Polar Bear Local Post

(now defunct)and information about local posts in general

This 1984 first day cover of the Alaska Statehood issue features a local post stamp (some prefer to refer to it as a label), and features artwork by well known philatelic artist Steven Caddick. The proprietor of the Polar Bear Local Post was the late Paul Mills, who was an ASPP member. This is simply a strikingly beautiful local post cover, and one of the very few Arctic local posts I have seen, and I am speaking of modern-day local posts. To the best of my knowledge, this local post is defunct, and ended operation sometime in the mid-1980's, with the passing of its owner. If I am mistaken about that, someone who knows might please let me know.

Modern-day local posts became popular when the late Herman Herst, prominent philatelist and author, operated his Shrub Oak Local Post in the early 1950's. His dog, Alfie, was named as carrier number 1, and the dog achieved widespread acclaim, with cards and letters of affection pouring in from around the world, as well as requests for carriage of mail.

I have ran my own Local Post (called the Spring River Local Post) since 1982, and although they are mainly operated just for fun and as a diversion; technically, they are clearly authorized by Title 18 of the United States Code (18 USC § 1696), which does allow private mail carriage over any regular routes (and times) in which the USPS does not deliver mail, and for one to do so does not violate the strict monopoly over letter mail that the postal service has maintained since 1847, as long as certain conditions are met and the regular U.S. postage is also paid for subsequent relay. As an example, if I miss my rural carrier pickup, the postal service does not offer a route from my house to the post office at 11:30 PM; yet Spring River Local Post does. "They" will pick up my mail and deliver it by special courier to the nearest post office for onward postal transmission by the USPS, and they still get their 37¢. It is one of those laws that has been on the books since approximately 1873, relatively unchanged.

Although many local post stamps are denominated, my guess is that very few, if any, actually really charge for the "service" of carrying mail to or from the nearest post office. There have been some instances in the 20th century when that really did occur, such as mail to obscure resort areas and notably to Rattlesnake Island, Ohio, where the post office more or less forgot them, in their opinion. Some local post operators produce a lot of Cinderella material, some which could charitably be termed as being borderline goofy, and they do charge for the stamps/labels, as getting anything printed professionally costs money. Some local post stamps or labels are very professional looking, and others might be termed as homemade or produced on the PC with a desktop program. Mainly, local post operators seek to have fun with their creations, and to lend their outgoing mail some decorative flair.

Local post stamps and labels are often included in the peripheral area of "Cinderellas", yet are a sub-specialty all to their own. Local Post stamps are typically applied to the front side of the cover, but in this case, it was on the back, and the large "cancellation" device Mills used probably called for that.