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Do IT this week: Layering
By Mark J. Price
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 09:06 p.m. EST, Nov 19, 2007
Post office machines do not eliminate lines.
The giant machines were here to help us.
Akron Postmaster C.B. Webb installed two coin-operated devices in 1948 that streamlined operations at the main post office.
Never again would customers have to wait in long lines. The future of mailing depended on ''the self-service post office.''
Workers wheeled heavy cabinets into the lobby at 168 E. Market St. and placed them against the walls of the 1929 post office.
During World War II, the metal would have been needed for the U.S. military. In the postwar era, though, manufacturers were happy to produce bulky gadgets for civilian use.
The Pitney Bowes Mailomat was the first of the two machines to arrive in Akron.
''A new automatic mailing service, which will allow patrons to mail letters in the lobby of the main post office at all hours of the day and night, will be installed here shortly,'' the Beacon Journal reported.
The dark box was roughly the size of a movie theater's ticket booth. It had a coin slot, a twist dial and a letter slot.
The Mailomat's advantage was that it did not use adhesive stamps. No need to lick!
Pitney Bowes, a company based in Stamford, Conn., supplied an instructional card that told customers how to use the revolutionary new device:
''To mail a letter you (1) drop money in coin slot (2) dial correct postage denomination (3) insert letter in letter slot. The machine does the rest; automatically takes your letter, prints postage and postmark on it, and holds it for collection.''
Customers wishing to mail a letter would deposit 3 cents, slide the letter face up into a slot, turn a lever and watch the envelope disappear into the machine.
Envelopes dropped into a secure box, which postal workers emptied several times a day.
Air-mail letters cost 5 cents. Special-delivery letters were 16 cents. The twist dial went all the way up to the incredible sum of 33 cents.
''Any number of letters may be mailed,'' the Beacon Journal reported. ''Instead of applying stamps, the machine simply records that postage has been paid, the same as mailing meter machines.''
However, some people still preferred stamps -- hence the arrival of the second fantastic machine at the Akron post office.
Commercial Controls Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., delivered a thick slab that resembled a 5-foot domino. During the war, the company produced M-1 carbine rifles. In 1948, the company spit out stamp machines.
''CAUTION: U.S. government property,'' a small metal plate warned on the vending machine. ''Use genuine U.S. coins only. The law prohibits use of slugs or foreign coins under penalty of fine and imprisonment.''
The stamp machine was simple in design and easy to use. It had three coin slots, a push button and three stamp dispensers.
Customers could buy five 1-cent stamps for a nickel, two 5-cent air-mail stamps for a dime or five 3-cent stamps for a nickel and a dime. After the machine dispensed stamps, patrons tore them off along perforated edges.
''Now there will be no more waiting in line at the stamp window at the post office,'' the Beacon Journal reported.
Not exactly.
The 24-hour lobby was convenient -- especially on weekends and holidays -- but most customers still arrived during normal business hours. Instead of waiting at a counter, people had the option of waiting at a giant machine.
Mechanical devices introduced other problems. They could jam, break down, lose power, refuse coins, run out of stamps, swallow refunds.
Postmaster Webb discovered that the machines were a complement to existing services, not a substitution. However, any help was welcome during the busy holiday season.
''We expect to handle 1 million pieces of mail a day during peak loads before Christmas, in addition to 30,000 parcels each day,'' Webb said in 1948.
Although they didn't eliminate lines, the coin-operated machines came in handy. Their mechanical descendants, using the latest technology, have steadily improved over the decades.
Have you been to the Wolf Ledges post office lately?
There is a fantastic new machine. It's called the Automated Postal Center, a touch-screen kiosk that accepts credit or debit cards.
The Wincor Nixdorf device allows customers to mail letters and weigh parcels on a scale. Plus, the console sells stamps as well as postage for Express Mail, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail and Parcel Post.
Best of all, it's available 24 hours in the post office lobby.
Akron Postmaster C.B. Webb was ahead of his time.
This machine combines the best elements of the Mailomat with the stamp dispenser. The self-service post office has finally arrived in Akron.
Dare we say it?
Maybe this machine will eliminate the lines.
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
Post office machines do not eliminate lines.
The giant machines were here to help us.
Akron Postmaster C.B. Webb installed two coin-operated devices in 1948 that streamlined operations at the main post office.
Never again would customers have to wait in long lines. The future of mailing depended on ''the self-service post office.''
Workers wheeled heavy cabinets into the lobby at 168 E. Market St. and placed them against the walls of the 1929 post office.
During World War II, the metal would have been needed for the U.S. military. In the postwar era, though, manufacturers were happy to produce bulky gadgets for civilian use.
The Pitney Bowes Mailomat was the first of the two machines to arrive in Akron.
''A new automatic mailing service, which will allow patrons to mail letters in the lobby of the main post office at all hours of the day and night, will be installed here shortly,'' the Beacon Journal reported.
The dark box was roughly the size of a movie theater's ticket booth. It had a coin slot, a twist dial and a letter slot.
The Mailomat's advantage was that it did not use adhesive stamps. No need to lick!
Pitney Bowes, a company based in Stamford, Conn., supplied an instructional card that told customers how to use the revolutionary new device:
''To mail a letter you (1) drop money in coin slot (2) dial correct postage denomination (3) insert letter in letter slot. The machine does the rest; automatically takes your letter, prints postage and postmark on it, and holds it for collection.''
Customers wishing to mail a letter would deposit 3 cents, slide the letter face up into a slot, turn a lever and watch the envelope disappear into the machine.
Envelopes dropped into a secure box, which postal workers emptied several times a day.
Air-mail letters cost 5 cents. Special-delivery letters were 16 cents. The twist dial went all the way up to the incredible sum of 33 cents.
''Any number of letters may be mailed,'' the Beacon Journal reported. ''Instead of applying stamps, the machine simply records that postage has been paid, the same as mailing meter machines.''
However, some people still preferred stamps -- hence the arrival of the second fantastic machine at the Akron post office.
Commercial Controls Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., delivered a thick slab that resembled a 5-foot domino. During the war, the company produced M-1 carbine rifles. In 1948, the company spit out stamp machines.
''CAUTION: U.S. government property,'' a small metal plate warned on the vending machine. ''Use genuine U.S. coins only. The law prohibits use of slugs or foreign coins under penalty of fine and imprisonment.''
The stamp machine was simple in design and easy to use. It had three coin slots, a push button and three stamp dispensers.
Customers could buy five 1-cent stamps for a nickel, two 5-cent air-mail stamps for a dime or five 3-cent stamps for a nickel and a dime. After the machine dispensed stamps, patrons tore them off along perforated edges.
''Now there will be no more waiting in line at the stamp window at the post office,'' the Beacon Journal reported.
Not exactly.
The 24-hour lobby was convenient -- especially on weekends and holidays -- but most customers still arrived during normal business hours. Instead of waiting at a counter, people had the option of waiting at a giant machine.
Mechanical devices introduced other problems. They could jam, break down, lose power, refuse coins, run out of stamps, swallow refunds.
Postmaster Webb discovered that the machines were a complement to existing services, not a substitution. However, any help was welcome during the busy holiday season.
''We expect to handle 1 million pieces of mail a day during peak loads before Christmas, in addition to 30,000 parcels each day,'' Webb said in 1948.
Although they didn't eliminate lines, the coin-operated machines came in handy. Their mechanical descendants, using the latest technology, have steadily improved over the decades.
Have you been to the Wolf Ledges post office lately?
There is a fantastic new machine. It's called the Automated Postal Center, a touch-screen kiosk that accepts credit or debit cards.
The Wincor Nixdorf device allows customers to mail letters and weigh parcels on a scale. Plus, the console sells stamps as well as postage for Express Mail, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail and Parcel Post.
Best of all, it's available 24 hours in the post office lobby.
Akron Postmaster C.B. Webb was ahead of his time.
This machine combines the best elements of the Mailomat with the stamp dispenser. The self-service post office has finally arrived in Akron.
Dare we say it?
Maybe this machine will eliminate the lines.
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
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