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A BIT OF
HISTORY: MARTHA COWAN (Part IV) Donald W. Hawthorne In 1929, at the age of 18, Martha went to work in the Post Office as a clerk. The Post Office was located in a grocery store that would have been across the street north of City Hall. The Post Master was George Harris, and he also owned the grocery store. At first, the Post Office was in a little cubbyhole in the front, but later was moved to a larger area in the rear of the store. When Martha wasn’t working in the Post Office she would help out in the store. When George Harris retired, Lester Norris took over as the Post Master. The Post Office was moved across the street to the south side and was upgraded from fourth class to third class because it was no longer in a business establishment. In 1963, a new Post Office was built next door to the east (now Jackson’s Bookkeeping & Tax Service) and was there until it was moved in 1986, to the current location on State Highway 115.
The first Cache Post Office was established in the early 1900’s and the first Post Master was Frank Runnels. Over the next century the Post Office would be in several locations around town. Although no one is sure where the first one was, some other locations were where the CIMA Thrift Shop is located now and the little building attached to the back of Pizza Express. During World War II, communication with the front lines was not as easy as it is today; the sole method of correspondence was by letter. There were four passenger trains daily carrying mail to Cache. One dropped off mail about midnight. Lester Norris would meet the train and Martha would walk over to the Post Office and “put up” the mail. Folks in the community knew after the train came through town, they could go to the Post Office in the middle of the night to get letters from their sons, husbands or sweethearts. Martha said the Post Office would fill up with people anxious to hear from their loved ones overseas. Being a small town Martha knew everyone that crowed into the lobby. She would notice the disappointment of those who did not get a letter. Martha hoped she would never have to go through that worry over a husband or son, but she later felt the same feelings, as her son spent 19 months in Vietnam while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps. When Henry Good, the rural carrier died, Norris gave up the Post Master’s position and became the rural route mail carrier.
In 1945, William T. Cowan came from his construction job in the Aleutian Islands to see his sister and brother-in-law, Pauline and Claude Johnson. Mr. Cowan went to the Post Office and met the young single Postal Clerk. On November 21,1945, Bill Cowan and Martha Petty were married. They had one son, Roy Edgar born in May 1947. He and his wife Elaine live in Arlington, Texas. Martha has four grandchildren: Michael, Martha, Eric and Sarah Jo. She has a great grandson, Cody Cowan. Martha resigned the Post Office January 1946, but when the Post Master position became vacant, Martha took the Postal exam. On April 15, 1951, she stepped into that job and served in that capacity until November 15, 1978, when she retired with 40 years of service.
Until the U.S. Army expanded its western range, Cache Post Office had a substation at Craterville Park, which was located just east of State Highway 115 between Cache and the refuge gate. The Army now calls it Camp Eagle. Martha made inspection visits and took all their stamps and other supplies to them. During her time as Post Master, the rural carriers were Lester Norris and Joe Bill Lee, and substitutes carriers were Ken Maloy, Clinton Reeves and Kenneth Kerns. Kerns later became full time. Once a year, Martha was required to ride with the rural carriers to inspect the rural mailboxes. However, she recalls one time she went on the rural route that was not an inspection. Norris was sick in bed and Clinton Reeves was the substitute at the time, but he was recovering from the mumps so while Reeves drove Martha put the mail in the boxes. During her tenure, the postal clerks were Bonnie Ritter, Lola Ash Sullivan, Myrtle Hess and Nona Mae Taylor. Others who also worked there were Juanita Unsell, Goldie Harmon, and Bert Bowman. Martha has attended the Christian Church in Cache all of her life and has been an active member since she was ten years old. She has a special closeness with her church family especially Minister John Webb, his wife Renee and their sons, Hubert and Shirley Webb and Geneva Simmons, as well as other members too numerous to mention. Martha doesn’t drive anymore and she recently loaned her car to her grandson. As she grows older, she more than ever appreciates and values her church family, friends and relatives who take her where she needs to go. She relies on her three nieces and their husbands Nona Mae (Norris) and the late Rex Paul Taylor, Carlene (Good) and Joe Henson, Rhonda (Good) and Jim Norris. She is also thankful for Virgie Kassanavoid who Martha says is a wonderful neighbor. Even though Martha has lived in Cache all her 90+ years, she is no stay-at-home. She loves to travel and has been to the West coast four times, the East coast twice and the Gulf of Mexico many times, as well as many other places. When returning home she watches the horizon and looks for the Wichita Mountains. Knowing that home is nestled at the foot of those old granite peaks and the nicest people are there. The is the last of a four part series about Martha Cowan and her memories of her life in Cache |
This was the Cache Post Office from 1940 until 1963. The Ed Sherfield
Blacksmith Shop was located on the left side and Mike Thomas’ Ice House was on
the right. This building was torn down last month
Martha Cowan and Lester Norris are standing in front of the Cache Post Office .
Note the mailbag over Norris’s shoulder.
Martha stands behind the counter in the Post Office that is now Jackson’s
Bookkeeping and Tax Service. She worked there until she retired in 1978.|
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