RUDOLPH, OH — Wearing a festive sweater bearing The Grinch on the front, Joe Ludwig of Swan Creek Township, stood at the postal counter of the Rudolph, Ohio, post office affixing stamps to 130 sealed greeting cards.
One of his annual holiday traditions is coming to the small Wood County village to have the Post Office postmark his Christmas cards.
“I come in every year to get the Rudolph stamp on my Christmas cards,” says Mr. Ludwig with a big smile. “I have quite a large number and I come in every year. Its a lot of fun to come in every year. My friends enjoy getting that little Rudolph stamp.”
It was just before noon on an overcast cold winter morning in Rudolph — population 458 — and U.S. Post Office worker Charlotte Lamb was busy processing mail, an unending task until her 3:45 p.m. quitting time. But she had no complaints.
“It seems like the worst the weather, the more people come in,” said Mrs. Lamb, who has worked for the Post Office for 18 years. “You would think that with bad weather that they would stay home, but they don’t. If it snows, it seems to bring out the Merry Christmas in them.”
According to Mrs. Lamb, between 80,000 and 90,000 pieces of mail are postmarked each December in the small, single-window Post Office.
People travel from all over the state to secure the festive Reindeer Station/Rudolph stamp on their holiday cards and packages. Teresa Wiltsie drove in from Findlay to get the postmark on her cards, which she says delights her family and friends back west when they receive them.
“We send them out to all the relatives out west and they love it,” said Ms. Wiltsie. “It’s a great Christmas tradition.”
Morena Seifert of Bowling Green showed up at the Rudolph post office with a handful of cards and a big smile as she stepped up to the service window.
“I try to drop off my cards every year if I can,” said Ms. Seifert. “It’s tradition.”
Neil Munger, also from Bowling Green, said his family had been coming to Rudolph to send out their cards every December for the past 15 years.
“Usually my wife does this, but I’m retired now,” said Mr. Munger.
Amy Bosak of North Baltimore also made the trek to Rudolph to send out her holiday cards
“We love the nostalgia of it. Everybody loves getting them. My grandkids think it’s cute,” said Ms. Bosak.
The Rudolph Post Office is at the corner of Mermill and Rudolph roads about 6 miles southwest of Bowling Green. It is open from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and then again from 1:45 to 3:45 p.m. on Monday through Friday. On Saturday, it’s open from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The post office is closed Sunday.
Contact Jason Webber at jwebber@theblade.com.
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First Published December 16, 2022, 11:44 p.m.
