BETHLEHEM, Ind. — Each December, a sleepy one- man post office in rural Indiana roars to life as thousands of holiday greeting cards arrive from around the world, each seeking the outpost’s unique red- inked imprint. Postmaster John Cable stamps each by hand, some with a simple postmark cachet that carries the phrase “Star of Bethlehem” above a star. Others get a stamp depicting the three camel- riding wise men following the star of Bethlehem.
But those distinctive stamps could soon be a ghost of Christmas past. The Bethlehem post office is one of more than half a dozen with winter- themed names that are on a list of about 3,700 post offices nationwide that the U.S. Postal Service has proposed shuttering to help slash costs. The postmarks from Snow, Okla., Antler, N.D., and Chestnut, Ill., might also fade away.
The agency will begin deciding the fate of those post offices early next year.
The Associated Press
