What to know about the U.S. Postal Service’s past, possible future

Watch Video What happens when the USPS can t decipher an address The U S Postal Function is celebrating its th anniversary this weekend and you won t have to check your mailbox for the invite The agency s semiquincentennial will be marked by an event at the Smithsonian s National Postal Museum in Washington D C on Saturday two and a half centuries since its founding Two newly communicated commemorative stamps will also mark the occasion USPS was founded as the U S Post Office Department on July by decree of the Second Continental Congress In Congress reorganized USPOD from a cabinet-level department into an independent agency the modern USPS Historians see the establishment of a national postal facility as a crucial factor in ensuring the young country stayed unified during the Revolutionary War One of the new commemorative stamps revealed Wednesday by USPS features Benjamin Franklin in a modern interpretation of one of the first two U S postage stamps ever produced in Franklin a participant in the Second Continental Congress briefly served as the first U S postmaster general after serving in the equivalent role under British rule from to Benjamin Franklin Commemorative stamp USPS The other stamp celebrates men and women of the agency with a new collection of cityscape illustrations depicting a postal worker on her passage through all four seasons A -page booklet only the fourth ever distributed by USPS was also declared Wednesday and is set to feature selected stamp artwork from across the operation s history David Steiner the newly appointed U S postmaster general explained that the new stamps represent enduring values every American can learn from including perseverance trust and imagination For the United States Postal Amenity this day is a milestone years in the making Steiner announced in a announcement Wednesday These stamps will serve as a window into our shared history The museum does not comment on current or political events Saturday s celebration comes months after sources reported President Trump was mulling folding the USPS into the Commerce Department Mr Trump also revealed in December that his upcoming administration was looking into potentially privatizing the postal system The White House is not actively considering or advancing such a proposal a White House official declared Saturday Postmaster General Louis DeJoy declared he would be leaving the position in February and Steiner a former FedEx board member took over earlier this month in the position Steiner advised USPS employees that he did not believe that the Postal Arrangement should be privatized or that it should become an appropriated part of the federal leadership Smithsonian National Postal Museum But Saturday the National Postal Museum family-friendly Postal Party will be celebrating The museum will feature sessions crafts and games as well as a Franklin reenactor allowing kids to learn postal history directly from the founding father Other historic touchpoints set to be highlighted at the event include Owney the th century terrier that served as an unofficial Postal Institution mascot and the Stinson Reliant an early airmail carrier model from the late s The event won t just be looking toward the past however Anne Matlock the museum s youth and family programs manager announced that the event is looking back and looking forward all at the same time with exhibits about the future of the Postal Operation We often don t think about all the methods that the Postal Function is connecting us through our Family our neighborhood to other spaces Matlock reported We want people to kind of think about those connections see them in their own lives and share things with all the Postal Operation workers The museum is also teaming up with other Smithsonian institutions for the event which will include an airmail delivery challenge with the National Air and Space Museum a Franklin-focused creative design activity with the National Museum of American History and storytime with the D C General Library The free event will run from a m to p m Source