Spring at the Rose P.O.

8” x 10”

Primary Techniques:

Line etching, dry point, mezzotint, and selective wiping

This etching celebrates a small building in the very small town of Rose, New York.  Generations of dairy, orchard and other farm families depended and still depend upon the service provide by this post office to contact absent sons and daughters, off at college or at war. Soldiers and students, far away working sons and daughters as well as relatives and friends anticipated receiving letters and packages that started their journey from the Rose, P.O.  Whether the outgoing letters or packages resulted from good news or bad, gossip, congratulations, recipes or fresh baked cookies, the destination of these letters brought a way of connecting to soldiers on duty in the Civil, Spanish-American, or World Wars.  Students were often the first of their family to leave the farm or a relative that needed word of the family.  Incoming mail could bring joy or sadness, excitement or tears, new knowledge, holiday greetings or bills, but the mail was always something to look forward to as the farm day stretched from sunrise to sunset and during calving season, well beyond sunset. Today, this Postal Office sadly is included in the list of those that might be closed.  Whatever the fate of this little building with its important service, the impact of the Rose P.O. on generations of my family and those of other farm families can never be lessened.

(… by the way, that black plastic bag hanging on the knob of the front door is full of apples for the Post Mistress from a friendly farming family.)