Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Ellsworth American
Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine
What is this article about?
Memorials unveiled for humorist Bill Nye's 75th birth anniversary in Fletcher, NC, recalling his witty resignation as Laramie postmaster to President Arthur, which amused U.S. officials and shocked a British paper.
Clipping
OCR Quality
Full Text
On the seventy-fifth anniversary of Bill Nye's birth, a tablet, a memorial window and a granite monument were unveiled at Fletcher, near Asheville, showing his quaint humor and lovable personality have not been forgotten.
At one time he served as postmaster at Laramie, Wyo., an appointment which incidentally brought forth his famous letter addressed to President Arthur and containing his resignation.
In the letter he directed the President where to find everything, explaining that the postal cards he had read were carefully pigeonholed apart from the unread ones. He continued: "If Deacon Hayford does not pay up his box rent you might as well put his letters in the general delivery, and when Bob Head gets drunk and insists on a letter from one of his wives every day in the week, you can salute him through the box delivery window with an old Queen Anne tomahawk that you will find near the Etruscan water pail."
So tickled were the officials at Washington with this letter that they published it far and wide. To Nye's huge delight an English paper editorially commented in shocked amazement on the ways of American postmasters.
What sub-type of article is it?
What themes does it cover?
What keywords are associated?
What entities or persons were involved?
Where did it happen?
Story Details
Key Persons
Location
Fletcher Near Asheville; Laramie, Wyo.
Event Date
Seventy Fifth Anniversary Of Bill Nye's Birth
Story Details
On Bill Nye's 75th birth anniversary, memorials including a tablet, window, and monument were unveiled in Fletcher near Asheville, honoring his humor. As postmaster in Laramie, WY, he wrote a humorous resignation letter to President Arthur, detailing postal organization and jokingly advising on handling locals like Deacon Hayford and Bob Head. The letter delighted Washington officials, who published it widely, amusing Nye when an English paper expressed shock at American postmasters.