Did you ever have a Pollyanna? A secret pal back in the days when mail traveled only inΒ paper envelopes with postage?

As I was going through one of my Boxes under the Bed, I found this quaint gem sent to me at college in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. The charming card is signed Pollee Ann, obviously a reference to the main character in the children’s book seriesΒ PollyannaΒ by Eleanor H. Porter,Β who finds the glad in everything. Though she was tragically orphaned and sent to live in the home of her gruff Aunt Polly, 11-year-old Pollyanna has come to represent eternal optimism as she spreads cheer, sometimes secretly, all around town.

1962_0314_St Patrick Card

My secret pal spells her name “Pollee Ann,” an interesting sobriquet forΒ Pollyanna. And the card reached me in spite of the fact there is no street address or zip code, not introduced into the postal system until 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan,Β was chosen to suggest that “mailΒ travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly (zipping along), when senders use the code in the postal address.”

Image: Wikipedia

Image: Wikipedia

Have a ZippyΒ St. Patrick’s Day!

Killarney Shamrock_modified_02

Some celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by baking/eating cupcakes or cookies with green icing or wearing a shamrock pin. How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Is there Irish in your heritage?

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