Art of the Postcard

Some of you may have heard about the global call for postcards by the Postmaster in Cornelius, Oregon.  Cornelius is a small town in western Oregon, surrounded by farmland. The countryside is really beautiful, but it seems that there are no postcards of Cornelius, at least not yet.

Kerry, the Postmaster, put out this call for postcards from all over the world. In return, he offered to reciprocate with a postcard from Cornelius once they made one and had it printed. He expected to get 40 or 50 cards. Instead he got about 500, and they are now on display in the post office. We decided to take a drive out there and see it for ourselves. What an incredible variety of postcards, many beautiful ones, some funny ones, and mailed from all over the world. It really makes you smile.

I am delighted that a Postmaster would have the initiative and the imagination to undertake something like this. I have never seen anything like it in a post office and I have to wonder why. Post offices are usually cold and impersonal places (the decor, though not necessarily the staff), but yet they are also central hubs of the community. They just don't act like it.

I can't think of a more effective way to stimulate interest in sending mail. And yet it's ironic that this event was largely publicized through social media and online venues, the very things that threaten the existence of real mail. It's sort of like promoting reading with television ads. Anyway, it worked.

Here are a few more pictures of  the display, including my favorite card with a stenciled likeness of Elvis (the other side was equally beautiful.)

And here's the Postmaster himself. What a great guy! You can find out more about the history of this project by clicking on The Art of the Postcard.