One tiny Kentucky town’s holiday tradition reaches people around the country every December. It began in 1947 with the postmaster of Bethlehem. The Henry County town of about one hundred people is on US 22, about 45 miles east of Louisville.
Anna Laura Peyton and her husband Lee ran the town’s post office right out of their home in ’47. Their granddaughter, the current postmaster, Melinda Spear stands behind the counter in the small building.
“You’re standing in what used to be a bedroom in my grandmother's house. So many a Christmas dinner was right over there, out there. There was many a Christmas dinner that we had here. I have so many fond memories.”
Melinda is the third generation of her family to hold the title of Bethlehem Postmaster and adores her grandmother.
“She was amazing. She was a wonderful cook. You never came to her house that she didn't have something ready for you to eat. Always fixing soda biscuits. If she fixed one, she fixed a million of them. In her lifetime, she could make the best jam cake you ever ate, the best chocolate pie you ever put in your mouth. I wish I had her recipes, but she didn't use recipes. It was a pinch of this and a dash of that. She was a very religious woman.”
Melinda says her grandmother’s faith led her to an idea to make a special request of the US Postal Service.
“She wanted to have something on her cards. So, she requested, could I please have something made? And they granted it to her this stamp. It is The Three Wise Men following the Star of David. And it says, on here, Christmas greetings from Bethlehem, since 1947 so that's when it came into existence.”
Melinda says word spread about the special stamp from Bethlehem, and soon thousands of people were sending their Christmas cards to the town’s post office. Melinda estimates each year her grandparents stamped 50,000 envelopes for people from every state, and later from around the world.
“When my grandmother was serving here, she used to have people mail from Europe, from Germany, from Switzerland, from England. I've had a person mailing from Japan wanting the seal.”
The number of people wanting the special red stamp has gradually dwindled through the years. Melinda says she averages about 10,000 a year. In 2015, the US Postal Service considered a change to the Bethlehem Post Office to consolidate locations, but then decided to keep it open.
That was good news to many people in the area who make it a tradition to visit the Bethlehem Post Office and get the special stamp. Ronald McAllistor grew up in Bethlehem.
“I love it because it's tradition, it's family. I still have family that live all over Bethlehem. And you know, if it was to go away, it would be sad. It would be a very sad thing.”
For Melinda, the Bethlehem Post Office and her family’s legacy is very personal.
“My grandmother was postmaster for 47 years, a little over 47 years, and then when she retired, my uncle took over for her, and he became the postmaster down here. And my mother clerked under both of them. So, she was in the US Post Office service anywhere from 50 to 60 years between the two of them. And when I moved back up here, I had said, mom, wouldn't it be cool if I could get down there and be the third generation?”
In addition to the special stamp tradition, the Bethlehem community has held a living nativity across the street for 66 years in December. Olivia Herrell, President of the Henry County Historical Society, says a couple hundred people volunteer to help.
“It happens December the 22nd through the 25th from 6:30 until nine o'clock each night. Volunteers stand in 50-minute increments, so three shifts a night. It takes all together, almost 200 people to make it happen. The volunteers that stand, the people who work behind the scenes building the set, and the ones who donate the animals and come back to feed the animals.”
Bethlehem may be small, but its impact has been felt around the world. If you are interested in visiting, the Bethlehem Post Office is open weekdays 9am-11am, and Saturday 8:30am-12:30pm.
The postmaster offers a welcoming smile and a candy cane. Melinda says every stamp you buy helps keep the little town of Bethlehem’s Post Office open.
Merry Christmas!
