KRYPTON, KY — The folks in Krypton are quite familiar with people questioning whether their town was named after Superman’s fictitious planet bearing the same name. They happen to have a superman of their own who for decades has provided them with herculean services.

Carrying on a family tradition, Delbert Eversole began his postal career at the Krypton Post Office in January 1962. To honor his dedication and service for a half a century, officials with the U.S. Postal Service will recognize Eversole at his office, 239 Kyrpton-Napfor Road, on Wednesday, February 8 at 11:00 a.m.

“It’s not often we celebrate an employee who has served the Postal Service for 50 years,” said Kentuckiana District Manager David Dillman, who will present Eversole with a service award on behalf of the Postmaster General. “And when you add in the postal careers of Delbert’s kin, there has been an Eversole here for nearly 100 years! That’s an amazing example of public service from one family.”

Eversole gave up a $40 a week job at a wholesale dry goods store in Hazard, KY to begin a career at the Postal Service, which at the time was called the United States Post Office Department. (It became the United States Postal Service in 1971 under the Postal Reorganization Act.)

According to Eversole, a lot has changed since he became Postmaster. “Stamps were 3-cents and people seemed to write more letters,” he said. “Of course, we didn’t have the Internet back then, but I do remember people sending V-mail (Victory Mail) and aerograms during the Second World War when my grandfather was Postmaster.”

However, one thing that hasn’t changed is the number of requests he gets for the Krypton postmark.

“I get postmark requests regularly from chemists and Superman fans,” he said. “They will include notes along with their envelopes and postcards stating they like odd names of post offices or are fans of the comic book superhero.”

Eversole isn’t exactly sure why the Post Office changed its name from Glenn to Krypton in 1918, but he has an idea. “The railroad had names for their stops,” he said. “We had a depot about 100 feet from the Post Office and the depot had krypton gas bulbs, so I think that may have had something to do with it.”

The Krypton Post Office (41754), located near the coal fields in southeast Perry County, serves 300 families and has 40 Post Office Box holders. “We’ve got a little store in the same building, so people refer to us as the village post office.”

Originally established as Glenn Post Office on March 3, 1907, the office was renamed Krypton on June 4, 1918. The office moved to its current location in the 1940s during World War II. His mother, Cassie Muncy, served as Postmaster from 1913 to 1915; his grandfather, Alexander H. Pennington, was Postmaster from 1919 to 1940; and his father, App Eversole, served from 1940 to 1962 when his son was hired as his replacement.

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