Pictured is Arthur L. Smith, postmaster of Bynum, NC c. 1948. At the time of his appointment in February of that year, Chatham County boasted to local newspapers that they had “the largest postmaster in North Carolina”—with the hearty Smith weighing in at 360 lbs. Martha Collins says the Post Office pictured here was part of the old Moore store.
Several folks who grew up in Bynum remember Mr. Smith running a little store called "Fat's Place" next to the Post Office. When Mr. Smith died in 1962, Jerry Partin's father purchased the store and called it "Sid's Place."
The 22 June 1961 Chatham Record carried a story of Mr. Smith's "unusual hobby" of raising crickets for fishermen. Smith reported that the crickets were fed ordinary chicken laying mash. He noted that the brooder at his store normally contained about 2,000 grown crickets (with more in a more modern brooder at his home), and reported having sold 20,000 crickets in the first six months of 1961.
Does anyone else have memories of Mr. Smith, Fat's Place, Sid's Place, or Mr. Smith's crickets? Please share!
If you are interested in other Chatham County Post Offices, this is a great site to check out:
www.ncpostalhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PostmarkCatalog_chatham_county-20200713.pdf
#ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #BynumNC #ArthurLSmith #PostOffice #FatsPlace #SidsPlace #crickets
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