Letter To Grandmother (1964)

[Music] Chips, I wish you would stop fussing. Can't I make you understand? I don't have your ball and blanket. We left them at grandma's farm. I know grandma would send them to us if I wrote to her. Then we can play again. Hey, let's go write the letter to grandma now. Dear grandma. Now, I've written Grandma's name and address on the envelope so the post office will know where to send it. Mrs. Thomas Rogers, Rural Free Delivery 1, Box One, Elm City, Illinois. Oh, I mustn't forget the code number. This will help get the letter to the post office near Grandmother's farm. I thank Grandmother for the nice time that we had at her farm. Now listen to the last part of the letter. Chips. We left Chips ball and blanket at your house. I wish you would send them to me. Thank you so much. Love, Mary. Now I'm going to seal the letter. [Applause] and put on a stamp. We'd better nail the letter right now. Would you like to go along, Chips? All right, I'll take you with me. Oh, Mom. I just wrote a letter to grandma. I asked her to send Chips ball and blanket. May I go mail it now? >> Yes. Just be careful when you cross the >> Okay. Come on, Chips. Bye. >> Oh, hi Mary. Hello, Chips. >> Hi, Mr. Stevens. I just mail my letter to Grandma. Do you come here every day to pick up mail? >> Well, as a matter of fact, I do. Uh, here's my schedule for this route. See, today I pick up the mail at uh 8, 10, 11:15, and 1:30. >> There's my letter on top. >> No. >> Now, what do you do with the letters? >> I'm going to take it down to the post office along with all these other letters. You ever seen what happens to a letter in a post office? >> No, but I'd like to. >> Why don't you ask your mother to bring you over to the post office this afternoon? I'll show you around. I'll be through picking up the mail at 2:00 and I'll meet you there. >> Oh, thank you. That'll be fun. Come on, Chips. Let's go home and tell mother. >> Bye. >> Hey, Mom. There's Mr. Stevens now. >> Hello, Mary. Mrs. Lee. >> Hello, Mr. Stevens. Mary said you show her how the post office handles mail. I >> certainly did. Shall we go in? Hi, Ed. Oh, hi, Jen. Now, >> the mail that I and all the other post for postmen bring in from all over town is sorted on this table. Now, first, the letters are placed with the address and stamp side all facing one direction. >> Look, there's my letter to grandma. >> Now, let's go over here and see what happens next. This is the cancelling machine. Now, the cancelling machine puts on postmarks which show the city where the letter was mailed, the date, and the time of day. The machine also puts marks across the stamp on the letter. I had that uh blue letter is going to this girl's grandmother. Would you tell her what you do with the letter? >> Sure. Come out of here. I put the letters in these pigeon holes according to where they're going to go. >> Now, your letter goes in this pigeon hole along with a bunch of letters that's going south on a train later this afternoon. After I get all the letters sorted, each bunch is tied together on this tying machine. [Music] Now, this package of letters is placed in this pouch over here, which goes by truck to the railroad station. Now, the pouches are locked to make sure that no letters are lost. It's time now for these pouches to be taken to the train station. Well, thank you, Ed. It's all right, Jim. Well, Mary, it looks like your letter to your grandmother is now on its way. Hope you enjoyed your visit with us. >> Yes, thank you. >> Mother, can we go to the train station and see the mail off? >> Yes, I believe so. It's only a few blocks away. And thank you, Mr. Stevens. We enjoyed it. >> My pleasure. >> Now, let's see what happens to Mary's letter. At the train station, Mary and mother watch as mail from their town is loaded into the mail car. Mary's letter to grandmother is in one of these bags. [Music] Mary's letter to grandmother is now on its way. Inside the mail car, while the train is traveling, letters are sorted. Mary's letter goes into this pigeon hole with other letters addressed to the same city. The bundle containing Mary's letter is placed into this pouch, which will be unloaded when the train stops at the town near Grandmother's farm. But often the mail isn't sent by train. For example, much mail is carried by truck. This truck is taking other letters from Mary's post office to a special kind of post office called a concentration center. Here are also larger trucks that carry mail longer distances. A concentration center is a post office which collects mail from many cities and towns in one large area. Once again, a clerk sorts the letters into pigeon holes according to the cities where they go. Some letters, such as this one going to California, are taken to an airport. These letters are loaded into a plane and are sent by air mail. Other letters leaving the concentration center, which go to nearby cities and towns, are sent by truck. So from the concentration center, letters go to many places. Now let's go back to the train carrying Mary's letter. The train has just arrived in the town near grandmother's farm. Mary's letter to her grandmother is in one of these pouches. All the pouches will now be taken to the town post office. This is the post office near grandmother's farm. Here, Mary's letter and many others are being sorted. Letters in this pigeon hole go to rural route number one. Mary's grandmother lives on that route. Early the next morning, the rural mail carrier arranges his letters in the order in which people live on his mail route. Meanwhile, in another part of the post office, this clerk is busy sorting packages for delivery. The rural carrier has finished sorting the mail for his route and is now tying it into bundles so that he can carry it easily. He delivers all the mail for the people on his route, including newspapers, magazines, packages, and letters. Of course, Mary's letter is in one of these bundles and will be on its way to the farm. Each day, the rural carrier drives through the country to take mail to people on his route. He also picks up mail to take it back to the post office. Now the rural carrier has stopped at grandmother's mailbox. The signal flag is up. That means there's mail in the box for the postman to take. He delivers Mary's letter and puts the signal flag down. Oh, good letter from Mary. [Applause] Huh? I just knew she would want Chip's blanket and ball. >> The next morning, Mary's grandmother has a box with the blanket and ball ready for the mail carrier. >> Morning, Mr. Charles. >> Good morning, Mrs. Rogers. >> I want this package to go partial post. >> All right. And would you like it insured? >> No, I don't think so. Just a dog's blanket and ball. >> All right. >> And here's enough money to cover the cost of mailing. If there's any change, just put it in the mailbox tomorrow. >> I'll do that. And here's your mail, Mr. >> Thank you very much. Bye, Mr. Charles. >> Goodbye, Mrs. Rogers. In the post office, grandmother's package to Mary is weighed and then postmarked by a clerk. Grandmother's change is placed into an envelope which the carrier will give to Mary's grandmother. The package now goes into the pouch that is going to the town where Mary lives. The next morning, the pouch with grandmother's package arrives in the post office in Mary's town. Here's grandmother's package to Mary. It is placed in this cart along with the rest of these packages which are then taken and put into delivery trucks. This parcel post truck is carrying packages which will be delivered to houses in Mary's neighborhood by this driver. Mary's at school. Mother will take the package from the postman. >> Hi, Mom. I'm home. >> Hello, Mary. There's a package for you. >> Oh, I'll bet it's chip ball and blanket. It is. Here, Chips. Here's your bow and blanket. >> Mary now knows how the mail service helped her and how it helps all of us. [Music]