Wasilla Postmaster installed during ceremony

Deren Bennett was recently installed as Postmaster of Wasilla in a special installation ceremony. He was joined by family, friends, and team members in a special ceremony on August 16, 2024 as Manager of Post Office Operations Billy Fetterhoff administered the Oath of Office to Bennett.

“It is a great honor to serve Wasilla as your new Postmaster. In my nearly 26 years with the United States Postal Service, I have seen firsthand the role the Postal Service plays connecting neighbors and our community to the nation. Our Post Office serves as a lifeline for our small businesses to reach customers no matter where they are,” Bennett remarked.

“Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s leadership and Delivering For America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan, we are maintaining universal six-day mail delivery, stabilizing our workforce, and spurring innovation to meet the needs of our modern customers.”

The position of Postmaster is as long and storied as the country itself, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster at Philadelphia in 1737, where he would later help expand mail service from Canada to New York and instituted overnight delivery between Philadelphia and New York City, a distance of 90 miles. Franklin was dismissed from office in 1774 because of his efforts on behalf of the patriots.

When the Continental Congress met in May 1775, they named Franklin as postmaster general for the 13 American colonies.

From 1775 until the early 1800s, Postmasters were appointed by the postmaster general. In 1836, postmasters were appointed by the president, but this of course changed whenever a new party was elected. It was not until August 1970, with the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act, which to effect in July 1971, that the patronage system was finally removed from the postal service once and for all. Postmasters began being appointed on merit alone.

The act also permitted upward mobility for line employees, allowing them to be promoted to the position of Postmaster.

Along the way, there have been several famous individuals, who have served as postmasters. In 1833, Abraham Lincoln was appointed postmaster of New Salem, IL.

Other notable individuals who served as postmaster somewhere in the U.S. included abolitionist John Brown, businessman Conrad Hilton, novelist William Faulkner, and humorists Bill Nye and Mark Twain.