The Brightwood, OR, Post Office will celebrate its centennial at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 6, with the formal installation of new postmaster who shares the same birthday. The public is invited to attend the event, which will take place at the original Brightwood Post Office (now Mountain Retreats), 63045 E. Brightwood Bridge Rd.
Aaron Campbell is the 13th postmaster of Brightwood, coming to the town from Marylhurst, where he served as acting postmaster. Prior to Marylhurst, he served as a clerk in Newberg for seven years.
“It’s pretty amazing when you think about it,” Campbell says of the coincidental birthdays. “I certainly feel a special bond to the community already and I look forward to being sworn in on my birthday. My goal is to continue the tradition and heritage of service our Post Office has provided this mountain community into the next century.”
At the May 6 event, a special postmark designed by local artist Sue Allen to honor Brightwood’s 100 years of postal history will be available. Descendents of prior postmasters will be on hand for the occasion, a community choir will perform, and refreshments will be served.
According to United States Postal Service records, the Post Office in current-day Brightwood was originally established as the Salmon Post Office in 1891. On May 6, 1910, the name was changed to Brightwood. The postmaster at the time was Winnie M. McIntyre, who served until 1911.
On May 31, 1914, service at the Brightwood office was suspended and postal services were provided from Cherryville. Eleven years later, service was reestablished in Brightwood and has continued uninterrupted since. The longest-serving Postmaster was Maudie Sladky, who held the post 27 years, from 1948 to 1975.
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