Allamakee co. IAGenWeb - Misc. History

Allamakee co.
Post Offices & Postmasters
1849 - 1981
(misc. years)

1849 Postoffice & Postmaster Appointments

May 14th, 1849 -- Tom Corwin, Allemakee county, established and Stephen Holcomb appointed P.M.

July/Aug 1849 -- Postville, Elijah W. Stevenson appointed P.M.

Sept. 1849 -- Lansing, Alamakee county, established and W.S. Garrison appointed P.M.

1855 Postoffices & Postmasters
Capoli French Creek Hardin Ion Lansing Lybrand Lycurgus Makee Ossian * Painted Rock Postville Rossville Union Prairie Volney Waterville Wawkou Wexford	O.S. Conkey Wm. Brooks Alonzo D. Frazier Charles W. Cutter Thompson E Williams Hiram Jones James Shepard Sanford C. Marsh John O. Porter William H. Morrison Emera Higbey William F. Ross Edward Eells Thomas Crawford D. P. Carpenter L. T. Woodcock William Ryan
*Ossian is in Winneshiek Co. ~source: US Post Office Department publication: 'List of Post Offices in the United States with the Names of Postmasters on the 1st of July, 1855' ~transcribed by Cindy Bray Lovell

1856 Postoffices
Hamlin Grove Lycurgus Markee Ossian * Painted Rock Postville Rossville Union Prairie Volney Waterville Wawkon *Ossian is in Winneshiek Co.	Wexford Bellows Bryson Bunker Hill Capoli Columbus French Creek Grantville Hardin Ion Lansing Lybrand

1860 Postoffice & Postmasters
Alamakee Capoli Clear Creek Cleveland Dorchester Elon French Creek Hardin Ion Lansing Lybrand Lycurgus Makee New Galena Nezeka Ossian * Postville Rossville Union Prairie Village Creek Volney Waterville Wawkon Wexford Wilson's Ford *Ossian is in Winneshiek Co.	Geo. L. Miller O.S. Conkey M.S. Merritt J.M. Arnold T.S. Smith John Reed Wm. Brooks Crawford Breedlone S. Goodridge A.W. Purdy Noah Maltbie Wm. J. Shep S.C. Marsh J.L. Paxon Wm. C. Booth John O. Porter Emera Higbey Wm. F. Ross Ed Eells Jas. Erickson Isaiah Wood Jedu Spooner R.C. Armstrong David Harper J.T. Wagoner

1878 Postmaster Appointment
Rossville, Allamakee county, Jackson Mitchell appointed May 18th, 1878

1904 Postoffices
Church Connor Dorchester Egan Elder Grove Elon Harpers Ferry Ion Lansing Lycurgus Lyndale	Maud New Albin Postville Quandahl Rossville Village Creek Volney Waterville Waukon Waukon Junction

1916 Postoffices
Church Dorchester Harpers Ferry Lansing Maud	New Albin Postville Waterville Waukon Waukon Junction
Notes: Rossville - served by Waukon Village Creek - served by Lansing

1927 Postoffices

Church Dorchester Harpers Ferry Lansing New Albin	Postville Waterville Waukon Waukon Junction

New Albin Postoffices, Postmasters, rural mail carriers
& other employees

New Albin postoffice prior to 1967

New Albin postoffice 1967 - present

New Albin Postmasters	Dates	Sites
Wm. E. Wicke	1872	---
Jacob Fitschen	---	Travis & Kumph Building
Wm. Coleman	1889	Siegfried Building
W.O. Bock	---	Lager Drug Store
Michael Gabbett	1893	Siegfried Building
G.A. Erickson	1899	Present Site
W.O. Bock	1903-1913	Lager Drug Store
Harold Holmes	---	Lager Drug Store
Vern Petrehn	---	T.A. Warren Area & Bellon Building
Elizabeth O’Reilly	---	Kerrigan Building
Stacia Hartley	1935-1958	Hartley Building
Cleon Sires	1958-1980	Present Site
Joe Egli	1980-1985	Present Building
Tom Schofield	1985-?	Present Building

Clerks:

Lillian (Welper) Sires
Mary Lou (Weymiller) Welper
Celia Gabbett
Lillian Bellows
Ruth Valentine
Elsie Crowley
Eleanor "Mae" (Sires) Crowley
Raymond Higgins
Marcia Baechler
Virginia Blocker
Veronica Vichlach
Delbert Welper
Frances Coughlin
Maxine Kester
Cleon Sires
Nona Sawyer
Genevieve Sires
Florence Irons
Nina Goebel
Harold Gerling
Hilda Kuehn
Hannah Weymiller

Rural Carriers:

Herbert Zarwell
James Valesh
Edward Fish
Frank Kelly
William Stevens
Joseph Kelly
Unknown Rohde
Waldo Caldwell
John Kelly
Burton May
Joseph Reburn
Roger Weymiller

Subs:

Joseph Reburn
August Krzebietke
Otto Hurley
Alfred Meyer
Arthur Stevens
Harold Stevens
Wayne Kester
Herman Dierksen
Dale Neumann
Gustave Welper
Edward Lampert
Bernard Kelly
G. Feurhelm
Edward Lager
Stanley Buege
Merlin Higgins

Old Zip 52160

Cleon Sires, New Albin postmaster, demonstrated his version of post office efficiency with this "souped up" model he dubbed "Old Zip 52160". New Albin's zipcode is 52160.

~June 1976 Allamakee Journal newspaper clipping

~note: The 1928 Plymouth originally belonged to Cleon's father, James Sires.

Cleon Sires
New Albin Postmaster 1958-1981

Herbert Zarwell (R) & Cleon Sires (L)

New Albin Rural Carrier Retires

Cleon D. Sires, New Albin Postmaster, is shown presenting a Service Award to Herbert W. Zarwell for 34 years of service given the United States Postal Service. Mr. Zarwell retired August 4, 1978.

~1978 Allamakee Journal newspaper clipping

Retires as New Albin Postmaster

"Afternoon, what can I do for ya today?" inquired congenial C.D. Sires, postmaster at the New Albin Post Office. Sires will retire his post on June 13, after 34 years of government service. He began as a clerk in 1946 after serving in the Army Air Force during World War II. In 1958 he was appointed postmaster.

"There have been a lot of changes here over the years, but when you really come down to it, the town is still pretty much the same as it always was...it'll never change," he observed. Sires should know -- he was born and raised in New Albin. "I'm a real local boy. Never been anywhere else and never really cared to be anywhere else!" As a "local", Sires has been a volunteer secretary for the New Albin Fire Department for 30 years and has manned the ambulance service for over 15 years. When asked what his plans were after retirement, Sires joked about the many possibilities. "Could be I'll just set on a bench for awhile and spit and whittle," he quipped. As an ardent hunter and fisherman ( he especially likes to turkey hunt according to a good friend Ray Whalen, New Albin banker.) Sires admits he is looking forward to doing some hunting and fishing after retiring. "I'm going to leave the post office to my OIC (Officer in Charge) Mary Lou Welper until another postmaster is appointed and I'm going fishin'." Sires said his wife, Iris, who enjoys woodworking, will probably get some of his help too. He observed that she is the creative one in the family and added that "I really don't do much at all." "Just tell 'em I'm retiring and I've enjoyed being the postmaster these past years and now I'm going to relax," he said with a smile.
~June 1981 Allamakee Journal newspaper clipping

When C.D. Sires retires next week from his job as New Albin postmaster, it will mark a change in the way that things are done in that town. The post office will still be the place to go to get your mail, but it will probably no longer be the place to go where you get the "new" of the town. C.D. is that way. He circulated the information of the town. It wasn't unusual for him to relay oral messages among the townspeople. He'll remain on, working hard for the fire department and the ambulance service. When our reporter tried to interview him about his June 13 retirement, he would have had her believe that he had done little in the way of civic things for the town. Instead, he entertained everybody within ear shot of how he was going to China after his retirement. He never boasted about himself but he sure has boosted New Albin. And for that we'll always admire the man.
~June 1981 newspaper clipping from unknown newspaper

New Albin postmaster Cleon Sires will retire on June 13 after 34 years of government service. Cleon began work as a clerk in the New Albin post office in 1946 after serving in the Army Air Force in World War II. He was appointed postmaster in 1958. He has been a volunteer and secretary for the New Albin Fire Department for 30 years and has been on the New Albin rescue squad for 15 years. Mrs. Lavern (Mary Lou) Welper will be the officer in charge until a new postmaster is appointed.
~Allamakee Journal, Lansing, June 13, 1981

~photos & articles were contributed by Errin Wilker