Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 29, Number 281, Decatur, Adams County, 30 November 1931 — Page 2

PAGE TWO

City’s New Post Office Building Is One Os Beauty Andljtilifl

CONSTRUCTED OF INDIANA LIMESTONE Building Has Frontage of 72 Feet on Liberty Way; Modern Throughout ANDERSON AND CO., ARE CONTRACTORS The new Federal building in Decatur, erected at the corner of Third street and Liberty Way. with the front facing the Adams County Court house, was built along Mission lines of architecture with a few changes that modernize and add to the attractiveness of its general appearance. Anderson and Company. Chicago 1 were the general contractors on the building. Tire -building has been construct- j ed to take care of the expansion l of the. local office in years to, come. ■ and is equipped in a modern fashion with steel cases, filing cabinets and lockers. Built of Indiana Stone The outside dimensions of the Puilding are 72 by 66 feet. It is constructed of buff Indiana limestone," with the mailing vestibule! at tha rear of faced brick, trimm-, ed with limestone. ‘ The hip roof in front is burnt clay shingle in varigated colors, with-.the flat roof over the rear section of composition. Around i the outside of the building are light ar<as, lined with a white faced" brick and coped at the top with- granite. On these copings are ornamental iron railings. The front entrance to tne building has . granite steps and landings with burnt tile panel. The' entrance has lonic stone columns on either side andAhe overhead of the door consists of panels and ornamentations in carved stones. In-Hte panels over the entrance is inserted the words United States Postoffice, the letters constructed of cast bronze. In the •» 1 -- «■»Ml■■■

- - ... ' ' I The General Contract for Building | Decatur’s New Post Office [ * sMtoH ' was awarded by U. S. Treasury Dept, to I Anderson & Company 1632-6 West 75th Street Chicago, Illinois ■ K It was our pleasure to construct this modern and beautiful post office building. We believe the new ■ building will be of great service to the community and congratulate Decatur on being one of the ■ progressive cities to secure a new Federal building this vear. ■ I ■ “A National Building Organization” I •w »n ".I . I ■

I coping over the cornice in front i is a United States Spread Eagle I carved in stone. I The cornice underneath is carvi ed. A steel flag pole, fifteen feet ( high, topped with a bronze ball. I ornaments the front top of the ' building. Two ornamental lighting bracets will be placed on eith- ( er side of the entrance. Has Modern Rooms On the first floor at the northI west corner is the postmaster's i office, measuring 11 by 15 feet, j The floor if of polished oak. aml | the walls and ceiling are plasteri ed. The doors and trim are mahogany finish. The vestibule has a promenade tile floor with marble border and tnarbel wainscoating. The walls and ceiling are constructed of baked on enant el partitions. Ceiling and double doors lead to the public lobby which also has promenade tile floor with marble border and wainscoating and an enclosure of screen for transacting postal business such as lockbox, areas and general delivery stamps, parcel i post, open letter drop, C. O. D.. registered letters, money orders and postal saving window. The room in the northeast corI ner is called the finance room, where the money order and regisi try department are located. The , entire rear part of the building consists of a work room. 53 by 44 feet. The mailing vestibule adjoins the work room and is equipped , with two steel rolling doors leading to the mailing platform oper-' ated by electricity through key switches. Adjoining the mailing ‘ vestibule is the mailing platform. The building is thoroughly i lighted with a sky light in the flat roof at the rear of the buildi ing over the work room 7ind with large steel windows in the rear on the work room portion. An attic covers the front portion of i the -building. A look-out or secret ! chamber is built around the ceiling, back of the cages. holes in the floor make it possible for a person to see what is going , on below. In the northeast corner of the i basement the Adams County Agent will have nts office, and a civil service candidates' exatnina tion room is also in the basement of the building. The carrier's toilet room adjoins a storage

T ~ Henry Fuhrman, Rural Carrier, Retired Today ( arrier on Route Nine Is First to Receive Pension; Started Work 29 Tears Ago; Travelled More 1 han 350,000 Miles Over Route.

Henry A. Fuhrman. for 29 ; years a rural mail carrier at the Decatur Post Office will be retired from the governmental position December 1. Mr. Fuhrman will retire on a pension, accumulated by the governmental method of deducting three and one-half per cent from each months' wages, and the government adding a certain sum to thetotal. Mr. Fuhrman began as a rural . mail carrier in the Decatur office! on December 1. 1902, when the office was located on the present site of the Nichols Shoe store, and All -it Brittson was postmaster. He was one of six mail carriers who began duties on the rural routes at that time, only one of whom is deceased. Clayton Dailey. I Others were William Engle. Mel Butler. Elmer Archer and Ralph Beabers. It is estimated that during Mr. Fuhrman’s years of service, he has traveled more than 33Q.000 miles over gravel, mud and stone roads. in 1902 Mr. Fuhrman's , route covered 24 miles and for the j first 12 years on the mail route. 1 he delivered the mail by horse and' buggy, and sometimes with a bicycle or motorcycle. Long hours were taken to de-! liver the mail over the routes' during the early years of the, rural mail delivery, cn<l the carriers seldom returned from their routes until late in the afternoon, i Often it was so late they had to light matches to read the names I on thp mail. Sime 1914 Mr. Fuhrman has driven automobiles on his route and since that date has used five different cars. His route in recentj years covered 4114 miles and was! of good stone roads. At the pres-' room. 16 by 36 feet in the base-, ment. This room contains shower baths, and a dressing room. The club room is located next to the boiler room, and a concrete

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1931

11 I b f 11l >to by E Iwards Studio Henry Fuhrman

ent time the rural carriers return from covering their routes before noon, unless the roads are impassable on account of the ice and : ‘ snow. In reminiscing Mr. Fuhrman stilted that he had enjoyed the' mail route during Ills years of ! service vert- much, that the chil-' i -Iren who lived on his route when he first became carrier were now grown to men and women. l i He said that many changes had been made in the routes and that i they were interesting to note. Mr. Fuhrman also said that al-' though big changes had been made I in the lives of people on the route and in the territory covered, some j of the same mail boxes are still i standing in which Mr. Fuhrman placed the mail on his first run. ; stairway treds from the club room to the work room on the first floor. Both boiler and fuel rooms have cement floors, painted brick walls and ceiling.

DEED TO SITE I ' RECORDED HERE i 12 YEARS AGO Government Purchased Post Office Site From Mr. And Mrs. John Niblick $9,000 WAS PAID FOR LOCATION — The deed for the transfer of the ground where the new post office I 'is located was recorded here on i ' April 23, 1919. The site has a i frontage of 132 feet on Liberty | Way and 125 feet on Third street. I The lot was purchased from I John Niblick and Mary J. Niblick, in the name of the “United States : of America.’’ The government paid i $9,000 for the site, John W. Bosse, I was postmaster when the deed was recorded. Negotiations for the site had I been under way for several years i previous to the final purchase. The war prevented the closing of the deal and the matter was not taken up until in 1919. although the government accepted the site Decern-! I her 14, 1916. On January 7, 1931. the U. S. Treasury Department received bids I .from contractors for the construe-1 tion of the building. The recenti I session of congress had authorized' an appropriation of $85,000. The j ‘appropriation for the lot was made in 1913. More than 34 contractors submitted bids. Anderson and Company. Chicago, being the low bidders. Their bid was $51,900. On March 3. the excavation for the basement was started and with i only a few interruptions the work - progressed steadily during the sum- | titer and fall months. Efforts to secure a federal building were begun years ago. When John A. M. Adair of Portland, represented the Eighth districb In congress, an effort was exerted to I secure an appropriation. With the (advent of the war. the government dropped all plans for post office : buildings. Congressman Albeg H. Vestal, 1 CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE

Saw Bill Passed Willi A v < WIM eK- - .-a a > -iOMWI l-fioto by Edwards Studio Congressman A. H. Vestal Representative from the Eighth congressional district, who workled for the passage of the uili authorizing the appropriation tor the building of the new Decatur post office. The appropriation was ! passed by the 71st congress and - Representative Vestal was "on the ! job’’ to see that Decatur was in- • eluded in the list of cities to obi tain federal buildings.

Harve Rice, First City Carrier Retired Harvey Rice, well known city mail carrier at the local post office for a number of years, was retired from service June, 1931, on account of ill health. Mr. Rice was the first city mail carrier to be retired from the Decatur office. Mr. Rice served for 21 years as a city mail carrier in Decatur, delivering mail in the west district of the city, between Madison street and Nuttman avenue. He began his duties as a substitute carrier here in July, 1910 during the time W. A. Ixiwer was postmaster. Merrill Peterson is the carrier on Mr. Rice's former route.

I I Local Post Office Personnel ♦ -4! Clerks George G. Flanders, Mailing | clerk. Joseph C. I-aurent, Mailing clerk Francis R. Costello, General De- i livery Clerk. Edward B. Macy, Money Order! 'clerk. Carriers Leland L. Frank. 1 Jesse A. Swartz. Manard A. Frisinger. Merrill S. Peterson. Substitutes William E. Chase. Robert D. Frisinger. Rural Carriers No. 9.—Jesse E. Butler No. 2.—William H. Engie. No. 3.—Harry Fritzinger. No. 4. —Henry A. Fuhrman. No. 5. —Charles W. Malony. No. 6.—Ray Smith. No. 7.—Herbert E. Zerkel. No. B.—Harry Crownover. No. 9. —Wilson F. Beery. L. A. Graham, postmaster. C. E. Hocker, Ass’t postmaster.

Postmaster L wk As ‘flWjqro, xiL. A. Graham i i Postmaster of the Decatur post- , office wiio was first appointed in 1927 and again in 1931. Mr. Graham has been a zealous worker ’ for the new post office and is hap- ■ py voer the fact that the postal - service will be housed in the , modern new buildini

IWSIMISII HAW Wj| DECmilji ( 3>'erii ment i.i M J' Sa <>u.el 1 RuggM 1 I‘ostmasJ L - AM Wkß -U’I’DINTEIhnM ”'■<'■'"‘l' ‘ - had I " l; ' 1 !li Ho,I, ‘" "* ;! "->n at ,I ' ; ‘ ■ pointed A; ■. 1 histories of iii'lsliM Slow ~| ates Nmi" .i:, -orner M'-iin-- and ihg fl Na. tin. - ... tirst -nt's list m .t.is s-H-w- tint Mt fl Jam- . -I- from tgß 1 1545. ■ John \\ ft. est as p.-<i His leral • red mor. I ning from May uu tg H ternber 22. 1H22. ■ L A iii o-. it pr, sent pistaM has i>< en since = 117,1927. ■ List of Postmasttn ■ The list ~f postmasters ufl I dates oi - 'iii'ir, Fished by • I’ S. I’usul ■ 11ment follows: ■ I Samuel I. !; ~c. Ami i M I j James Crai---. ihlo'i-rilH I Nicholas I'.n.k. | Joseph I>, N'uiiiiiaii. b ‘ ! James J. 1.0-kliart. Ih.JIB ’• Joshua R. Hi:.: JI, Jin, *■ 1 Janies 11. Smith, April 14,■ ■| James Cra’ -. July !!,■ r Abraham 1: .. . Jar.sarj !,■ ’■ John M. Niiitinnn. .Jury HI 1 Samuel C, H.-imi.in. 0-. t. 8( - I CONTONUEH <>N I’AGETM