How many of you remember a time when addresses didn't use a zip code?

Answer 1

I do. I also remember a time when our phone number was 5 digits, with no prefix.

Answer 2

I remember. Zip codes didn't come into being until the 1960s as I recall. We had postal zones until then. But, here's another bit of postal trivia for those who can remember when public postal boxes and postal trucks were painted a green color. They switched to the red, white & blue in the late 1950s. Here's the reason for the switch. The Post Office Department got most of the Army surplus paint after World War One. And it took from 1919 until the late 1950s to use it all up. I think there's one last green postal box left. It's in the Ala Moana section of Honolulu, across the street from a coffee shop.
No one can ever say that the government doesn't buy in bulk! LOL!

Answer 3

Yes. I do. You could write a letter to Mrs. John Jones,
123 Sycamore St., Burlington, Iowa, and it would get there. I have some letters saved from my college days in the 60s before there were zip codes. We had some relatives in
upstate New York that had an RFD address.

Answer 4

I certainly do. Our address was RFD 4 (rural free delivery - route 4).

I also remember phone numbers such as 678J2. The J2 meant that it was a party line and calls to you would ring two short rings. Listening to neighbors phone conversations was often more interesting than listening to the radio. Our first telephone was a wooden box that hung on the wall with a crank handle. You lifted the receiver ( a black miniature horn affair) and turned the crank. Sometimes you had to turn it several times to get operators attention if she was busy elsewhere in her house. Rural switchboards were frequently in someone's home and being the operator was a part time job for Mom.

Answer 5

We had a three digit phone numbers at the beginning of WWII in our small town. At that time if you wanted a phone you had to be willing to go to other people’s homes and bring them back so they could talk to their serviceman. Fortunately my uncle was the head man at the phone company in town so we were allowed to have a phone. My mom and dad did a lot of driving to get people so the service men could talk to their families. We had party lines after a period of time, numbers like 631J and 631R.

Years later I remember being down town and looking in the window where the operators were directing calls with their long cables, plugging them into the various ports to direct the call. At that time the operators could listen into conversations. There was a bar in town that was run by two shady characters both very charming. The girls at the phone company would always listen to any conversation that went to their bar. This got under the skin of one of the owners. So he planed a set up. He had someone call the bar and tell them that Elvis Presley was going to be there that night. The operators called the gal that worked at the bar to ask if it was true. She told them that she wasn’t sure because she hadn’t answered the phone. That night the place was packed, you couldn’t find a parking place within a half mile. It was shortly after that they changed out the phone system to a more modern system.

Your question brought back a lot of memories. Thanks for asking.

Answer 6

Hi Wally! I do remember when there were no zip codes. And, I remember when the post office annouced these new zip codes they created a mascot called "Mr. Zip" to promote using them.

Answer 7

Yes sir I certainly do. I also remember waiting until after 9:00 PM to make a long distance call. The rates dropped at 6:00 PM and again at 9:00 PM if memory serves. And all long distance calls went through the operators on both ends.

As Virginia Slim's commercial says, "We've come a long way baby"...

Answer 8

I do. The mail in the U.S. was delivered twice a day and once on Sunday, postage was 4 cents and no zip codes---the good old '50s.

Answer 9

Hey, if I can remember my first telephone number, then I can remember a zip code free world.

Answer 10

Yes, I do. And I remember when postage was 3 cents and when you didn't have a proper address you put the person's name and the town they lived in and it would get to them!!

I got my sex education on our party phone line by listening in on a woman who was having an affair with my school bus driver.

Answer 11

We don't have zip codes, but post codes, yes I remember well before we had them .