In the early 1900s, the people of the Etta community seldom received mail. The nearest post office was in Tahlequah, more than 15 miles away by horse or wagon over rough country roads. A traveler to Tahlequah must ford the Illinois River twice and Barron Fork Creek once. No bridges arched these streams and some of the fords ran dangerously deep and swift.
When someone in the community went to Tahlequah, he stopped at the post office and picked up mail for any of his neighbors… The people…signed and sent a petition to Washington, D. C. asking for a post office. The government approved the request and appointed my mother (this would be mt grandmother) Mary Edna Latty, as postmistress.
The postal department in Washington requested a name for the new post office…Uncle George Forrest sent the name of his wife Etta. Ever after, the name of the post office and the community was called “Etta”.
The train brought the mail for Etta to Stilwell. It came in heavy canvas bags, securely locked. Only the postmistress was authorized to unlock them. At first the mail came once a week, then later, three times a week. The salary of the postmistress was the cancellation or price of the stamps on mail sent out. Postal cards were one cent; letters were two cents. (The Heritage of Etta Bend, remembrances of Susie Lattty Day, written by Blanche Day Manos).
Amazing what people went through to communicate in the old days! Now lots of people use the Internet for mail instead of the post office!
Yes, USP mail in the actual mailboxes is getting lighter and lighter. Yet, postage keeps going up and up. I wonder why.