Some Miscellaneous Items from 1932

Friday, October 21, 1932 - The Florida Advocate
"Formal Opening of Post office is Being Planned For Tomorrow"

Much of this issue of The Florida Advocate is dedicated to news about the new post office opening on 7th Avenue.  The building was owned by J. G. Anderson.  The post office occupied a portion of the building and the remainder of the building was occupied by the offices of The J. G. Anderson Realty Company. 

Postmaster Rainey reported the post office had a "specially built burglar-proof safe."  He also reported that a letter box would be installed in front of the post office so patrons could drop their mail without having to leave their automobiles.  The new post office was furnished with all new equipment.

Page 8 included an article entitled "Interesting History of Local Postoffice:  List of Postmasters and Office Records since 1887."  The first post office opened on July 1, 1887.  The office was known as "English" until the name was changed to "Wauchula" on July 2, 1888. The first day the office was open, seventy cents worth of postage stamps were sold.

 The first rural free delivery route was started on March 1, 1912.  J. N. Hendry was the first rural mail carrier and the article reported he had missed only two days in over twenty years.

Postmasters listed in the article are as follows:

Other postal workers mentioned in the article included H. O. Carlton, rural mail carrier, A. A. Turner and George Clark, city mail carriers, Burton Rainey, Assistant Postmaster Carl F. Hanna (employed since 1911) and L. W. Pace (employed since July 1913.)  Another article describes the careers of several postal employees and boasts of the efficiency and fine service records of the the Wauchula Post Office force.

A photo of the new post office shows J. G. Anderson presenting the keys to Postmaster Homer B. Rainey.  Another photo shows employees J. N. Hendry, Leslie Wadsworth, Carl F. Hanna, Homer B. Rainey, H. O. Carlton, G. Fred Heine, L. W. Pace, A. A. Turner, and Burton Rainey in front of the new building.

This very interesting edition of The Florida Advocate included many other articles concerning the construction of the new post office. The paper is available on microfilm at the Hardee County public library.