109 Years Ago
The October 26, 1916 Colorado Transcript included an advertisement by Charles Nolin, offering to provide a mailbox, install it on your house, and post your street address.
Why would this service warrant a display ad in the paper? Was Nolin expecting a sudden surge in demand for mailboxes?
Yes, he was!
Prior to 1917, Golden’s postal patrons went to the post office to collect their mail. Beginning in January of that year, the post office offered home delivery service. In order to get it, homeowners had to install a mailbox and post their street address. Street addresses were still fairly new at that time, and many homeowners had had no reason to attach their numbers (or even learn what their address was). Nolin was offering to take care of the whole thing for $1.
The January 4, 1917 Colorado Transcript reported on the successes and foibles encountered so far. Many homeowners hadn’t yet attached numbers to their houses, so the postal carrier couldn’t deliver there. Some homeowners hadn’t yet learned was their street addresses were. One posted two numbers on his house–one in the 400s and the other in the 900s.
Some mailboxes were set on the porch, rather than being securely attached to the house. “…one box fell off the porch the minute mail was placed in it. A high wind was blowing at the time, and the carrier was forced to do a marathon to rescue the missives.”
(They should have hired Charles Nolin.)
