Standing across from scenic Dimmick Park, a testament to Hellertown’s quaint personality, the Hellertown Post Office has served the local community for over 200 years. Whether processing a package, selling stamps or ensuring that the yearly flurry of letters to Santa Claus reaches the North Pole, the Post Office contributes greatly to the welfare of Saucon Valley residents.
Hellertown Postmaster Joe DiRusso sits at his desk with a pile of donated candy in front of him. For a number of years now, the post office has held a candy drive to benefit the annual Hellertown Halloween Parade, which passes by every October. Bagged candy donations can be dropped off whenever the post office is open. This year’s parade is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. (Credit: Helen Behe)
Wanting to know more about the history of the Post Office, I stop in for a chat with Postmaster Joe DiRusso. Halloween is only a month away, and it shows: A mound of candy, donated by Hellertown and Lower Saucon residents for distribution at the Halloween Parade, sits atop his desk. Joe’s office is filled to the brim with objects of interest: old bottles from the former Hellertown Bottling Works, maps of postal routes and a handful of photos of the mailman Billy Ray from ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’ The Billy Ray character resonates with Joe, who finds many parallels between the fictitious town of Mayberry and his own Hellertown. “The people and customers here, they make your day. It’s a close-knit community and everybody knows each other, which is like the fictional town of Mayberry,” he says. “I always tell people that I’m the postmaster of Mayberry. Your generation probably doesn’t get that reference, but people from my generation, they’ll immediately get it. So I have pictures up there on my wall of clips from the show.”
Like Mayberry, the Hellertown post office has its own unique charm which drew Joe to the job of postmaster—a position he admits he was not always interested in. “I was a carrier for 12 years, and then a supervisor,” he recalls. “And I always said I never wanted to be postmaster, unless it was for the Hellertown post office. I was like, no way, I don’t want to deal with working 60 hours a week and getting paid for 40. But at this office? I took it with no regrets. The employees are awesome.”
Joe is one of many postmasters to serve at the Hellertown post office, which occupied various buildings over the years before finding a permanent home on Delaware Avenue in 1969. The position of postmaster used to be held by any willing shop owner who had space at the back of his store for postal paraphernalia. Early postmasters of Hellertown conducted business in stores now occupied by Advanced Optics, Salon Mia and the former Hellertown Thrift Store. It wasn’t until the 1920s that the post office began operating independently of other businesses, and eventually moved to its current location—which once served as the local garbage dump. As Joe leads me around the back of the post office, he points out the gentle slope of the floor, which is due to garbage decomposing underground, several feet below the post office floor. Joe assures me that the building’s quirk, though noticeable, is harmless.
Despite the nomadic history of the post office, pieces of its legacy remain. “That sign that hangs over the counter in the front, that’s from the old Hellertown post office,” says Joe, proudly. “Where the police station is now there used to be several other buildings, and the old post office was there. That’s where we think the sign came from. The Historical Society had it and gave it to us on loan for our 50th anniversary, which was very kind of them. The sign’s been hanging up there for many years now. If you look closely, you can see faded writing ‘one cent for a postcard.’ Everybody loves it.”
Due to Joe’s efforts, many artifacts from the old post office locations have been rescued. Joe oversaw the organization and display of the artifacts, which may be seen in the post office entryway. Old mail pouches, postal badges and keys are among the items now viewable to the public, along with many photos of the post office’s former locations and a record of its postmasters.
For Joe, serving as postmaster is just like any other job. “It’s like running a business,” he explains. “You deal with people and employees, trials and tribulations. My day can turn in a heartbeat. I don’t mind a little excitement,” Joe adds, laughing, “but I’d like it to be somewhere in the middle!” For Joe, the Hellertown community is what makes the job special. “I know a lot of people here, because I live in Lower Saucon,” he says. “Definitely got that small town feel, which is great!”
Don’t forget to thank Joe the next time you’re in the Hellertown Post Office, and be sure to contribute to the Hellertown Halloween Parade candy drive by dropping off a bag or two of sweet treats.
Helen Behe is an MFA candidate at DeSales University, where she is studying through the program’s poetry track for a degree in creative writing and publishing. Aside from her studies, Helen enjoys gardening, boxing and rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles. She is a resident of Bethlehem. Read more of Helen’s Then & Now series here.