Good Neighbors
One tiny town spreads cheer for card lovers far and near.
In Noel, Missouri, the post office spreads Christmas cheer one stamp at a time.
Although winter is quiet in Missouri’s southwestern Ozark foothills, the town of Noel is bustling during the Christmas season.
In the generous spirit of the holidays, volunteers at the Noel Post Office have handstamped the same greeting on Yuletide cards for nearly 88 years. It’s not an official post office cancellation but a rubber-stamped bright red wreath or green Christmas tree that says, “Season’s Greetings from Noel, Missouri, Christmas City USA.”
Each year, in addition to the Christmas cards people bring in, thousands of cards arrive from all 50 states and several foreign countries to request the special holiday greeting. Last year 40,000 cards arrived. The post office staff can’t handle this monumental task alone, so about 30 volunteers take turns hand-stamping the cards at a small table in the lobby.
Dot Harner has coordinated the volunteers for about 10 years. She makes a list and checks it twice.
“Beginning in early November, I call everybody who’s stamped for the past two years, and then I round up new recruits.”
She says this work is ideal for retired people, students and anyone else who can help out at least a couple of hours at a time Monday through Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings from the day after Thanksgiving through Dec. 24.
In 1932, then-Postmaster Ed Rousselot proposed sending out mail stamped with a “Noel, the Christmas City” logo (Noel means “Christmas” in French). The practice gained national notoriety the following year when singer Kate Smith mentioned it on her weekly radio program. Each year thereafter, Miss Smith told about the Christmas City stamp on her radio show and later her television show. The increasing demand for stamped cards with the Noel logo rose to 60,000 cards at its peak.
In 1947, Noel residents baked a 300-pound fruitcake in the shape of a 5-foot Christmas tree for Miss Smith. It took 200 pounds of flour, 50 pounds of fruits and nuts, and a special cake mold to make the cake. Miss Smith thanked the town and said she would donate the fruitcake to an orphanage during her television show. Noel residents wanted to watch it, but no one in Noel owned a television! Someone borrowed one from an out-oftown relative so everyone could watch the event.
Every year around the holiday season Miss Smith dedicated songs to the little town in the Ozarks. In 1982, for the event’s 50th year, Noel residents sent her a 3-pound fruitcake as a thank-you gift for helping to put the town in the hearts of people at Christmas.
Leatta Workman has volunteered since her children were small. She says, “We do several shifts so all my kids can get a turn. They get excited about all the places the cards are going.”
Susie and Cliff Thornton have volunteered for more than 10 years. “I enjoy the connections you make with people around the country who mail in their cards. It’s a neat thing to know that in this small way you’re making a difference in someone’s holiday,” Susie says.
Cliff adds, “It’s the joy of doing something that’s good for the whole community.”
The Noel project is successful because of the efforts of residents who give a little of themselves on each Christmas card that leaves the post office. And that’s the truest definition of Christmas.
To request the special Christmas stamp, please address, seal and add postage to your cards. Then put them in an envelope or box addressed to:
POSTMASTER 318 MAIN ST. NOEL, MO 64854
Be sure to mail early; closer to Thanksgiving is best. Better yet, make a trip to Noel. They’ll even let you add the special stamp to your own cards.