Delivery Service

Independent Register, March 14, 1946, p.1

Saturday will mark the 20th anniversary of mail delivery to residences and business places in Libertyville. The first two mail carriers – Clark Dunn and Carl Wadman – continue “on the job”, the former delivering parcels post and the latter serving part of his original route.

Prior to March 16, 1926, the post office lobby was a daily meeting place of many local residents. Not only did they go there to receive their mail, but to exchange bits of gossip, talk about the weather, business, and social activities.

In recalling the start of home mail delivery Messrs. Dunn and Wadman said:

“It doesn’t seem long that we started from the postoffice that first morning of outside mail delivery. Older residents will recall that at least once each day they would go to the post office and get their mail from boxes or at the general delivery window. We remember that after we started delivery there were some who preferred to get their mail at the post office, this giving them an excuse to ‘come up town.'”

It wasn’t long, however, until they took advantage of the convenience home-delivery offered. Through the efforts of Congressman Carl R. Childbloom, the late Edwin E. Ellsworth, then postmaster, was instructed by the post office department to start two routes. The announcement was made about two months ahead of the scheduled start and applicants for the jobs of carriers were advised as to receiving civil service examinations. Among the applicants were two young men from Ivanhoe, Clark Dunn who had had some experience in rural route delivery out of Mundelein, and Carl Wadman who was a newcomer but who had carried mail in Chicago. At that time they were not known to each other. Because of the advantage through experience they had, Mr. Ellsworth appointed them.

Before delivery started there was considerable preliminary work, such as laying out route, interviewing patrons, instructing them concerning mailboxes and  numbering, labeling cases, etc. The two men did this on their own time.

Dunn’s original route was from Lake Street south and on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue to Lincoln, both sides of Milwaukee Avenue south of the North Shore tracks. Carl’s was the east side of town from Milwaukee Avenue to Fourth, and from Park Avenue north to Johnson and Appley Avenues. They soon found out that these routes were too large for two carriers and new carriers were added. 

There were no parcel deliveries in those days. Patrons were notified by carriers when there was a package too large for the carriers to handle at the post office. There were no mailboxes in the village and no relay boxes for carriers. They had to start with their whole loads at the post office. “Forty hours work week was not known, and frequently we worked 50 and 60 hours per week, with two trips on Saturdays. We worked holidays including Christmas, and only received overtime pay at Christmas.”