GRADYVILLE POST OFFICE 42742

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When citizens go
to the post office here they
get more than stamps or mail

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By Sonja Foley
Published earlier, Jan. 15, 1972, Green River Sprite

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When the citizens of Gradyville go to the post office, they get more than stamps or their mail. For in what is "just about the world's smallest post office there is more warmth and friendliness that could ever be generated from the heating stove alone. Or comes from the post mistress, Daisy Keltner, her husband, Marvin, and their patrons.

Little but loud, poor but proud

"We're little but loud, poor but proud," she laughed. "Two of the local fellows, J.W. Sparks and Rollin Keltner, says this is the land of truth, and that there is never a story told in the post office."

Mr. Keltner said quite a few people stop to take a second look at the center of Gradyville's postal services. He said, "I've seen out-of-state cars go by here, then turn around and come back to look or take a picture."

Even though the post office is small in structure, its services are much greater.

Two routes come through here

"Two routes come through here," said Mr. Keltner, "the rural route out of Columbia and another one that goes on around to Basil."

The post office was located in various places before it found its present home in 1959.

Marvin Keltner got pigeonholes from Campbellsville

"They were tearing down an old house up here on 80," said Mrs. Keltner. "I bought this room and moved it down here on a tractor wagon. I couldn't get the old pigeon holes out of where the post office was located so I got these out of Campbellsville."

Joe Creason AND Allen Trout wrote about Gradyville PO

"We've never had any trouble around here," she said, "and we don't have no 'citement, just us fussin' among ourselves. Joe Creason took pictures of the post office one time and wrote about it in Allen Trout's letters in the Courier- Journal."

The Keltner's post office is frequented by all the citizens of the community just as in the past the Keltners' home was the regular meeting place of the neighborhood.

"The kids would all come and we would get out in the yard and play games with them," said Mr. Keltner.

Keltner home was place to make pies, have candy breakings

Everyone wanted to come to make pies and have candy breakings.

Mrs. Keltner remembers one girl telling her, "When I got in your yard, it was just as close to heaven as I wanted to be."

"The neighborhood kids had an old goat," said Mr. Keltner, "and a little wagon. I made 'em a harness but it wouldn't work and the goat wouldn't pull. But it would push 'em anywhere they wanted to go."

"We have a big time down here in old Gradyville"

"We've had a big time down here in old Gradyville," she said.

The Keltners have always lived here. "Well, since I was three years old," said Mrs. Keltner. Before becoming post mistress, she "did just about everything. I tested cream, worked in the general merchandise store and carried the mail from Columbia to Edmonton for two or three years. Marvin has carried the mail on six different routes."

Five Keltner children

The Keltner's have five children--Ruby, Philip, Geneva, J.W. and Brenda, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and "we're proud of them."

A pretty thriving little village at one time

"This was a pretty thriving little village at one time," said Mr. Keltner, "but those times are forever gone; there's just a lot of good old neighbors left. In other words they left the cream of the crop."

"Lordy, Lordy, we have to have a little fun as we go through life." she said. And that is what has made the Keltners of Gradyville a success- -a little bit of fun and lot of neighborly love."