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By Vic Verbalaitis
Editorial Intern
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Even before the Founding Fathers declared that all men are created equal, one truth was already self-evident in the blossoming United States of America: The people need their mail.
Established during the Second Continental Congress on July 26, 1775, the United States Postal Service has kept Americans connected for 250 years—from transporting letters on horseback to delivering e-commerce in green trucks. And over the years, some of America's most recognizable figures—including actors Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman—delivered mail before they made their big break.
The 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln earned his famous moniker "Honest Abe" while postmaster in New Salem, Illinois, and aviator Charles Lindbergh became the famous "Lucky Lindy" as an airmail pilot. Even Walt Disney delivered mail before Mickey Mouse graced the silver screen, and a whole host of musicians started off as postal workers, including the legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus.
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"To be a jazz musician is a meager livelihood for most," USPS historian Steve Kochersperger told Newsweek. "He was a brilliant musician, but he depended on the Postal Service when he needed to pay the bills."
Even "I'm Yours" singer Jason Mraz worked as a casual clerk before pursuing his music career.
"All of our most precious documents, contracts, presents and checks from grandma go through their trusted hands," Mraz told Newsweek via email. "I personally think they are national service members that get overlooked—like park rangers, but for packages."
Today, USPS processes and delivers on average over 370 million pieces of mail daily, thanks to its nationwide network of 640,000 employees and automated sorters. Though vehicular transportation has made mail delivery much faster than in its early days, the system still employs 6,450 "fleet of feet" workers who deliver mail entirely on foot.
A testament to the reliability of its workers, the phrase "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" has long been attributed to the U.S. Postal Service.
"That quote from the ancient Greek Herodotus is on the main post office building in New York City, where millions of people have seen it over the years and they've come to associate it with the Postal Service," Kochersperger said. "We embrace that."
When I Was a Postal Worker...
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Steve Carell, actor
Rural Mail Carrier—Littleton, Massachusetts; 1985
"The hardest job I ever had was being a rural mail carrier. I was terrible at it.... I moved to Chicago a few months later and I found some undelivered mail underneath the seat of my car. So, if someone didn't get that check, it was probably because of me."
—60 Minutes interview, November 2014
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Morgan Freeman, actor
Substitute Mail Carrier—San Francisco, California; circa 1965
"Any place is the worst place to deliver mail. I was a substitute mail carrier. That's the worst kind of mail carrier you can be because you don't know the route...you don't know anything about it. A lot of mailboxes you can't find, but you better deliver the mail."
—Jimmy Kimmel Live interview, March 2016
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Jason Mraz, singer
Casual Clerk—Richmond, Virginia; circa 1995
"Working for the USPS taught me about the integrity of delivering on a promise. A concert ticket is like a postage stamp. It's a promise that I will deliver something, on time, and in good condition."
—Newsweek via email, July 2025
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Brittany Howard, singer
Rural Carrier Assistant—Athens, Georgia; 2011
"Good people. I was a rural mail carrier, and I think benefits need to be extended to ALL employees. There is a lot of wear [and] tear to the body."
—Newsweek via email, July 2025
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