Post Office
The post office was a hub of life in Clinton's early days.
Young lovers, trysted.
There, neighbors met for "open forum" or trading gossip.
There, when the mail was late, hours awaiting its arrival were spentexchanging spicy stories and practical jokes.
In days when communication was slow, the post office necessarily was the onlyplace where you could learn what was going on about you. News from afarcame in the mails. News from close-by came by word-of-mouth from yourneighbors who were always congregated at the P. O.
It was a great day for those living in Clinton when Uncle Sam arranged togive them mail three times a week. One, Mark Westlake, who kept the OhioHouse on the river bank in Flat-iron square near Davenport, was themail-contractor, who for the sum of $400 furnished a horse and a boy carrier forthat portion of the mail route between Sabula and Davenport. Six dollarsper month was the boy's salary and for this sum the boy rode at 2 a.m., took acold lunch and in "rain or shine" rode until noon when at Camanche hemet a second boy who with another horse continued the route to Sabula andreturned to Camanche.
The summer of 1851 was a wet season and the Wapsie raged for two months, butthe Sabula-Camanche boy continued his route. He made headquarters at therather well known Camanche boarding house of Madame Aubrey. During thatseason of high water, one boy was withdrawn and the other carrier made anoccasional trip to Davenport by the Illinois shore, or on a friendly steamer,and in those cases continued to Sabula, which was reached by ferry-boat.
At one period of this flood, two weeks elapsed with no mail and the topic ofdebate in the circles that gathered at Pearsall's store at Camanche, McCoy'stavern at Lyons, at Billy Haun's at Hauntown, and at Stein's hotel in Sabula waswho should foot the bills of the extra mail service given in theseextra-ordinary routes not specified in the original contract. The mail-boywas left with all responsibilities of the situation and in order to make up hisfinancial deficit sewed grain sacks at Burroughs and Prettyman's warehouse forone cent per sack until he had saved $6, which the contractor deducted from thelad's salary at the final settlement.
Among the instructions given by the Davenport postmaster was that ten minuteswas the limit of time for changing mail. Postmasters would, however, inspite of remonstrances of the carrier leisurely examine, criticize and remark onthe various packages for other offices. It was not at all uncommonfor the papers en route to be coolly opened and the news read anddiscussed. At other times it was necessary to wait for a customer to beserved or a game of cards to be finished.
One day the United States "official" arriving at Stumbaugh's storein Princeton found the postmaster and waiting citizens all swimming in the riverwhile their clothes were piled on the rocky shore in front of the postoffice. He mounted the store steps and warned the swimmers that he wouldwait ten minutes. That's all he did wait and went on without leaving thePrinceton mail and by the time it had made the round trip to Dubuque, Princetonpatrons had held and indignation meeting, lasting several days, and when the boyreturned their remarks were "frequent and painful and free."
SOURCE: Centennial Edition, Clinton Herald, Clinton Iowa, 18 June 1955
