President Dean King

President Dean King

If there would be one carrier designated as a favorite son in our organization, it would be Dean King. Dean and I share a special date. He became President of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association the same year I became a full time rural carrier. Today I had a chance to spend time visiting with him about his career as a national officer and as a rural carrier.

Dean King was 22 years old the summer of 1946. He had just served two years with the Navy Air Corp. Jobs were scarce then with so many service members returning from the war. He decided to pursue an education. He came home to Clay Center Kansas and enrolled at Kansas State University.

This was a time when rural carrier positions were more or less a political appointment. Dean had never voted, but his father was a registered Democrat. Truman was president and the position of rural carrier in Clay County was to be filled by a person from that party. Then, as now, veterans often fill rural carrier jobs. Dean heard about the carrier position and took the test, which was a requirement along with the proper party affiliation. Unknown to Dean, however, there were political shenanigans going on. Someone else wanted the position only he was a Republican. It seemed everyone but that person failed the first test session. Many thought this was a bit odd. Dean did pass the test the second time and much to the disgust of the opponent, received the appointment.

Dean King’s first day as a rural carrier was June 1, 1948. His salary was $3,000 plus mileage. Postage was 3 cents. From the first, he was active in the rural carrier organization and soon started filling positions in the county and district. Also during that time he married and had a family. With that came school activities and summer baseball. Dean still participated in rural carrier meetings and in 1960 he was approached to run for a state office. He agreed and that year he was elected state vice president and in 1964 KRLCA president.

In 1970 his family was grown and he finally consented to put his name on the ballot for a National office. He laughed as he told me about that national convention in Kentucky. "It was hot but my backers hit the state running. Whereas the caucuses are combined now, back then each state had their own. First a “roadrunner” would go in and prepare. Then his group would make their pitch. That was close to 50 times."

They did something right because he was elected on the third ballot as national treasurer. He served that position until 1973 when he was elected national committeeman. This was a busy time for Dean as he served the Western and Southern United States and processed 60-70 grievances a month.

In 1977 he ran and won the vice president position. He and his wife then moved to Washington DC. He told of their move and the mechanical failure. “We had all our possessions in a trailer behind our truck and had a breakdown in Ohio on a busy thoroughfare. No one would stop and my wife was getting more upset by the minute. I suggested we put our rocking chair on top and maybe someone would take pity thinking we are the Beverly Hillbillies.” Dean said she did not laugh.

In 1978 in Biloxi, Mississippi, he was elected President of the National Rural Letter Carrier Association. I asked what he felt was the most important accomplishment of his tenure. Without hesitation, he stated it was the implication of the L Route. This designation made rural carriers competitive with the city carriers for urban routes. Postmaster General Bolger mandated something be done and Dean Smith accomplished the challenge. It was because of his innovative thinking that the rural carrier craft has grown from roughly 60,000 members to 100,000.

His memories of living in the Capitol are of hard work and visiting National sites. He did remember he was at the exact spot just a day before then President Reagan was shot. He indicated it was a sobering moment.

Following his national presidency, it was back Clay Center Kansas and a rural route.

Thank you Dean King. You are an example of how a letter carrier from a small town in rural Kansas achieved national success.

Harold Stauffer, President

Following high school, Harold spent six years in the Army Reserve at Hutchinson, Kansas. His specialty training was military police. Also during that time, he graduated from Kansas State University and carried on a farm operation.

In 1964 he begin his twelve-year substitute rural carrier years. He was finally able to work full time when Hutchinson created a new route in 1976. When the chance arose, he moved to Route 2, a Amish/Mennonite route. The people on his route were special to him and one does not talk to Harold long to know he took good care of his patrons.

In 1988, he was elected to the junior board member position. From there, he moved directly to the vice president position and then president of the Kansas Rural Letter Carrier Association.

One day he was serving his route as usual, when he observed a pickup backed up to a house on his route. He immediately suspected fowl play since he knew the residents were gone. When he stopped at the box and looked their direction, they ducked down.

Harold did not want to confront the group so continued on to a house down the street and called the sheriff. He then decided to go back to check for a tag number. Just as he pulled up to the house, they sped down the road. He chased them at speeds reaching 85-90 mph. The crooks ran another car off the road in the process.

At some point, one of the men reached into the back seat. Harold suspected a gun and he was right. They shot at him with a shotgun. The blast knocked out the back window of his mail car. At the first opportunity, he stopped at a house and called authorities again relaying the chase and gun shot.

The authorities did apprehend the suspect, but he was able to escape in the sheriff’s car. Television cameras had arrived by that time and they caught the suspect on tape speeding off in the patrol car.

After all of this, Harold continued to deliver his mail that day. When he stopped at the small café at Yoder, there was a message that he was to call the sheriff. It seems they were able to apprehend the criminals and they wanted Harold to pick them out of a lineup.

The man who shot at Harold was convicted and sent to prison. Harold received a commendation. We laughed and said today rural carriers would probably get a letter of warning.