Miserable Postmistress

Ralston, N.J., a sleepy rural village of 100 inhabitants near Morristown, likes to boast that its post-office building (built in 1776) is the oldest in the U.S. Nowadays the post office has eight box holders, only 17 other customers. Most Ralstonites get their mail at Mendham or Chester, each two miles away.

One day last June, Mrs. Catherine Groenewegen took over the job of Ralston's postmistress. In summer she made out all right. Then winter came. Mrs. Groenewegen donned her woollies, put on a coat and overshoes. An icy blast swept in through rifts in the ancient clapboard walls, and the floor was none too solid. Mrs. Groenewegen installed an oil stove with three burners, to help the old potbellied stove. Said she dourly: "The place is well ventilated."

When spring came, Mrs. Groenewegen wrote to the Post Office Department in Washington. On her own land, just 233 yards away from the post office, was a good, warm shack only 40 years old. Could she move the post office into that, before she froze to death? Back came a letter from Ambrose O'Connell, First Assistant Postmaster General: "You are here by authorized to change the site. . . ." Mrs. Groenewegen made ready to move.

Then George Jennings, a nurseryman, the biggest customer the Ralston post office has--he sends out some 300 letters and bills a month--heard what Mrs. Groene wegen was up to. On his mail is a picture of the post office and the legend: "Oldest U.S. Post Office Building." Mr. Jennings was indignant. Said he: "This building ... is our only claim to fame. It means a lot, too, to stamp collectors who want the Ralston postmark in their albums." Mr. Jennings wrote to New Jersey's Senator W. Warren Barbour, asked him to take a stand.

This week, Mrs. Groenewegen moved, stamp and stamper, into the new building. Ralston rose up, called a protest meeting, sent a petition to Postmaster General Walker, asking for a 90-day stay, promising to fix up the old premises. Mrs. Groenewegen, invited to the meeting, sent word she was "too busy."

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