Lost Massachusetts

The Postcard Episode

We are recording from an abandoned Post Office somewhere in rural Mass. There are at least 24 post offices in Massachusetts that have been closed since 1900 and had their zip cods retired. Wait, how did a post office closed before 1963 have its ZIP cancelled if there were no ZIP codes? THAT is another mystery for a different time...

Lost Massachusetts sends postcards to listeners from the lost places we visit. You can get a post card from a lost place too, go to lostmassachusetts.com to find out how. In episode we explain the reasoning behind sending these cards from places that no longer exist. We also read from an old postcard bought in an antique shop that inspired this as well as read from a postcard sent to Lost Massachusetts from a listener.

Also covered briefly is the history of postcards and why people should keep sending them. It may seem odd to us now, but in the early days of postcards they were heavily regulated. There were restrictions about who could print post cards, who could send postcards, how they were formatted and even who was allowed to use the term “post card”.