1902 10c Special Delivery, Messenger on Bicycle (#E6)

Do you remember when you learned to ride a bike? I remember my dad running along beside me while I learned to ride a two-wheeled bike without training wheels. I was scared to death, but eventually I loved it! May 1 is known as Learn to Ride a Bike Day. This fun day encourages people, especially children, to learn how to ride a bicycle. Riding a bike is good exercise and a useful skill. It also connects to history because bicycles once helped Special Delivery Messengers do their jobs faster. Today, this day is a great time for families to practice riding together and enjoy being active outdoors.

Special Delivery stamps were special stamps that paid for this faster service. People had to put one of these stamps on their letter in addition to regular postage. The first Special Delivery stamp in the United States was issued in 1885 and showed a running messenger. Over time, many different designs were made, often showing messengers, bicycles, or other ways of quick delivery. These stamps are now popular with collectors because they tell the story of how mail delivery improved.

One famous stamp is the 1902 10-cent Special Delivery stamp (#E6) called “Messenger on Bicycle.” This stamp shows a postal worker riding quickly on a bicycle to deliver an important letter. It was part of a new series issued in 1902 and is known for its detailed design and bold look. The image helped show how bicycles made deliveries faster and more efficiently. Today, this stamp is a favorite among collectors because it represents both postal history and the growing use of bicycles in everyday life.

Special Delivery Service was a fast mail service offered by the United States Postal Service. It began in 1885 to make sure important letters were delivered right away, even if regular mail was not going out at that time. When a letter was marked for Special Delivery, a messenger would take it directly to the person’s home or business as soon as it arrived at the post office. This service helped people send urgent messages much faster than normal mail.

Special Delivery Messengers began in 1885, the same year the service started. These workers rushed the mail to its destination as quickly as possible. At first, many messengers ran on foot, carrying letters through busy streets. Later, they began using bicycles to move faster and cover longer distances. The bicycle itself was invented in the early 1800s, with important improvements made by inventors like Karl Drais in 1817, who created an early two-wheeled riding machine.

When was the last time you rode a bike? Today might be a good day for a bike ride.

References:

• Stamp from the author's collection
• Smithsonian Institution – Postal history collections
• United States Postal Service – History of Special Delivery
• Library of Congress – Bicycle history
• National Postal Museum – Special Delivery stamps history
• Mystic Stamp - 1902 10c Special Delivery, Messenger on Bicycle

Carolina Casita Gathering - April 2026

We had the Carolina Casita Gathering at Twin Lakes Campground on Lake Hartwell. We got there a day early so that we could get settled in our campsite before everything started. I warned everyone on Facebook that we may get a little loud and boisterous as we back the camper into the sight. We haven't been camping for 3 years due to various circumstances, and this was our first time out. Plus, we were towing it with our new car, a 2026 Subaru Outback Touring XT.

Unfortunately, Don's back was giving him a lot of problems, so I had to pack most of the stuff on my own. He was able to back the car up and hook up the camper to the car, but otherwise, I did almost everything else by myself. Of course, this made him feel bad about having to rely on me to do everything. We were never able to fix the leaking bathroom sink, so we just planned on not using any water at the campsite.

Every morning, I was up about 5:00, and I was able to sit in the Clam and listen as the world woke up. I loved hearing all the birds sing and watching the sky get lighter. Every morning, we went to Waffle House for breakfast since we didn't have any water at the camper.

When we got there on Wednesday, the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately, we got there too soon, and the campground attendant told us we couldn't check in yet, so we went back into town and had lunch at Dairy Queen. It was a good lunch! We also stopped at the Goodwill store just to kill time shopping when the park attendant called us and said our campsite was clear and ready for us. So, we headed back to the campground and set up at our site. It was a small site where we had to unhook the camper and park the car beside the camper. Then I had to go down about six steps to set up the Clam screen room. The view was beautiful, though. We met a couple of new friends from the Casita group, Babs and Jackie, who were really nice. Later, we also met new friends, Marc and Jolene.

On Thursday night, we went to the Smoking Pig of Pendleton for dinner. There were about 20 of us, and the food was very good. Marc and Jolene stopped by our camper, and Marc tried to fix our leaky sink in the bathroom, but was unable to get it fixed that day. Then we headed over to Bab's site for a meet-up where everyone introduced themselves, told a camping story, and then everyone went around to tell what tow vehicle they used. It was hard to see the people in the dark, but at least I could hear them. I took some pictures which actually showed everyone's faces in the photo, so the next day I was able to look and try to figure out what story went with which person. It was so much fun meeting new people and making new friends!

On Friday morning, after breakfast, we came back to the campground and walked around the lake. We did happen to get into the boggy mud and had to clean our feet and shoes. In the morning, Nancy and Ray came to visit us, and we had a nice couple of hours to visit. The rest of the afternoon, we just relaxed around the campsite. For dinner, we met at someone's campsite, and we had a potluck dinner. I loved meeting another knitter, Gail, and we had a lot in common!

On Saturday, we didn't do very much but relax around the campsite. Marc came over again and was able to fix the bathroom sink. He also helped us with the vent fan, which wasn't working. He was able to get it working by putting duct tape over the fuse so that it stayed in. We drove to the picnic shelter to visit with some people and see where the potluck might be in case of rain. The dinner was supposed to be at 6:00 p.m., but it started raining about 6:00 p.m. They moved the potluck dinner to the picnic shelter and postponed it until 6:30 p.m. By this time, Don's back was really causing him a lot of pain, so he took a muscle relaxer, and we ate dinner in the camper. We decided not to go to the shelter because I was afraid he would slip on the wet, grassy hill. We went to bed early.

On Sunday morning, we went to Waffle House for breakfast and then returned to the campsite to pack everything up. We took our time, and I tried to discourage Don from doing too much. The only problem I had was getting the stakes out of the ground that held the Clam down in case of wind. Luckily, our new friend Henry stopped by with his dog to say goodbye, and he was kind enough to pull the rest of the stakes out of the ground. We got everything packed up and were on the road by about 10:30 a.m.

We had a wonderful time, and we hope to go to another gathering in the future. We won't be able to go to the next two scheduled gatherings because we have other obligations, but I'm sure we will get to be with our new friends again sometime in the future.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Bunny Hop

We signed up at the senior center to attend the Bunny Hop yesterday. Heather led us on a 4-mile hike at Conestee Nature Preserve. The weather was perfect, and so was the company. There were 6 of us who showed up. At the entrance sign, I asked a couple if they would take a photo of all of us. We walked to the old mill and saw where they were improving the dam, and then walked the Swamp Rabbit trail back to the entrance. We saw lots of flora and fauna. The last exciting thing I saw was a watersnake that had just swallowed a fish.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Blueberry Bushes and Fig Tree

I can’t believe how early the blueberry bushes bloomed. I guess it is because it has been so warm here. Now we have blueberries on them, which we don’t usually have until June. We also found some figs on the fig tree. Usually, we have to fight the birds and squirrels for this fruit, but since I started hanging CDs from the branches, it has helped keep them away. 

Easter 2026

It was a rainy morning. 

I attended church service online because I don’t like driving in the rain. 

About 12:30, we went across the street to our neighbors' house and had pizza for lunch. There were 17 of us, and it was a fun and joyous event! 

After lunch, the adults came back over to my yard to hide eggs. Each of us had a bag of plastic eggs to hide. By then, the rain started, but it was light. In the middle of hiding eggs, the rain came pouring down. At first, I was very careful with hiding them, but when the rain came pouring down, I was tossing them in the bushes and down in the weeds. 

When the kids came over, they were excited and didn’t seem to care about the rain. Of course, the boys didn’t have raincoats or umbrellas and were just running in the rain. One girl had an umbrella, and she stayed semi-dry. After about 30 minutes, they didn’t seem to find any more so they were finished with hunting. We had no idea if they had found them all. Everyone seemed to have fun anyway! 

(Update - 5 days later, and we are still finding eggs in the yard! There was a strong wind this week, so the wind may have blown them out of their hiding places!)

Original photos by Pat Hensley