HTF 'Florida's BAREFOOT MAILMAN' Postcard~1958 Curt Teich 3-D Natural Color FINE

Excepted from Wikipedia: 'The term 'barefoot mailman' refers to the carriers on the first U.S. Mail route between Palm Beach, and the settlements around the body of water known as Lake Worth on the north, and Miami, Coconut Grove, and Lemon City to the south, was established in 1885. As there was no road at the time connecting Palm Beach to Miami (or to anywhere else, for that matter), the carrier traveled by boat, and by walking along the beach. The mail carriers walked the beach barefooted to take advantage of the firmer sand along the water's edge. The original route was actually called a Star Route or contract route and it was not until a novel written by Theodore Pratt titled, "The Barefoot Mailman" that the term became associated with the route. Prior to the contract carriers mail between the northern settlements around Lake Worth and the southern settlements on Biscayne Bay the mail traveled by rail North and then over to Cedar Key on the west coast of Florida. A ship would take it to Key West, the largest city in Florida at the time to be transferred to a vessel heading north along the east coast. At the mouth of Biscayne Bay the packages would be transferred to a smaller shallow draft vessel that could navigate Biscayne Bay back to the Miami River. A round trip of 136 miles from Palm Beach to Miami and back took six days. The carrier would leave Palm Beach on Monday morning, traveling by boat to the southern end of the Lake Worth Lagoon. He would then cross over to the beach and walk down to the Orange Grove House of Refuge in what is now Delray Beach, where he would spend the night. The next day (Tuesday) he would continue walking down the beach to the Fort Lauderdale House of Refuge, where he would spend that night. On Wednesday the carrier traveled by boat down the New River to its inlet, and then would walk down the beach to Baker's Haulover at the north end of Biscayne Bay. Finally, he would travel down Biscayne Bay by boat to Miami. On Thursday he would start the return trip, arriving in Palm Beach on Saturday.'

The card commemorates a literal milestone in the United States Postal Service history, living out their credo 'Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night shall keep these couriers from completing their appointed rounds'. Shipped in rigid sleeve and mailer for a safe journey.

Item ID: jrl006814