RUDOLPH, Ohio — The rush is on at the post office in tiny Rudolph, Ohio, where Christmas-card senders flock each holiday season to get a special postage-cancellation stamp.
In "The deerest little village in Wood County," the postal workers take great pride in the holiday tradition of stamping outgoing mail with a cancellation stamp that says "Reindeer Station" and includes an image of the red-nosed hero.
Since 1993, the Rudolph Post Office has been offering the coveted postmark, along with some holiday cheer to postal customers who come from far and wide to give their Christmas cards that extra something special.
"We just like to have our Christmas cards recipients see the little reindeer postmark on it," said Jana Miller, of Pemberville. "And we get more comments on our stamp then we do our card."
For longtime postal worker Charlotte Lamb, the season brings a lot of joy.
"All the people coming in, talking to them they come from so far away," she said. "You know, I make cookies and things like that for them."
But the seasonal rush also keeps Lamb on her toes, she said as she stamped outgoing mail at a blistering pace.
"You got to be fast when you're doing this or you're not going to get through," she said.
Supervisor Kristyne Lone described Lamb as the "head elf" of the yearly event.
"Everyone knows her," Lone said. "She's been here for 20-some years, so people walk in, they know her, they know the office. It's a pretty small-knit community."
And people in Rudolph are proud of their village's claim to holiday fame.
Steve Robbins, a Rudolph native who moved away but then returned to town about three years ago, said the locals are accustomed to a crowd around the holidays.
"It's a big deal," Robbins said. "People come in here sometimes it's lined outside the door just to get her to stamp those cards. So it's a wonderful thing here in Rudolph, Ohio."
The more the merrier, especially at Christmas, Rudolph's postal workers said.
"Bring your stuff down, bring your stuff down," Lamb said. "Companies? We don't care. Bring your stuff down. We love doing this."
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