Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Census Postcard


Census Postcard
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel
Today in my post office box, I received this postcard. After examining it, I asked for the postmaster. She didn't seem to understand that I was asking her for the mail that did not get delivered to me. She got a bit upset when I took back this postcard and told her it was a legal document.

All of the people working in the post office were listening after I said the word LEGAL.

She said the form got sent back because it was undeliverable! What this really means is they couldn't be bothered sending it from the East Bridgewater, MA post office to the small post office in Bridgewater. MA. We have rural mail delivery in my neighborhood and after years of not receiving the mail correctly I got a post office box.

I decided that this may be the only (legal) proof that I have that I DID NOT COMPLY with the census.

The phone number for the census is quite useless. They need a number that is on the form to do anything about the fact that you did not get a form. Call back after April 12 if I still don't get a form.

Wow, just think how many people will not get counted. Apparently, all the people who have post office boxes.

7 comments:

Linda McCauley said...

Interesting that the Post Card was addressed to a street address but someone at the PO added the PO Box # and delivered it to that PO Box yet your Census form, no doubt addressed the same way, was undeliverable.

I have a similiar circumstance (small town, PO Box) but a Census worker actually delivered the form to my door and seemed to somehow know that we did not have mail delivery to the house. He even asked for my PO Box #.

CarmenMJ said...

We got our census form and filled it out - but guess what? I doesn't ask where you were born or where your parents were born. Nor does it ask where you lived 10 years ago. I got more information from the 1900 census than what I was asked to give.

MyAncestorsGenes said...

Wow, I can't believe they acted that way. No wonder people don't want to use the Postal system anymore. Sometimes I get upset when I hear that they are closing more Post Offices, maybe ending Sat delivery. Then I think about how much of a "hassle" it is to deliver our mail. Did they not know what being a postman or woman involved?

I think a lot more people than should be are going to be left out this year. They are either not going to bother filling the little bit of "nothing" information they are asking this census out or they won't get the forms. I don't trust the "census takers" are going to make sure they get to every house that didn't get the forms either.

Just my thoughts

Terry R.

Travis LeMaster said...

Frustrating! I live in a small town that does not have home delivery, so we must have a P.O. Box. To date, we have not received a 2010 census. Will we be counted? Who knows? Only if someone comes door to door, it would appear.

Midge Frazel said...

I suspect that someone will show up here which will be great. The last census I had to help the person as they came from many towns away and didn't know anything about the neighborhood. I had bought a street list and I gave it to them to use. They returned it. I was glad to help.

Cyndi Beane Henry said...

Our census form was like Carmen's. My descendant's won't find out much about me or my husband from it!

Midge, check with your local library. Ours has census forms available for those who do not receive them in the mail. [I also live in a very rural area. Ours was hand delivered, but we filled them out ourselves.]

Midge Frazel said...

I finally found out, via my local newspaper, that no one with a post office box would be counted unless they called a special number after 4/12 and requested a form by saying they "live" at their post office box. I called that Tuesday and received a form on Thursday.

Of course, I could have waited and the census person would have visted me. Not that I mind, but this way, I got to write on it and sneak in some mentions of places we were born, my husband's serive in Vietnam and our daughter's name.

I photocopied it for my vital records binder and popped it in the mail.