MAILING KIDS: The U.S. Postal Service introduced parcel post on Jan. 1, 1913, allowing Americans to send packages weighing up to 11 pounds. This development led to some unexpected uses of the mail, with a few parents deciding to send their children through the Postal Service.
One of the earliest instances occurred in January 1913, when an Ohio couple, Jesse and Matilda Beagle, mailed their 8-month-old son James to his grandmother. The postage cost for this unusual delivery was merely 15 cents, with the parents insuring their child for $50.
Over the next few years, other stories of children being mailed emerged, particularly in rural areas where postage was cheaper than train tickets. One of the most well-known cases occurred in February 1914 when 4-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from Grangeville, Idaho, to her grandparentsƵ house 73 miles away.
Classified under the Ƶchicken rate,Ƶ she was stamped and tagged as a 54-pound baby chick, with postage attached to her coat. Accompanied by her motherƵs cousin, who worked for the Railway Mail Service, CharlotteƵs quirky journey became legendary and even inspired a childrenƵs book titled ƵMailing May.Ƶ
Although children were never stuffed in bags, they were sent via trains with stamps affixed to their clothing and were typically accompanied by postal workers whom the parents trusted. The practice of mailing children, while economically appealing to some, was officially banned by the Post Office in 1915.
However, the regulation did not immediately stop the trend. In August of that year, a 3-year-old girl named Maud Smith became the last known child to be sent through the post, traveling 40 miles across Kentucky.
Despite the unusual nature of these postal journeys, there are no records of children being harmed or delayed during transit. The trust Americans placed in their postal workers, combined with the affordability of postage, made mailing children an unusual but somewhat accepted form of travel during this brief period of history.
NIL TERMINOLOGY: I never had a problem with the term Ƶscholar-athlete.Ƶ People used to claim it was a bogus term, as if athletes werenƵt genuinely attending college. These men and women were going to school, and they were also athletes. If they failed to have enough course credits or their grade point average fell below 2.3, they were dismissed.
However, I do have a problem with the term NIL which stands for ƵName, Image, and Likeness.Ƶ You donƵt see Deion SandersƵ sons selling their names, images, or likenesses for local car wash advertisements. The term should properly be called a Ƶtalent fee.Ƶ TheyƵre renting their talent year by year.
VIEW FROM MY HOUSE: I live on top of a hill that overlooks Huntington. Every day I look out my window and see all the places I used to work, from the early 1980s until now: the Coal Exchange Building; the Chafin Building (now United Bank building); Love Hardware (now my law firm, Campbell Woods); First Sentry Bank (now WesBanco); the Cabell County Courthouse; and many others. Good memories.
Grant McGuire is a Huntington residnet. His email address is grant11955@gmail.com.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Recommended for you
If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.
