Charlotte May Pierstorff ‘Posted’ to her Grandmother
On 19th February 1914, five-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from Grangeville Idaho, to Lewiston Idaho, to visit her grandmother.
This was cheaper than buying a train ticket.
Charlotte, who weighed 48.5 pounds at the time, rode in the mail car.
It was a cold February morning and the little girl was bundled up in a thick wool coat and warm stockings, clutching a tiny suitcase.
When the Conductor saw her, she showed him the postage stamps on her suitcase, and said she was going to visit her Grandma.
After hearing her story and inspecting the stamps, the conductor laughed and went back to work.
When he peeked into the mail car later, she was quietly sitting on the mail bags, sucking on candy her mama had sent along for the ride, and clutching a big red apple in her little hand.
Charlotte’s mother’s cousin and railway postal clerk, Leonard Mochel, accompanied her during the trip and delivered her to her grandmother’s house.
This event indirectly caused the United States Post Office to ban all humans and live animals from mail delivery – with the exception of bees, day-old poultry and a few other exceptions.
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