Henry Raymond
Fairfax News => Current News & Events => Topic started by: Henry on February 17, 2006, 07:22:52 PM
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Hi All,
Living here on the Fletcher Road, my mail comes from the Cambridge Post Office, so I get a free weekly newspaper called The Transcript. A very interesting article in this week's edition regarding the Model T Snowmobile.
This brought to mind a mail man who delivered mail from the East Fairfield Post Office up through Fletcher from East Fairfield in the 1930s & 1940s. His name was Max Burleson. Have no idea whether he was related to Linc Burleson or not, but he used to drive a vehicle to deliver mail that I was told about, but never saw that looked something like the following photos:
(http://www.vtgrandpa.com/newsclips/modeltmail.jpg)
Converting a wheeled vehicle into an over snow machine is not a new idea. This over snow conversion unit (on a 1923 Model T Ford) is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C. The vehicle was used to deliver the United States mail.
(http://www.vtgrandpa.com/newsclips/modeltmail1.jpg)
Now, from what I was told, I am inclined to believe that it looked more like the one above than to top one which is in the Smithsonian Museum. I also got the impression that the skis fit under the front wheels so he didn't have to remove the front wheels.
Apparently wind, nor sleet, nor snow would prevent the mail from getting through even if the roads didn't get plowed.