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| Cornelius J. Shine Longmeadow, MA Mail Carrier courtesy of Longmeadow Historical Society |
The first week in July of 1915 brought a change in mail delivery to residents of Longmeadow, MA! In fact the change began on July 1, 1915. Cornelius J. Shine, the dedicated mail carrier for the town of Longmeadow for thirteen years, had used a horse and cart while making his deliveries. That all changed that summer in 1915. He was given an annual allowance from the Government to buy and to operate a car that would be used to deliver mail. The allowance was in addition to his regular salary. It was believed that 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours would be saved on delivery service. This new method of delivering the mail later became known as the "motor truck division".
The Longmeadow community had grown since Mr. Shine began delivering the mail in 1902. New streets were located off of Longmeadow Street. A mail carrier was needed to walk down the densely populated streets to deliver the mail to every house. Before 1915 Mr. Shine had an assistant to help cover his mail delivery route.
Starting July 1, 1915 the 5 passenger automobile that was used for delivering the mail had two passengers, Mr. Shine and his assistant. The motorized vehicle was also loaded with mail and parcel post.
This system worked very well- as long as the weather co-operated. Cornelius Shine and his family were Longmeadow residents in 1915, living at the corner of Longmeadow Street and Lawnwood Avenue. The December 1915 Blizzard halted transportation, food deliveries and mail service everywhere on the East Coast. The trolleys did not run. It was reported in the Dec. 14, 1915 issue of the Springfield Daily News that the Longmeadow mail carrier was snowed in and did not report for work that day. In order to deliver the mail two substitute mailmen from Springfield used a sleigh and made the Longmeadow deliveries.
Mail service had arrived to the 20th century and used motorized vehicles, but sometimes "Mother Nature" interrupted the flow.
Sources: Springfield Republican- June 23, 1915; June 30, 1915; Oct 2, 1935; Springfield Daily News- Dec. 14, 1915; Springfield Union- July 1, 1915 and 1915 Longmeadow Street Directory.
~Written by Judy Moran
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