Worthville Postmaster

A story is told that one of the early merchants got tired of going ten miles for his mail, so he got himself appointed as Postmaster for the town.  About this date, the first postage stamps were introduced.  Before that time, the price of postage or carriage of the letter was marked in the upper-right hand corner; usually it was from 5 to 25 cents.  The government sent the new Postmaster stamps (three-cent ones) totaling $25.00.  As he failed to send the money due for the stamps and did not even answer the letters sent to him in regard to them, and agent was sent in due time to collect.  This made the old storekeeper very mad, and when the agent asked if he had sold the stamps, he answered: “Sold, nothing!  Do you think I would be so penurious as to sell a customer a three-cent stamp?  I gave them away.”  Needless to say, a new Postmaster was soon appointed.

From the Carrollton News Democrat, October 12, 1967.