Mrs. Bird's Retirement Ends an Era, 1971 - Coke County, TX Contributed by Mary Love Berryman 7 September 2003 Copied from the Josephine Bird Collection, West Texas Collection, Angelo State University - 2 September 2003 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/txfiles.htm *********************************************************************** The San Angelo Standard-Times, Date unknown Mrs. Bird's Retirement Ends an Era By Mrs. B. YARBROUGH Standard-Times Special Correspondent SANCO - The final closing of the Sanco Post Office today - when Postmistress Mrs. Ulmer (Josephine R.) Bird closes its books for the last time and begins her well earned retirement-marks the end of an era in the history of the Yellow Wolf Valley in northern Coke County. The saga of Sanco had its recorded beginning more than eight decades ago when the U. S. government established the Sanco Post Office in Tom Green County and named John L. Durham its first postmaster. Sanco Post Office gave the community its official name when it opened for business on July 1, i888. That was eight months before Coke County, by an act of the Texas Legislature, was created out of "Giant Tom Green" on March 13, 1889. It was Postmaster Durham who suggested the name "Sanco" for the new post office. The name is, thought to be a misspelling of the name of Comanche Chief Sanaco, who along with Comanche Chief Yellow Wolf had at times, camped in the area and perhaps led raids in that vicinity. Many hundreds of artifacts recovered in the valley indicate that it had been occupied by Indians centuries before the coming of the white man. Sanco has long been the oldest operating post office in Coke County. But it was not the first to be established in the area that now comprises Coke Co. That honor belongs to the Old Fort Chadbourne office established at the military post January 28, 1859, while the area was still a part of the "Department of Bexar," and some years before Tom Green County was created. That office was served by the famous ButterfieId Overland Mail, which was operated by John Butterfield and Associates. It was discontinued on Nov. 5, 1866 and reopened by Cyrus W. Odom at the old fort on Oct. 27, 1879, moved from the old fort to the railroad town of Ft. Chadbourne in 1889 and finally closed Sept. 30, 1942. The Sanco Post Office was discontinued on February 28, 1920. It was re-established on June 11, 1924. It has had 12 different postmasters. Serving the longest tenure was Hiram J. Gartman, who served more than 24 years. Second in length of service is Mrs. Bird, who served slightly more than 16 and a half years. Mrs. Bird barely beat the record of Mrs. Fannie E. Durham, who was postmaster 16 years two months and a day. But, Mrs, Bird had been connected with the office an additional three years during, which time she served as a postal clerk while her husband Ulmer was postmaster. Since 1955 when Mrs. Bird became the postmaster, the office and the country store in which the post office is housed has been the exclusive enterprise of Josephine R. Bird. "It is her work and management," said Ulmer Bird, "that has kept it open during the past sixteen years and for whatever service the old place has been, she deserves full credit." Sanco citizens do not feel that the closing of their post office has brought Sanco to the end of the road. They will he served by a Robert Lee mail route, and plan to adjust to the inevitable changes. Some visualize the "Sanco Post Office and Country Store" transformed into a museum or other enterprise to attract fishermen or tourists who will visit the developing parks along the shores of Lake Spence. The Coke County Historical Survey Committee will host an open house at Sanco from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the post office. The meeting will honor Mrs. Bird for 16-years plus tenure as Sanco Postmistress. * * * * * * * * * Sanco Postmasters JOHN L. DURHAM - July 10, 1888 - Aug. 23, 1989 MILLER BIRD - Aug. 24, 1889 - Sept. 19, 1989 LUCRATUS C. BULLION - Sept. 19, 1889 - Dec. 8, 1890 FANNIE E. DURHAM - Dec. 9, 1890 - Feb. 10, 1907 WILLIAM 0. TUBS - Feb. 11, 1907 - Feb. 16, 1909 LORANSA C. CLEVENGER - Feb/ 17, 1909 - Dec. 5, 1915 WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL - Dec. 6, 1915 - Feb. 28, 1920 HIRAM J. GARTMAN - June 11, 1924 - Juns 30, 1948 MRS. LENNIE 0. ALLEN - July 1, 1948 - Aug. 1, 1949 MRS. ALTA M. GARTMAN - Aug. 2, 1949-Moy 27, 1952 ULMER S. BIRD - May 28, 1952 - May 31, 1955 MRS JOSEPHINE R. BIRD - June 1, 1955 - Oct. 15, 1971 Permission granted by the San Angelo Standard-times for publication in the Coke County TXGenWeb Archives. I