Middle Bay Light, Alabama

Postcard US-2663940 is travelling to Indonesia showing Middle Bay Lighthouse, also known as Mobile Bay Lighthouse, that is located at the center of Mobile Bay, Alabama. The hexagonal shaped prefabricated screw-pile lighthouse was first lit in 1885.

The keeper's wife gave birth to a baby at the lighthouse in the summer of 1916 during World War I. However, she was unable to nurse the newborn baby. The keeper brought a dairy cow to the lighthouse and created a coral on the gallery at the lower deck. All had to be evacuated when the lighthouse survived a hurricane but sustained damages that year. The light was automated in 1935 and deactivated in 1967. It was placed on National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974. To learn more, visit the Alabama Lighthouse Association's web site.

Postcard photo by Carol Highsmith. You can purchase a copy at zazzle.com.

Mailboxes in Thailand

Postcard TH-150353 shows various mail boxes used in Thailand over time, from the oldest on the left to the two currently-used ones on the right.

Thailand has a relatively short postal history. Great Britain started to operate the British Consular Post Office in Bangkok 1858. Thailand Post Co., Ltd. was established in 1883 to provides postal services. The first stamp was issued in Siam on August 4, 1883.  Siam joined the Universal Postal Union on July 1, 1885 and started to provide its own international postal service. The British Consular Post Office ceased operation the same day.

Nowadays, there are post mailboxes on almost every street in Bangkok. You will see more of the larger ones than the smaller ones. However, I was told that for international mails you would still need to visit a post office.