From the bizarre to bovine, South Valley is home to some truly
funky mailboxes. Here are the best of the best and the stories
behind them
From the bizarre to bovine, South Valley is home to some truly funky mailboxes. Here are the best of the best and the stories behind them.
On DePaul Circle in San Martin
“Originally, my kids and I bought a mailbox, and we painted cow spots on it to give my hubsand for his birthday one year. I can’t remember exactly what happened to that one, but I found this one at Country Clutter in the (Gilroy Premium Outlets), and I bought it immediately. It was perfect because we live right at the base of Bear Ranch, so we have cows to watch all the time. We really like cows, so we put this (mailbox) together and we just love it.”
– Nancy Murphy
On Highway 129, San Benito County
“I had a standard mailbox, and someone stole my unemployment check for $900 out of it, and they cashed it. It took me five months to get a replacement check, so I told my daughter, Christina, we had to do something with the mailbox. It took us a while, about three months, to do this one. We didn’t work on it every day, because we had to go think, but we made it all out of junk. Christina was 9 (years old) at the time, and she and her friend, Ashlee, helped me weld it and paint it. It’s made from the crank shaft of a truck, an 8-inch pipe, two car rims and saw blades, and then we put a propeller on it. It weighs about 700 pounds. It was me and the girls’ project, and it turned out pretty cool.”
– Richard Muirhead
On Fourth Street and Santa Clara Avenue, Gilroy
“We’re into street rods. My husband made that for me about two years ago for a birthday or an anniversary or something. It’s a regular mailbox, but he modified it with sheet metal. The headlights and tailights used to work until I hit the line with the weed eater.”
– Jacque Chesnut
“It only took me a couple of days to make. I’d done another one and we had it out there, but someone was driving by and they saw it and they came to the door and offered to buy it. So, we sold it to them, so I had to make (Jacque) a new one.”
– Ken Chesnut, who owns about seven different
classic automobiles
On Laurel Drive, Gilroy
“We bought it at the Hollister Independence Rally a few years ago. When we saw (the mailbox), we just loved it. It’s a great landmark, too. When people are coming over to our house for the first time, I just tell them to look for the mailbox with the flames on it. We’ve had it for a couple of years, and I still think it’s great.”
– Sue Jensen and Jon Tamada
Mailbox Mania
– Only an employee of the United States Postal Service can put things in a mailbox. Putting your rent in the landlord’s mailbox is illegal, as is putting fliers advertising a business. It’s a federal offense to put anything other than postage-paid mail in a mailbox and the post office can press charges.
“Technically, a postal worker can pull out (the rent check) and hold it for proper postage,” said Chris, a customer service representative for the U.S. Postal Service.
– There are federal regulations about mailboxes. Before installing a custom mailbox, it is supposed to be approved by the postmaster. The name and address should be on the post box, and it should be at least 1 inch high. The mailbox should be at least 3 1/2 to 4 feet from the roadside.
Sources: Chris and Susie, customer service representatives for the United States Postal Service
More about Mail
For everything you’ve ever wanted to know about mail and mailboxes, go to pe.usps.gov.
