Rural Free Delivery

A few R.F.D. covers.


RomleyRowley, Mass May 20, 1906 (thanks Wt1)


Oskaloosa, Iowa Sep 9, 1903


Bardwell's Ferry, Mass Sep 9, 1907

Russ, thanks for sharing the covers. I never heard of R.F.D. until I saw your post. There are several interesting articles on the service if you do a Google search.
I also found out that the US Postal Service issued a stamp in 1996 commemorating 100 years of RFD service (Scott # 3090).

I remember as a kid in the sixties the old Andy Griffith Show eventually spun off into a series called Mayberry R.F.D. (somebody else took over Andy's spot, Ken Berry I think).
I'd always wondered what the initials were for. Never related it to my stamp collecting. Duh.

R.F.D. was a BIG deal for those who lived in the "country" or rural areas.

Prior to RFD, the post office didn't deliver to those people, so they had to make a trip into town to the post office to pick up their mail. Saturday mornings were a popular choice for a trip to town.

When I was a kid in the 1960s (well after RDF), people would still "dress up" and go to town on Saturday mornings. The streets would be lined with people talking, socializing, and doing a little shopping. The sidewalks were literally filled and lined with people. Of course, in my small town, there were not strip malls nor chain stores (except for the Five & Dime).

Kirk

Hey Come on Guys..was it really that long ago ???

Kirk, Friday nights were the busy time in our market town of Hudson N.Y...famous or infamous for its Diamond Street red light district..guys used to come in from Massachusetts,Connecticut,Westchester county..of course we kids were one block over with as you say the Woolworths,Newberrys and Kresges all in a row were not involved..we were just trying to meet girls that did not seem to exist or get into fights with kids from the local schools..

The rural mail delivery used rural route (R.R.) numbers until recently when it was changed to support the emergency response network for the 911 emergency number.

This is my intro page for the RFD in my album. It gives a little info on the service.

Nice post cards! Note the first RFD is from Rowley, Mass.

For those interested in RFD service, here's a link to a short 3 minute video courtesy of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum:

http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhi...ovie1.html#1

Wt1, thanks for catching that.

Here are a few more RFD's to add to this thread.


Methuen Station, Lawrence, Mass Mar 30, 1906


Galva, Iowa, Jun 20, 1907



St. Anne, Ill, Apr 6 (?)


Interestingly, The 2 colored cancels I found on the same day at the same antique mall, but from 2 different booths. I'd never seen them in color before that, nor have I found any others since.

That first postcard scan from Methuen Sta., Lawrence, Mass., is interesting. The "Methuen Station" designation was only in use for a relatively short period of time, from 1900-1908.

You know, I actually have some of these (2 or 3 I believe) and I never realized exactly what they were before this post? I must thank you Russ for the education. Sincerely -Jeff

mt1 - Not knowing about RFD cancels, is the Methuen cancel always found in red (magenta actually)?

Not to move us off topic, but I saw quite an interesting thing a an antiques fair recently. It was a brass lock with "mail" on one side, and "r.f.d" on the other. I assume it has something to do with rural free delivery... But what would they lock up? I'm sorry to say I don't own it, it was the end of the show and I'd already exceeded my spending limit.

Very common