"Post Office Jack" - Monument Beach, Massachusetts

This isn't mine, but I thought it to be a nice postcard featuring "Post Office Jack" a dog that helped with the mail at Monument Beach, Massachusetts:



Some further information suggests that "Post Office Jack" who was owned by Mr. Phinney of Monument Beach, Massachusetts, was by 1913 said to be 14 years old and very feeble now, having given up his post office duties as a Monument Beach legend.

In any event, I found out that "Post Office Jack" was owned by Perez H. Phinney (a/k/a P. Henry Phinney) the Postmaster and Station Agent for Monument Beach, having been Postmaster since 1878 and Station Agent since 1883, having served in that position for more than 40 years, being appointed by eight different Presidents and serving under 11 Administrations.

Here's a write-up on Mr. Phinney at the time of his retirement as Monument Beach Station Agent:

http://books.google.com/books?id=dE...age&q&f=true

Mr. Phinney's obituary in 1936 even made the New York Post suggesting that at the time of his death he was the "Oldest Postmaster in New England":

Cool - that's far from where I am