31 Jan 2023 A love letter to Romance
By Stefanie Brazile
I played hooky from the office one Friday morning in search of romance — Romance, Arkansas, that is. Armed with a Valentine for my sweetheart, Don, I drove to the only U.S. Post Office that offers a special postage stamper that says “Romance.”
It was a sunny day and a beautiful drive down Highway 36 past Happy Valley Baptist Church on my way to Mount Vernon, where I took a right, and soon passed Chance Road. The scenery and signs reminded me of the quest to find and keep love — a quest full of happy days, taking chances and, sometimes, finding valleys.
The Romance Post Office is one of the only buildings in town and is very popular this time of year because folks want their love letters to be processed there. Each letter that a post office receives must have the postage stamp “canceled” with a marking from that post office to show that it has been used and shouldn’t be used again. The friendly postmaster, John Parham, said that before COVID-19, the staff processed about 12,000 envelopes a year, with about 5,000 a year since then. Parham anticipates an uptick this Valentine’s Day season because they started receiving pink and red envelopes in mid-January. Mine was one of them.
“We look forward to it,” Parham said. “It’s kind of neat to see there’s a little bit of love left in the world. People are a little bit sappy.”
Parham has been married to his sweetheart, Kristen, for 16 years and has worked for the postal service for 27, bearing the responsibility of Postmaster in Romance, Rose Bud, Enola and Mount Vernon for the past eight years. When he talks about how many people drive from Little Rock, or mail cards from all over the world, he smiles. They have even processed an envelope that was mailed to them from Japan.
In a digital age, the staff at Romance is proud to play a role in the delight one receives when opening a Valentine. If walls could talk, the post office would tell of cars and motorcycles lined up outside, waiting their turn to have their envelope marked in a way that is not available anywhere else in the world. The building and parking lot have also hosted an occasional wedding ceremony or vow renewal.
“It is busier here around Valentine’s Day than any other day,” said Parham.
And that will continue until June, because many people hand-deliver or mail wedding invitations to Romance because it shows they were willing to go the extra mile to make a card or invitation a romantic gesture from the start.
During the interview, Daisy Kurck was busy processing letters and shared her excitement about the charm surrounding the post office. She has been a rural carrier for 19 years and commented on how many older men make the drive to Romance to mail cards to the special lady in their life.
“I also stamp them every day for grandparents and grandkids,” Kurck said. “It’s fun to see people come in. One lady has them stamped for her own collection.”
Like many others, I’ve decided from now on to play hooky each February and take a nostalgic drive to a small post office with big heart, because Romance is worth it!
Postmaster invites 501 readers to design a stamper for Romance
The “valley” to this love story is about the loss of the ornate “Romance” stamper that Parham and Kurck used for years. Sadly, it was withdrawn by the artist who created it. So, currently, the round stamper bearing “Romance Post Office, Romance, AR 72136” is offered in black for darker envelopes, or in red for pink or white ones.
Parham invites readers to design a stamper for Romance. “If somebody designs one, I’ll send it through the approval process, and it may be approved.”
If you want to express extra love to your sweetheart this year, quickly deliver or mail in a larger envelope or box, pre-addressed envelopes with postage stamps to:
Postmaster
Valentine Remailing
292 Arkansas 31
Romance, AR 72136
