September 18, 1956
Old Pens Given ‘Heave-Ho’
Like the horse and buggy and the steam locomotive, the scratching straight pens of the United States Postal Service are a thing of the past. Replacing the old scratchy pens which have been a topic of conversation in post offices all over the country for so many years are new ball point pens. One of the first to use the new pens in McMinnville is Wilma Russell, as postmaster Bob Ballard affixes a chain from the pen to a desk. Ballard explains the chains, as well as the words “U.S. Government Property” stamped on each pen, are to discourage patrons from “borrowing” the new post office equipment.