Thursday, September 28, 1933 pg. 2 BELLS MAIL CARRIER RETIRES AFTER 31 YEARS OF SERVICE Bells - P.P. "Pick" Mathews, Bells' first rural letter carrier, covered his route for the last time Saturday and will retire September 30 after 31 years in the government mail service. His last week as an employe of Uncle Sam will be spent on a 6-day vacation after which Mr. Mathews, or plain Pick as he is know by hundreds, will settle down to a life of leisure. It was on July 1902, after preparations had been completed to establish rural letter service out of the Bells post office, that Mr. Mathews launched his career as a government employe carrying Route No. 1 with which he continued until his retirement. Bert Mitchel was employed to carry Route No. 2, but retired 18 years ago and still makes his home at Bells. Introdution of the rural letter service was an achievement for the Bells territory and community people gathered at every newly planted mail box to welcome Mr. Mathews on his initial round. Everywhere there was downright enthusiasm over the new progressive step. Of course there were the Doubting Thomases who vowed that the service "would break the government," and that having mailed delivered to the farm gate was more than any reasonable person could expect to be continued permanently. EARLY HARDSHIPS MET But the delivery service did continue and so did Mr. Mathews. During earlier years he made his established round by horse and buggy in fair weather and on horseback during wet weather. In recalling the hardships of his more than three decades as a mail man, Mr. Mathews mentions first of all the almost impassable roads that existed a number of years ago and which made the letter carrier's job everything but a snap. By 1916 Mr. Mathews found himself chugging over his route in an autombile, a machine that was a crude contraption back in those days but which brought some comfort for the letter carrier. During the latter years of his service he glided over his course in one of the improved motor vehicles of the present day. Bells History Copyright © 2024, TXGenWeb. If you find any of Grayson County, TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |