A New Year and Renewed Effort for Agroecology

 

As I add another year of growing food for others into the books, I find myself doing what so many people do in late December and early January — reflecting on what has been and considering what may be.  It’s tempting to fall prey to the belief that this is the moment that everything will change, making it a key transitional event in the life of our farm.  Except, I’ve realized that good stewardship recognizes that a farm is always in transition, from one season to the next, from week to week, from task to task.

A farm that implements the principles of agroecology is one that embraces complexity.  That complexity often comes in the form of transitions, moving from planting to cultivation to harvest.  These farms are prepared to work with whatever the land and the weather brings to them.  The people that do this work are strong and capable, and they achieve a great deal.  But they do all of this despite, not because of, our current agriculture and food systems.

Broken food and farming systems

Our current food and farming systems have come about due to a thirst for control, simplicity and money.  To be successful, a farm always has to be seeking “more” and the concept of “enough” is considered to be no better than failure.  Bigger is better.  Achieving the highest crop yields is necessary, regardless of the non-monetary costs.  As long as the people who happen to be at the top of the ladder keep increasing their sphere of influence and their assets, these systems are considered successful.

The bigger our farms get, and the more they embrace larger fields with single crops, the harder it is to get away from a reliance on pesticides.  As these farms increase in size, the harder it becomes for new growers to access land and enter the profession.  The laws and the regulations continue to skew towards the preferences of these large, corporate farms and the industry that promotes them.  The power in food and farming is definitely not in favor of a complex and diverse agriculture.

Meanwhile, on a small-scale farm

Our small-scale farm has been among those who continue to embrace agroecology despite the pressures of a system that would prefer we “get big or get out.”  We have been scaling back out of necessity since I started working with PAN, but we still play a part in providing food to our local community.

I wanted to give you a partial picture of what providing food to our local community entails.  But, before I do, I want to assure you that we do love doing this – but we are also glad we don’t do it as much as we used to.  The time was right for us to scale back and we’re just trying to find the right scale for where we are in our lives now.  We are trying to determine what is “enough” instead of getting caught in trying to always acquire and achieve more.

One day in August, we delivered 32 dozen eggs, 35 pounds of tomatoes, 35 pounds of green beans and a bushel of onions.  We also delivered smaller amounts of zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce.  A couple of individuals were thrilled to get some HUGE zucchini, while others were happy to receive zucchini that were only six inches long.  Another person walked to the delivery point and found they could not carry it home, so we dropped it off at their home when all the other pickups were done.

While orders “only” came from 24 individual families, there was certainly effort expended to promote sales, manage orders, process those orders and deliver them.  On the same day, we worked with a couple of young people to harvest green beans, we performed all of our farm chores and tasks, and we both fulfilled our duties for our off-farm jobs.

Now imagine this.  When I worked on the farm full-time we offered a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share.  We had as many as 120 members getting a share every week.  We typically offered anywhere from 7 to 15 different items in a share every week — which meant we might deliver 120 pounds of green beans, 240 pounds of tomatoes, 240 heads of lettuce and other produce in similar amounts each week.

A small-scale, diversified farm can fill a farmer’s day.  Now imagine adding in the difficulties a broken food and agriculture system presents for this type of farm.  Concerns brought about by pesticide drift, the struggle for land access, and the pressures of regulations built for farms one hundred times our size are added to the burden.

Promoting a transition to agroecology in 2024

I know many of you who will read this patronize local growers of food and I salute you and have much gratitude for you.  But sometimes patronage is not enough.  Sometimes, it is important that we take the next step to understanding what it takes to grow good food on a small-scale with sustainable practices. And, once we have that understanding, we need to stand with current growers and those who want to enter the profession to change the policies that actively work to remove us from the food and farming system.

Perhaps you are also a steward who implements the principles of agroecology.  I recognize the value in your efforts and I understand that it can be hard, but rewarding, work.  And this is one of the reasons I work at PAN to do advocacy work.  I do this because the people who work so hard to raise food in the best ways possible for their communities shouldn’t also have to expend the energy or time to fight alone against a system that is stacked against them.

As a farmer and steward, I appreciate the work each of you has done on behalf of the small-scale, diversified growers who strive to be stewards of the land and their communities.  As a member of the PAN community, I look forward to a new year of promoting a real and lasting transition of our farm and food systems towards agroecology.

--------------

Thank you for considering my words.  This blog is a cross-posting from the Ground Truth blog for Pesticide Action Network that I wrote for their year-end issue.  I hope you find something here worth pondering.

Carried Away - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, a weekly feature where I share a hobby I enjoy with anyone who has interest.  It doesn't matter if you are an accomplished postal historian or just a curious bystander, everyone has an opportunity to learn something new.  Ignore your troubles for a bit - maybe if you forget to water them, they won't keep getting larger?  Grab a beverage of your choice and put on your fluffy slippers and take a few moments away from the rest of your busy life.

This week, we're going to look at the service provided by letter carriers in the United States to get the mail from the sender to the post office in the 1860s.  I typically refer to these as carrier letters, and they can be an interesting sub-topic for postal historians.

We're going to start with this 1861 letter that originated in Philadelphia.  There are two postage stamps (1 cent and 3 cent) representing four cents of postage paid to get this letter to Baltimore.  The three cent stamp paid the postage for a simple letter weighing no more than 1/2 ounce within the US, as long as it did not travel over 3000 miles.

Letter Mail Rates in the United States April 1, 1855 - June 30, 1863

Distance	Rate	Per
up to 3000 miles prepaid	3 cents	1/2 ounce
over 3000 miles prepaid	10 cents	1/2 ounce

This particular PHS is concerned about what the blue 1-cent stamp paid for - carriage to the Philadelphia post office.  This could either mean that the letter was picked up by the postal carrier from the sender or some other drop off locations, such as a post box.

A person could also pay to have a letter carrier deliver letters in the larger cities, such as Baltimore and Philadelphia.  The full street address on this envelope tells us it could have been carried to No. 41 Charles Street.  The recipient would have paid one penny for delivery to the carrier - the sender could not prepay for carrier delivery.  But, today we are not going to concern ourselves with delivery.  Instead, we'll focus on carriers getting letters to the mails.

A Service Taken For Granted

While I recognize that fewer and fewer people actually send letters via the postal service, many who read this blog have at least some memory of a time when paying bills and sending written correspondence via the mail was commonplace.  Unless you lived in a small, rural town, you probably have (or had) a postal person delivering mail to your office or place of residence.  If you wanted to send something in the mail, you could simply place it in your mailbox and that same person would pick up your letter and take it to the post office for you.  

That's a good example of carrier service to the mails.  The big difference is that no extra fee beyond the regular postage rate was needed to secure that service.  Prior to July 1, 1863, people who wanted their letter carried to the mails had to pay an extra fee.

from Smithsonian National Postal Museum

I do not live in a town and I also benefit from Rural Free Delivery in the United States.  In other words, I do not have to pay extra to have someone drive by our farm six days a week and drop our mail off in a box that looks a good deal like the one shown above.  And, just like someone who lives in a city with postal carriers, I can place mail into my mailbox and raise the red flag on the side to alert our rural carrier that I have placed a letter(s) into the box that I want them to take to the post office for me without paying more.

The rural service started in the late 1890s, though it was not adopted everywhere at once.  Prior to that point, rural customers had to make a trip to the nearest post office (that could be lengthy) to pick up and drop off mail.  Or, they made arrangements with someone else to drop off or pick up mail.

Well, believe it or not, there was also a time in the United States where even people living in some of our largest cities either had to go to the post office themselves to pick up or send a letter OR they had to pay someone to go to the post office for them.  The 1860s were a key period where carrier services expanded rapidly from the largest cities to smaller cities and towns - which is one reason why I enjoy looking at items from this period in the United States.

A Penny to Carry Your Mail

Here is a similar item showing 1 cent payment a letter carrier to take this envelope to the New York City post office.  In addition the possibility of handing a letter directly to a carrier, New Yorkers could find one of the lamp-post drop boxes scattered throughout the city.  

There were 586 such boxes in 1863 in NYC but there were most likely fewer in 1861 when the letter shown above was mailed.  To my knowledge, there isn't any way to tell whether this envelope was handed to a carrier or taken from one of these boxes.  But, once again, the 1-cent stamp is evidence that the carrier service to the New York post office was paid.  

And, before we move on, there is something different about this cover.  See if you can see it.  If you can't, don't worry, I'll fill you in later!

from Smithsonian

According to Appleton's United States Postal Guide for 1863, carriers visited these boxes six times a day to empty them and take the letters deposited there to the post office.  There were 137 postal carriers employed by the New York City post office if we use the numbers in the report of the Postmaster General for the fiscal year 1863/64.  Their job, in addition to picking up letters from these letterboxes, was to also make deliveries of the mail and collect the one cent carrier fee.

You might be surprised to learn that the first collection box officially sanctioned by the US Post Office was patented in 1858 by Albert Potts.  These were quite small and required frequent emptying.  This, of course, led to larger boxes, including those built under contract with the Post Office by John Murray in 1860.  If this topic interests you, you may enjoy reading the summary provided here by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

There was limited carrier service for pick up and delivery well before the 1860s, which is the period I focus on.  The New York City Directory and Register for 1789 lists at least one letter carrier named Hugh Duncan, as pointed out in this presentation by Calvet Hahn and confirmed by viewing the directory in question (shown below).  There are also covers that exist to show carrier delivery service in Philadelphia as early as 1754.

The motivations for the US Post Office to begin taking carrier pick up and delivery more seriously is a fairly complex question.  I could point to Europe and the history of mail pick-up and delivery that was well established there.  But, that would only serve as the model for some of the ideas that were implemented in the United States.  We need to remember that the majority of the population resided in rural areas and the existing city infrastructures were much younger and less established in the US. 

An Outside Motivation - Protecting Turf

Just as private mail services pushed the US Post Office to provide cheaper postage (and get laws passed to remove the competition), the private services that offered to take mail to and from private homes and businesses encouraged change by providing competition.  One well known private service was called the Blood's Penny Post in Philadelphia.  

Shown above is a letter that was mailed in Philadelphia on September 4, 1861, to Washington, D.C.  A three-cent stamp paid for the domestic postage to get from Philadelphia to D.C., but there is an additional adhesive on this cover that represented payment to Blood's for carrier service.

The Blood's carrier service started in 1845 as D.O. Blood & Co, becoming Blood's Despatch in 1848, and was finally known as Blood's Penny Post in 1854.  At its height, it serviced hundreds of collection boxes throughout Philadelphia that were emptied as many as five times a day.  

If you'll look at the cover above, you'll find a round marking at the bottom left.  It is hard to read, so I can provide you with a similar marking that bears different dates and times.  If the marking on our cover were clearer, we might expect to be able to find out which time of day this letter had been collected by Blood's Penny Post - just as the example below from 1858 illustrates for us.

In September of 1861, the cost for carrier service by Blood's Penny Post to the US Post Office in Philadelphia was one penny.  Blood's started the service at a cost of three cents in 1845, dropping it to 2 cents and then 1 cent (in 1855) as business grew and competitors attempted to get into the fray.  If you are interested in seeing examples of postal history from Blood's and their competitors in Philadelphia you may view them in Vernon Morris' exhibit of Blood's postal history.

It turns out that it can be useful to have the federal government on your side.  The US Post Office had the ability to declare any road or street a "post road."  Once a road or street had that designation it was no longer legal for a private entity to carry the mail via those routes.  In July of 1860, the Postmaster General announced that all streets in Philadelphia were post roads.  As a result, Blood's was technically no longer allowed to carry mail in the city - but they opted to ignore that announcement and continued to provide their services.

However, after the Post Office sought an injunction to prevent Blood's from continuing in 1861, the Penny Post finally shut their doors on January 10, 1862.  If you would like more details about Blood's Penny Post, I suggest you read this article in the Classics Society's Chronicle by Edward Harvey.  And, if that's still not enough for you, you can read this article that expands on certain details by Steven Roth (starts page 4). 

US Postal Carriers in Major Cities

A person can, if they wish, find examples of the US Post Office's penny carrier service in several of the major cities in the early 1860s.  In my own collection, I have examples for New York City, Boston, Brooklyn, Baltimore and Philadelphia (another is shown above).  In each case, a three cent stamp pays for a simple letter weighing no more than 1/2 ounce to travel from one point to another within the United States.  The one-cent stamp pays for the carrier service to the post office.

It is interesting to note that the US Post Office in Philadelphia was not too proud to take a few clues from the successful Blood's Penny Post.  The back of this letter shows a poorly struck postmark that would include the date and time stamp to show which carrier circuit picked the item up.

Rather than show you that marking, because it is hard to read, let me show you a similar marking that bears a different date in time so you can get a feel for what it looks like.

As postal use grew in the 1860s, the number of cities that provided carrier services increased.  And, on July 1, 1863, the one cent fee for carrier service was removed and Free City Delivery was established in the United States. At that time only 49 post offices employed at least one carrier and there were approximately 450 carriers in total.  By 1900, over 400 cities employed nearly 10,000 letter carriers and rural delivery was starting to get a foothold.

Why are Postal Historians Attracted to "Carrier Covers"?

As a postal historian, I appreciate items that provide me with clues that tell me how the letter traveled through the mail. Once we get to the middle of 1863 and the 1 cent fee for carrier pickup to the post office was removed, we lose some of the indicators that might tell us how a letter got to the post office in the first place.  A letter that was picked up from a lamppost drop box will look exactly the same as one that was dropped by the customer at the main post office after July 1st of that year.

That's why items prior to that date, like the cover shown above, have a special attraction.  The mere existence of the 1 cent stamp on this cover tells us that a carrier picked up this item and took it to the post office.  Just a bit more of the story is evident here.  And, because I know it cost 1 cent for a carrier to pick this up, I know the item shown below was NOT taken to the Philadelphia post office by a US post carrier.

Why?  Well, the postmark date is 1861, so the 1 cent carrier fee was in force.  There is no indication of carrier service so it is highly likely it was dropped at the post office.

If this item were dated October 1, 1863 (instead of 1861), I would not have any clues to tell me about the journey this letter took to get to the post office.  It could have been dropped in a post box, handed to a carrier or passed to the postal clerk at the post office.

But, that's not the whole story of what attracts people to items we call "carrier covers."  You've actually gotten a taste of it in this Postal History Sunday.  We have interesting stories involving private local carriers that provided a service that the US Post Office was either neglecting or not doing sufficiently well.  We see evidence of social change as mail was made more accessible to a wider audience.  We see the progress where a convenience that initially required payment eventually becomes an expected free service.

It's a good story.  And you all know how I like a good story.

Bonus Material

The letter that features the Blood's Penny Post stamp is written to a Private James C. Hufty of Colonel Baker's "First California" Regiment, Company C.  Hufty, a 21 year old, enrolled on April 18, 1861 with the First California.  Apparently, Hufty found some way to hold on to the letters he received because there are several envelopes from this correspondence available to collectors.  

Camp Oregon (where this letter was addressed) was part of the defense around Washington, D.C. (to its northwest) and many of these camps included the families of some of the soldiers.  This could, I suppose, help explain how these envelopes survived.  Is it possible he had someone at camp who kept track of these letters for him?  Below is a photo of the 31st Pennsylvania Volunteers encamped at that time near Washington, D.C. (a different unit that did not include Hufty).

Courtesy Library of Congress, LC-DIG-cwpb-01663

Private Hufty would be among 553 Federal prisoners taken at the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861.  I have not been able to track Hufty beyond that point in time.

Senator Edward D Baker, of Oregon, formed this regiment largely with volunteers from Philadelphia and New York City, despite what the name might imply.  Baker was a politician and a friend of President Lincoln.  Because he recruited this regiment (and he had connections), Baker was given the commission as Colonel, despite his lack of military training.  This was a fairly common occurrence early in the war, which led to numerous mistakes in early action.

from WikiMedia Commons

The Battle of Ball's Bluff was a prime illustration how the lack of military background cost dearly.  Baker positioned his troops on low ground, putting them at great disadvantage.  They were pressed back to the Potomac where many were killed, captured or drowned in the attempt to retreat.  Baker paid with his life and his incompetence resulted in the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War.  The Joint Committee was created to begin addressing the competence of military leadership and to counter politically motivated appointments.

Baker shot at Ball's Bluff - from Library of Congress

After the Senator's (Colonel's) death, the 1st California was renamed the 71st Pennsylvania Infantry, though it was (and is) still often referenced by its original name.  The 71st participated in many major battles, including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  They were mustered out in August of 1864.

If you are interested in more details surrounding the 71st Pennsylvania, the History of Edward Baker's California Regiment, 71st PA Inf. by Gary G. Lash could be of interest to you.  

And one more tidbit for this week

I promised earlier that I would fill you in about the thing that is "different" for the second cover shown in today's Postal History Sunday - so here we are!

The United States Postal Service issued a new design of postage stamps in 1861, releasing them for use in August of that year.  At the same time, the demonetized the older designs of postage stamps - making them no longer valid to pay postage.  The idea was to prevent postmasters and persons in the Confederate States from using older stocks of US postage.

However, there was a period of time where old postage was still allowed and, of course, not every instance where a person tried to use an old stamp was going to be noticed.  While the new designs were different, their colors and designs were similar enough that a person with much to do might miss it.  This is an example of a cover where an old design from the 1851 / 1857 series (the blue one cent stamp) is used with a new 1861 design (the rose colored three cent stamp).

Of course, there is more that can be said about that - but that might be best said in another Postal History Sunday.

Thank you for joining me this week.  I hope you have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come!

---------------------

Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.

Best of 2023

Welcome to 2024!

I am sure this year will bring some new things - including the possibility of a new approach for the farm blog.  But, before we turn the page on 2023, I thought I would share my selections for the best blogs of 2023.

In order to qualify, I removed Postal History Sunday from the list (they got their own post) and I also removed Faux Real Stories because I've been sharing them lately for you to enjoy.  I also removed from consideration any "throwback" post - even if I practically rewrote some of them in their entirety.

Given the fact that there were well over 300 entries in the past year, there was still plenty of decent writing to share.  In other words, it was still difficult to limit myself to eleven!  But first, we get to share the blog that got the most readership (not counting those taken out of consideration by my restrictions above)!

After each link, I grabbed a quote from each blog.  Maybe you can choose what seems interesting to you to read.  Or you can just read this blog and be amused by the fact that I feel like I need to provide a "best of" list for 2023 in the first place!

People's Choice:

Why They're Called Chores

Now, the good, or bad, news - depending on how you look at it - is that there were two days this past weekend.  Sunday was cloudier, cooler and it had some light rain.  The rain wasn't heavy enough to stop the outdoor work, but it sure did make a person damp a bit faster than some good, old-fashioned sweat.  

In my case, I was able to accomplish the task of sweating and getting rained on at the same time.  

Multi-talented, I am.

Author's Choice:

And now we come to my choices.  I did not spend much time on ordering them - but I did agonize over the process of cutting things down to just eleven.  I did okay until I got down to fifteen - but it was pretty difficult to choose at that point.  That's good news for you, because I didn't have to stretch to find the good stuff!

Those Who Hesitate

Look before you leap.  Or, maybe you prefer "look for thorns before you grab the stem of a rose?"  Whatever.  It's your brain, so you can play with the idioms that reside there all you would like.

Assess your surroundings, think about the possible future outcomes, before you find that you've put yourself into a very bad situation.  It actually doesn't sound all that different from what I was saying before when I suggested that I would be lost if I hesitated.  But, in my case, I was talking about hesitating to think about the situation and make a decision.

Mythology: The Open Spot on the Calendar

I have selective amnesia when it comes to some of the busiest and most stressful times of year.  Perhaps there is a small voice in the back of my mind that is yelling in its tiny voice, "NO! Not then!"  But, the open spot on the calendar causes the rest of the crowd to roar in appreciation of the fact that a mutual time has been located and agreed upon.  

That poor little voice knows better, but how can it get the attention of the decision making process when that process is too busy acknowledging the applause? OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... YAY!

Spring Migration

Many birds change into their mating plumage by going through a molt (growing a new set of feathers).  According to All About Birds, the Cornell Lab website, Snow Buntings rub their heads and bellies against the snow to wear off the darker coloration on the tips of their feathers, exposing the lighter, white parts.  

Ah, the things we do for love.

Rustic or a Dump - at Least it's Authentic

Part of the problem is that not everyone can tell the difference between useful items that are there for a reason and an honest to goodness mess.  You can probably guess that the rolled up hose in a cart with a couple of feeder covers is probably there for a reason (stored for the Winter).  But, they also probably don't look all that attractive either.   There's a pile of metal that is waiting for the next metal drive - and that's not something you walk someone by when you want them to think your place is beautiful either.

I will also hazard a guess that chicken transport crates are not likely to be most people's choice of decorative items either.

Water Cooler Talk

Only a very select portion of the population in our world today can fully relate to the idea of moving hens from one location to another on a small (or even larger) farm.  And that's why I often find myself mumbling words like "oh, nothing much," when someone makes the polite inquiry about what I did last night.  Or, I simply make the bold statement, "We moved the hens from one location to another one."  People around the cooler can take it at face value or not.  

It's just that this approach runs the risk that one of those folks are going to ask me to explain what I mean by that.  And that is when the fun begins.

Moalepe - Walk There Again

Then there was the Eucalyptipath...  Ok, it was a row of Eucalyptus trees (with a few other trees mixed in).  After a stretch of sun that made us both feel a little bit uncomfortable, the shade from the trees was welcome.  And, to top it off, we had a bit of a breeze moving the leaves around.

I think the only thing about this part of the path that was a negative was the sheer number of roots IN the path.  I would have liked to have walked with my head up, smiling the whole way, to enjoy the sight of the filtered sunlight and the feel of the breeze on my face.  Instead, we had to keep our eyes on our feet most of the time so our faces did not get a close up of the ground and those same roots.

Snirt Alert

Today's snirt is on our farm, in part, because of the words of Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture for Richard M. Nixon.  Butz called upon farmers in the United States to plant from fencerow to fencerow and encouraged individual farms to get big or get out.  I should be clear here, however, that his declaration in 1973 did not mark the beginning of snirt in Iowa and other locations.  It merely emphasized a style of agriculture that has little regard for diversity and natural processes - a style that was already gaining steam, especially after World War II.

Coneflowers and Goldenrod

Mother Nature: "How about a nice BIG patch of goldenrod where you planted those iris."

Farmer Rob: "Um...  I would rather that go over..."

Mother Nature: "And while we're at it, some thousand-flower aster would be great next to it."

Farmer Rob: "But that's where I put the iris and day lilies!  Could we just..."

Mother Nature: " And that cherry tree....  it needs some trimming."

Sweet Marsh - A Disturbing Walk There Again

We continued down the path and noted that there was a turtle crossing it a few hundred feet ahead of us.  This Painted Turtle really wanted nothing to do with us either, but it couldn't swim or fly away.  Instead, it simply pulled into its portable home and put out the unwelcome mat.  

Of course, being the inconsiderate humans we are, we had to stop and observe this poor creature for longer than it wanted.  To be fair, our simple passage was already considered enough of an inconvenience.  But it seemed like it had a pretty nice home - and we told it so.  

Of course, we got no reply and we eventually gave up having a conversation as a bad job. 

Clan Leaf

While a branch may not fully appreciate or understand the function and form of a leaf, it still needs to recognize its value and respect it.  The roots will never see a leaf, but it takes its nourishment through photosynthesis while the leaf is part of the plant or as a result of decomposition after the leaf falls and is broken down into useful nutrients.

Grace

In this world, you can do everything as best as you are able with the knowledge that you have at your disposal.  You can seek out qualified opinions and give yourself time to make the best decisions.  You can do everything as right as you possibly can.

And you can still have a result that is not a good one - even when you can't possibly see how you could have done much better.

This is why it is so important to give each other - and ourselves - grace.

------------

Thank you for reading and considering my words.  Here's hoping we can find kindness and beauty in 2024.

Author's Choice for 2023 - Postal History Sunday

It is Sunday and it is also the day before the turning of the calendar from 2023 to 2024.  As has been the tradition with Postal History Sunday, I am offering up what I feel are some of the best entries for the past year.  Feel free to take the links to the original articles if the description moves you to do so.  And, of course, if you think I've got it all wrong and there are others that should have made the list, feel free to let me know.

If you look under the image for each article you will find a "trivia" question.  See how many you can answer! Hint - one might find those answers by taking the link for each entry - who didn't see that coming?

Set the troubles aside, grab a favorite beverage and put on the fuzzy slippers. It's time for Postal History Sunday!

People's Choice - The Foolish Desire

1. In addition to his military service during the Civil War, what was J.W. DeForest' primary occupation?

The "People's Choice" award was actually very close this year with no entry running away from the competition.  The interesting thing, for me, was how some blogs clearly appealed to a wider audience - and they weren't always the ones I expected. 

This was actually one of the Postal History Sunday entries this year that was a rewrite of an entry from a couple of years ago.  I've learned more since it first appeared and I know that the best writing is actually re-writing.  The results here seem to back that up.

As far as a preview is concerned, the main focus is on the contents of a letter written by Harriet Silliman Shepherd to Erastus DeForest during the American Civil War.  This Postal History Sunday ranges far and wide, including bull fighting, fancy cancellations, and the chi square distribution.  Yes, you read that right.  We take our mathematics seriously here too.

11.  One Thing Leads to Another and Another Thing Leads to Another

2. What was the purpose of an exchange office for foreign letter mail?

While it might seem a bit like I am cheating to get more than eleven blog entries into this list, it's pretty difficult to separate these two because they were intended to be linked in the first place.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Both of these entries were inspired by a virtual presentation I provided for the Collectors Club of New York.  Okay...  It was a REAL presentation, not a virtual one.  But, I was safely ensconced in front of my computer, just as the audience members were.  I appreciate the opportunities to participate in things like this that are brought about by tools like Zoom because I might not have been able to join in otherwise.

There were many positive responses to the content I shared during the presentation, so I thought I would convert some of it to a blog form.  If you would like to learn a bit about how I use information from one cover to help me understand another cover, these blogs might be of interest to you. 

10.  Crossing the Pond and Lighting a Candle

3. Why was paraffin a popular choice for candle making in the 1860s?

I will admit that some of my favorite Postal History Sunday's to write are those where I allow myself to really explore a single cover fully and thoroughly.  This article is actually a very good example of that approach.  It starts with a step by step "reading" of the cover to help show everyone how I could determine postal rates, routes and means of transportation.  Then, we get to explore the contents and the recipients of the folded letter being featured.

This article does a good job of knowing when to quit, in my opinion.  And that's actually one of the hardest things to figure out as I write Postal History Sunday.  Clearly topics like trans-Atlantic mail carriage, candle making and the history of a specific geographical region can fill chapters in a book.  The trick is to find enough to clearly and accurately reflect enough of each subtopic to be interesting and engaging without crossing the line and becoming dull and overbearing.

9.  Validating a Dispensation

4. Why couldn't the sender prepay all of the postage to send this letter to the US?

And here is another entry that focuses on a single cover - this time from Rome to Baltimore in the 1850s.  Yes, another cover is described in the article, but the point of its inclusion is to help us understand this one better.

I like this entry because it has a nice balance between the postal history and the social history.  There's something for everyone - which makes it a good choice for this list.  It also fell together fairly easily, which is rarely the case.  There are typically a few points where everything hangs up and I have to fight through things.  It's noteworthy when that doesn't happen AND the results also read well.

8. Valuable Real Estate

5. What were the possible reasons for people implementing cross-writing in letters?

Postal History Sunday entries that appear to succeed in being accessible to a broad audience often win my favor if I am trying to decide between two choices for the Author's Choice list.  Everyone can probably relate to the idea of running out of space - just as the writer of this letter might have been feeling as they tried to put everything they could on a few sheets of paper. 

I also enjoy taking advantage of opportunities to feed everyone some postal history facts and information while you are distracted by something like cross-writing.  Or maybe I enjoy slipping in some social history while you are distracted by the postal history?  Doesn't matter, I am happy either way.

7. Farm Palace

6. How many plants did the Dickey Clay Mfg Co have at its peak?

Not every Postal History Sunday has a great deal of postal history in it.  Sometimes, the social history rules the day.  Regardless, the operative word is "history."  

The journey for this article focuses around the advertising images on a mailed envelope instead of the postage rates required or the routes the letter took to get from here to there.  I even got to do a little bit with local Iowa history this time around.  I also appreciate the opportunity to find a link to my profession as a grower of food.  Sometimes the personal connection lends more meaning - and with that meaning there is often better writing.

6. Correspondence Course II

7. How did Belgium increase its importance for mail carriage in Europe?

Sometimes, I get the urge to write about something with more breadth rather than depth.  I was able to accomplish that by focusing on several covers that were mailed to Luden and van Geuns in Amsterdam in the 1850s and 1860s.  Instead of starting by analyzing a cover, this article introduces us to the people behind the business before taking the time to look at several covers they received while they were in business from locations all over Western Europe.

This particular article is an updated rewrite of an article I shared with the Postal History Journal a couple years before Postal History Sunday existed.  Once again, I've learned a great deal since that time, so I like to think I've done the subject proud with a strong rewrite.

5.  Night Flight

8. How long might a letter take to travel from the East to West Coast via surface mail in the 1920s?

The Author's Choice blog is a chance for me to celebrate (more for myself than for you) a little bit of flexibility in my own writing and learning.  For example, it would certainly be far easier for me to write Postal History Sunday entries that focused entirely on the covers that bear the 24-cent 1861 postage stamp.  Or, at the least, stick to the 1850-1875 time period where I am most comfortable.  But, I often select entries that range further afield from that comfort zone.

That's why an article that features air mail in the United States during the 1920s was an enjoyable stretch for me.  There are all sorts of resources available for the early development of air mail, so it's not as if it was horribly difficult to find answers.  But, even when information is freely available, familiarity (or lack thereof) plays a significant role when it comes to writing clearly and accurately.  I think I did pretty well with this one, even if I do not profess to be an expert on the material, so it gets to be on this list.

4. Humbug!

9. What percent of items found their way out of the Dead Letter Office in the US?

Sometimes, I get a feeling about an item and I just know there's going to be something enjoyable to write about.  This is one of those cases.  As soon as I noticed the word "Humbug" boldly written on this cover, I just had to explore.  The result is a an entertaining blog article that falls deep into the subject of dead letter mail - a postal history subject that can quickly become complex but is always interesting.  And the idea of undeliverable letters is something we can all relate to - which makes the topic very accessible to most readers.

Another way I can tell this was a good blog was the fact that I continued to be motivated to learn more even after the article was "complete."  As a matter of fact, there's more humbuggery in this follow up Postal History Sunday.  Maybe, someday, we'll see a third installment where I put all of that and some new discoveries together?  I don't know.  I guess we'll find out together.

3. Dutch Treat

10. How long was the 27 cent postage rate for mail from the US to the Netherlands active?

It never seems to fail.  Each time I have done the year-end Author's Choice article for Postal History Sunday, there are three that I struggle to order.  On any given day, I might change my mind about where each of these three land.  I feel like that is a good sign because it indicates to me that there is some consistency in the quality of my writing (you can decide whether it's a good or bad consistency).

I received a comment regarding this particular entry that it gives a good perspective as to why some postal rates are common while others are not.  I must admit that my goal was a bit more simple at first.  I wanted to explore why it was that I had to look so long to find any example of this 27 cent rate from the US to the Netherlands.  But, as I dug into the topic, it felt natural to compare and contrast some of the options for mail between the two countries at the time.

But, there is actually one more reason why I like this Postal History Sunday article.  It felt, to me, like I had unlocked a fresh way to write about this material - a slightly different way to view it.  It might not seem all that different to you, and that's fine.  But I found some fresh perspective about how to explore things and that means something when you try to write something new each week.

2. Guano Wars

11. Why was Chincha Island important to the US and Europe in the 1860s?

This Postal History Sunday is actually one that I've been sitting on for a few years.  I've done some research on and off and written a little bit here and there on the topic.  But that writing did not get to the point where I pushed the "publish" button unless it was supplementary information for another PHS topic.

That's part of how this blog has worked over the past three and a half years.  Most topics are explored over time and the knowledge gets refined as I learn more.  Sometimes, I'll write on a topic and publish it fairly quickly - producing a reasonably good article.  Other times, I might publish something and then find it lacking when I review a year or two later.  That's when I let myself re-write what is written.  Then, there are topics like this one - where I just don't want to share it until it gets closer to where I ultimately want it to go.

This particular blog connects my profession as a grower of food to postal history and the history of a region that we often ignore in the United States (the west coast of South America).  It would not surprise me if I decided to take this particular topic even further in the future.

1. Forward! and the Mystery of Joseph Cooper

12. What happened to Joseph Cooper?

Then there are articles that come together in the matter of a couple of weeks.  And, oddly enough this time around, I actually started this particular Postal History Sunday for the prior week and got to a point where I knew there was too much.  So, I found a stopping point for that blog and left a teaser at the end of it for this one!

This is the only time out of 176 PHS articles that I stopped writing a blog and then still published what I had - only to follow up with something more the next week.  But, it worked.  I was able to ride the momentum from the prior week, using that energy to track down Joseph Cooper as best as I was able.  I even infected my lovely bride, Tammy, with the search and she helped track some information down too.

This particular entry explores a postal history topic in some detail (forwarded mail) while also taking a look at the social history surrounding not one, but two different people.  The trick was to find enough so I could write something that was compelling while, once again, avoiding the temptation of writing too much.  I don't know if this one succeeded as well as some of the others did, but the enjoyment of the search stood out for me in this blog - and that's why it lands at number one this year!

And there you are, my list for 2023.   I hope you enjoyed this and the blogs I linked here.  Have a fine remainder of your weekend and an excellent week to come.

-------------------

Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location.

The Depths of the Tomato Forest - Faux Real Story Week

Our story week has been extended to the end of the year!  It turns out I had more of them to share than I thought and the time during the holiday season is a perfect time to gather everyone around a fire and tell them.  Enjoy!

--------------

Once upon a time, there was a farm.  And, on this farm, there was a tomato forest.  If you left the old farmhouse with its Guardian Dragons, took the path around the Mighty Oaks and through the clover patch, you could see the garden.

A wall of zinnias bordered that garden and just behind that wall was the Tomato Forest.  If you believed the story the farmers told, the tangled green vines were supported by wire cages fashioned out of old woven-wire fences.  But, to look at it, the Tomato Forest sure looked like it held itself up with its own magic.

Inga had been to the farm before with her parents, but this was the first time she was going to stay for more than a single day's visit.  Turi and Torger held her hand as her parents drove away.  "It's going to be fun staying at the farm for a couple of days," said Torger, "It will be fine.  Turi and I are here with you."

Inga wasn't entirely sure about that and a tear rolled down her face to her chin.  Things can get pretty scary when you are small and things are different from what you are used to.

Farmer Tammy looked at Farmer Rob and said, "Well, I suppose we'd better introduce you to some of the inhabitants of our farm!  I know you've already met our friendly Farm Supervisors!"

Turi, Torger, and Inga walked with the farmers to the pasture and when they got there, the hens rushed to the fence.  They clucked and squawked, trying to get the kids' attention.  The rooster even fluffed out his feathers and crowed a couple of times.  It was time to show off and impress the visitors.

If they did this right maybe the next visit would include some treats - like some bread or vegetable scraps!

The hens were very interesting and Inga almost forgot that she wasn't going to go home and sleep in her own bed that night.

And, the cats WERE very friendly, and they almost made her feel that everything would be all right even though her Mom and Dad weren't going to be in the same house at the end of the day.  

And, the farmers were actually pretty nice so maybe... just maybe... this would be ok?

In the afternoon, the children helped give the chickens some kitchen scraps and the birds were very excited.  They were pleased that their earlier efforts to impress everyone had paid off.  

After they watched the birds eat their treats, the children played under the Mighty Oaks and they went and looked UP at the blue silo that stood sentinel at one corner of the farm.

They visited the barn and Turi wanted to climb up and see the hay mow.  Farmer Rob followed her up.  "I won't let you fall," he said.  And he didn't, even though it seemed like they were very far off of the ground!

At the end of the day, Inga helped the farmers make certain all of the hens were in their room.  Before the farmers closed the door, Turi and Torger went in to see if there were any more eggs to put in the basket.  They all said good night to the Farm Supervisor cats and went into the old farmhouse.

And it was not the same as home.  Inga wanted her Mom and Dad.  She wanted her room.  And she wanted her bed where she would be safe and warm.

Farmer Rob tried to help by pointing to a little green dragon that sat by the stairway.  "Do you see that dragon?  And have you noticed the other dragons in each room of the house?  They're here to protect us.  They are our Guardian Dragons.  If anything bad comes into the house, they'll burn it up before it can get close to us."

Inga wasn't sure that the little stuffed dragon would do much of anything to protect her, but she smiled bravely anyway.  

But when she got up the next morning, the farmers pointed out a ring of dark dust at the foot of the stairs.  "See?" they said, "Our Guardian Dragons must have prevented something from getting upstairs to you!"

Inga still wasn't so sure that the Guardian Dragons had done anything since they looked exactly the same as they had the night before.  But, nothing bad had happened and she had been safe.  Maybe she was still missing her parents and her home, but she was ok... and the sun was shining.

And today, they were going to visit the Tomato Forest!

They left the old farmhouse.  They walked under the Mighty Oaks.  They made their way past the clover and they came to the wall of zinnias.  

They were greeted by a monarch butterfly that sat on one of the flowers.  It opened and closed its wings slowly as its probed for nectar.  It didn't seem bothered by the children's approach and it eventually lifted off from that flower and lazily floated above the wall, looking for another likely candidate for its next landing spot. 

They walked through the opening in the zinnias and found a row of basil.  There were bees buzzing on the flowers there and when they brushed against the leaves they noticed the pungent, sweet fragrance of the plants. 

And then they came to the edge of the Tomato Forest.

The plants were huge!  They were so much taller than the children and the vines and leaves created what looked like an impenetrable mass of green.

"So, how will we get the tomatoes out of the Tomato Forest?" asked Farmer Tammy.  "I know there are some ripe tomatoes in there somewhere, but I can't figure out how to get to them."

They looked a little more and the children noticed something the farmers hadn't.  There were tunnels in the vines!  Areas where someone who was their size could go, but the farmers could not!

"I'll go see if there are tomatoes in there," said Turi.

Turi crawled into the Tomato Forest and the other four waited until she finally cried out, "I found one!"

And then she said, "I found a bunch of little ones too!"

Turi, Torger and Inga helped the farmers find the ripe tomatoes in the Tomato Forest, bringing them out so the red and yellow fruits could be put into harvest trays.

"We will take some of these to the farmers' market," said Farmer Tammy. "But first, we'll need to taste some of them to make sure they are good enough!"

A round of taste-testing found the tomatoes to be quite good and encouraged everyone to look for more ripe tomatoes for the market.  Once they were pretty sure they had found all of the ripe fruit, they picked up the harvest trays...

and carried them past the basil with its buzzing bees and fragrant leaves...

took them through the opening in the wall of zinnias where the Monarch floated lazily along its length...

walked past the clover and under the Mighty Oaks...

and returned to the old farmhouse where the Guardian Dragons patiently waited, always watching for things that might threaten the inhabitants of the old farmhouse.

When Inga's parents returned to take the children home, she was very happy to see them and she knew she would sleep in her own, safe bed that night.  But, she wasn't afraid of the farm anymore.  While it wasn't home, it wasn't at all bad.

It was just different.  And different is ok.