National Postal Museum

 Smithsonian National Postal Museum

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Green Ways to Move the Mail: A Challenge for the New Century
Panelist Nancy A. Pope














Nancy A. Pope
Above: Nancy A. Pope

Nancy A. Pope Historian & Curator
Smithsonian National Postal Museum

"Charged Up: A Shocking History of Postal Trucks”

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Nancy Pope has worked with the items in this collection since 1984 and curated the opening exhibits for the National Postal Museum in 1993. She has written articles on numerous aspects of postal history, including the Pony Express, Rural Free Delivery, Parcel Post Service, Letters and Letter Writing. She directed the renovation of the Museum’s website and is working on a plan to replace many of the museum’s current exhibits. The renovation plan began in the atrium, where you now see new exhibits devoted to airmail, postal contract vehicles, and city vehicle service. New exhibits surrounding the atrium will examine the history of postal workers, the system of moving mail, the impact of mail in the military and business worlds, as well as a look into the future of mail and the postal system.

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When the Post Office Department replaced horses with horse-power to carry the mail, electrically-powered trucks were an important part of the new fleet. Events, inventions and changing needs shifted electric vehicles out of postal favor for almost half a century. Learn what shifted the trend away from electric to gasoline-powered vehicles, and how alternative fueled vehicles have found their way back into favor and use.

  
   
Electrically-powered truck, 1914
  
Electrically-powered truck, General Vehicle Company, 1914, Long Island, New York
  
   
Related reading: On the Road
  
   
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Ford
This program is generously sponsored by
Ford Motor Company Fund







Contact:

For further information please email Program Coordinator
Aurelie Henry at: henrya@si.edu


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