company, Russell, Majors and Waddell, won the mail contract for the Pony Express.
freight train companies, stagecoach lines (think Butterfield and Wells &
Fargo, plus a host of one-man operations) and, later, railroads. Then there was that glorious year and a half where the freight company, Russell, Majors and Waddell, won the mail contract for the Pony Express.
Postmaster positions, however, were an entirely different matter. They were a “political plum.” Awarding postmaster positions was not controlled by the General Post Office Department. They were appointed by the local congressman for the district in which the city or town was located in recognition (payment) for either the support, both financial and other means, helping the congressman win election or achieve his political aims. Men awarded postmaster positions in large cities were guaranteed a nice salary and steady employment—at least while that congressman stayed in office. In smaller towns where the citizens’ involvement in a congressman’s career was less, the awards may have been tempered by the selections also being narrowed down to who had the facilities and ability to run a post office operation. Either way, for many years, awarding postmaster positions was one means a congressman had of rewarding those who either served their country well, or furthered the congressman’s political career.
I became aware of this when I started working for the United States Postal Service in 1980 as a relief carrier (think vacation and sick day coverage). The reform act did away with political patronage for postal positions. By the time I applied, I submitted an application to the USPS, took a test, was awarded a score based on the test results, and was called in for interviews based on my test scores.
However, I was hired to back up a man who had been hired as a rural carrier through political patronage. Like postmaster positions in his time, he submitted his application for the job to his local congressman, who took into consideration his military service, community service in addition to his political party. A second rural carrier in the office where I worked was also hired under the old rules of political patronage.
It is good to keep note that, back in the days of the old West, you might find a post office operation in a variety of businesses. Mercantile stores were good locations. Sometimes, a stagecoach business used a local hotel to pick up and drop off customers and the mail.
In my book, Diantha, Wells Fargo had its own business location. I used the hotel lobby for the local post office. Diantha, whose late husband had not involved her in either the hotel business or the post office operation prior to his death, figured once she notified the Post Office Department she was taking over her husband’s job to become the local postmistress, everything was settled. However, the local Utah Territorial Congressman had different ideas. It was his right to award the job as a reward for political support – and he did just that. Imagine how surprised Diantha, the Wells Fargo stagecoach employees, and the citizens of Wildcat Ridge were when Hank Cauley showed up in town and announced he was the new postmaster.My two books in the series, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge, are written to be stand-alone novels. However, they do have several connections which readers will enjoy if they are read in order as a duet. Today I am offering a free ebook copy of my first book in the series, Nissa, to one person selected at random who leaves a comment in the comments section of this blog post.
Nissa and her two children used to live in the mine supervisor’s house before her husband was killed in the Gold King Mine disaster. Forced to leave, she is reduced to seeking a job washing the laundry for the Ridge Hotel. Dallin comes to Wildcat Ridge for a horse auction. Attracted to the lovely red-headed laundress, he decides he wants to leave Wildcat Ridge with more than new horses.Hal, one of two wranglers working for Dallin, discovers the homely teller working for Crane Bank is hiding something—her beauty inside and out. He would like to take her back to the ranch where he works, but there is no place for her in a bunkhouse full of men. Birdie, hoping to earn enough to escape Wildcat Ridge and apply for a bank teller job in a large city, changes her mind after meeting the handsome wrangler.
To read the full book description and find the purchase link for Nissa, please CLICK HERE.
Diantha is forced to learn how to run a hotel and manage mail delivery after the death of her husband. Her world is turned upside down when a stranger shows up in town claiming to be the new postmaster. Hank’s business failed and he was forced to live with and work for his brother. Things look up when his brother uses his influence to get him a small postmaster position in Wildcat Ridge. However, he runs into trouble when the current postmistress is not willing to give up the job.Buck, a wrangler who came to Wildcat Ridge for the horse auction with his boss, finds when he returns to the ranch, he cannot get that sassy, redhead, Hilaina, out of his mind. Hilaina is desperate to find a husband in a town full of widows, but will not leave Wildcat Ridge and her widowed mother behind.
To read the full book description and find the purchase link for Diantha, please CLICK HERE.
About
Zina Abbott:
Zina Abbott:
Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echolsfor her historical novels. A member of Women Writing the West, Western Writers of America, and American Night Writers Association. She currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.”
When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.
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Good morning and welcome Zina. I’ve always been fascinated with the postal service. How they get mail clear across the country in a few days. I know planes are involved for transporting nowadays.
During the old West days I know it was way slower, but isn’t it great that they did have this, as letters and correspondence was coveted back then, a piece of a loved ones story. Back then Letters were read and re-read over and over while someone was far away from loved ones. Thank you for sharing the history of the PO, I learned a great deal today. Your book sounds amazing. Happy Early Easter to you and your family. God Bless.
Tonya
Thank you, Tonya. Yes, the mail delivery process served as a valuable means of communication. Being hired by the USPS and learning a bit about how things historically were done was an eye-opener. Thank you for commenting on this post.
Great post! I enjoyed reading it and I learned some things. Thanks
Thank you for commenting. I’m happy to know you learned a little bit more about how the Post Office used to work.
I enjoyed reading your post. I really learned a lot.
Thank you, Janine. It is always gratifying to know someone has learned something new from one of my posts. I appreciate your comment.
Janine — You are the winner of an ebook copy of NISSA. Please send your email address to me at zinaabbott AT gmail DOT com. Congratulations.
So that’s the way things were when my maternal grandfather worked postal service. He had been a government worker all his life but I never really knew what that entailed till now.
Kim — I’m not sure how all the crafts in the post office were hired in the past. I do know rural letter carriers and most postmaster jobs were political patonage jobs. Thank you for commenting.
Very interesting. You learn something new every day thankyou.
Yvonne — That is the goal — learning something new. Thank you for leaving your comment.
Interesting post. I grew up in a small community and we has a post office at the time but it was out of the postmasters house at the time. He had a room set up front of the house that was open for the post office. It was this way for many years but now a nearby town has taken it over.
Thank you, Quilt Lady. Yep, that is how it used to be. If a community was small and wanted a post office, often the person who applied for the postmaster/postmistress position had to provide the facility. I have heard of post offices being in homes before. Thank you for commenting.
Welcome, Zina! Great post on the history of well, post offices! Always something new to learn, which is what makes research so fascinating.
Most of our readers know my book, ELEANORA, is #8 in the Widows of Wildcat Ridge series, and Diantha and Eleanora are in a key scene together in the beginning of my book. It was great fun to coordinate with Zina to get her character and other details just right.
Having characters connected in the same town is what makes a series like Widows of Wildcat Ridge so popular.
Wishing you many sales, Zina!
Hi Pam. Yes, this is true. I enjoyed working with you on that. Those who read the whole The Widows of Wildcat Ridge series learn long before Diantha’s book, which is #14, that she is the postmistress after the death of her husband. If you have already had a chance to read Dianthal, now you know why I didn’t want you to say too much in your book about a few things.
You are also right about this having been a popular series. I know I sure have enjoyed writing my books for the series and tying key scenes into those also mentioned in other books. Thank you for your comment.
good morning, what a good blog you wrote, I too, about 7 years ago applied to be a relief carrier, i took the test, passed and 2 years later they called me for an interview. two of my brothers worked for the post office. one retired already. that was the longest interview i had ever been on, 4 hours, and i couldn’t understand why other who worked for the post office already applied. the actual face to face interview was only about 20 minutes, sadly i did not get it. but now that i think about it I am glad i wasn’t offered the job, because the postal carriers put up with a lot. the weather the customers. ect. i would of liked to work behind the counter selling stamps and shipping packages, but was told nobody starts off in that position.
Thank you for your comment, Elaine. You are right – some positions you need seniority in order to quality. I was a relief carrier for 5 years and an auxiliary carrier for another 2.5 years before I was able to get my own full-time route. The Postal Service is a good place to work, but it is work. It is definitely different than it was in the days of Diantha which was set in 1884.
Welcome Zina. This is a very interesting post about post masters. I had no idea about a lot of this. I do know some about the pony express. I have had this series on my list.
Thank you, Lori. I enjoyed learning about the history of the Postal Service when I still worked for them, even before I retired and began writing full time. My knowing this little tidbit about political patronage was key to my plot for Diantha. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Hi Zina,
What wonderful info about the U.S. Postal service and its history. Congrats on the release of Diantha!!
Thank you, Kristy. I really am pleased with how Diantha came together. I so enjoyed using this theme for part of my plot. I appreciate your comments.
Hi Zina,
Thank you so much for sharing information on the history of the U.S. Postal Service. History is so very interesting.
Thank you for your comment, Theresa. I also found the history of how the old Post Office system worked. I appreciate you stopping by.
fascinating history
Thank you for leaving a comment, Denise. Yes, the history is fascinating.
Congratulations to Janine. She is the winner of the ebook copy of NISSA.
Zina, I didn’t realize that politics were still involved in post office jobs as late as the 1970’s. I had 2 uncles who worked for the post office probably starting in the 1950’s. The family never had much in the way of political connections, so it was likely their military service that opened the door for them. My husband retired from the post office about 4 years ago. He just told me that many of those he worked with were appointed under the old system. He go in under the testing system with credit for military service. Our daughter and her husband are bother postal employees, obviously coming in under the new system.
Thanks for an interesting post on the history of the post office. I love the pictures.
Congratulations, Janine. Enjoy.
Like usual I learn a lot from your posts, and blogs. Your books sound Awesome! God Bless you.