Riddle, an Odenville native, shows off some of his favorite stamps, which include those featuring coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, classic comic strips and Civil War commemorative issues.

Paul Riddle doesn’t consider himself a philatelist.

“I’m not really a collector.  I just have a lot of stamps,” the Odenville resident said.  As the town’s former postmaster, he’s accumulated enough over the years to fill almost ten binders and albums.

Sitting in his sunroom, surrounded by framed scenic photographs he’s made during his travels across America, Riddle showed off his collection, recently returned to him after several weeks on display at the Odenville Public Library, while genteelly discussing his postal career and stint in the Army, changes to mail service over the years, and how he’s spending his retirement.

Mail call:  Riddle joined the USPS as Odenville’s postmaster in the mid-1960s.  “In those days you could go straight in to the job like that.  You also had to live in the service area at that time, so I’m the last local postmaster they’ll probably ever have here.”  He went to the post office after working briefly for an aircraft company subsequent to spending two years in the Army.

Military service:  After receiving nuclear weapons training in Texas, he was stationed in Korea, advancing to the rank of sergeant by the end of his tour.   “I wouldn’t take a million dollars for my two years in the Army, but it’d take a lot more than that to get me back in.”

Significant postal adjustments:  “The zip code hadn’t been in long when I came in, but probably the biggest change was the switch to 911 address systems, because that affected everybody.  People used to only have addresses like Route 1, Box 10, but all that changed.  GPS wouldn’t work on our old addresses.”

Email or snail-mail?  Riddle entertains some concerns about the future of traditional mail service.  “Most mail these days is junk mail.  Nobody writes letters any more.  When I started, you had to be able to read anybody’s handwriting, but you hardly ever see a hand-written envelope now.”

Hanging up the mailbag:  Riddle retired from the USPS in 1996.  “Retirement is the best thing I’ve ever found.”  He and his wife Brenda, a retired teacher and current member of the Odenville Council, returned last month from a four-week visit to several national parks in southern Utah.  “We take a four-to-six-week trip every spring.”  The Riddles are supporters of University of Alabama athletics, attending home football games and other sporting events.  

His stamp collection:  It began in 1971, when a first-class stamp cost eight cents.  “I think it was a nickel when I came in.”  The collection consists of individual stamps, numbered plate blocks and sheets, and promotional posters that accompanied new stamp releases.

Famous faces:  Riddle owns stamps depicting such political figures as Dwight Eisenhower, Robert F. Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, and Douglas McArthur; entertainers D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, W.C. Fields, and Jimmie Rodgers; authors Horatio Alger, Herman Melville, John Steinbeck, and Carl Sandburg, scientists Nicolaus Copernicus, Albert Einstein, and Joseph Priestly; and athletes Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente, Jim Thorpe, and Jackie Robinson.

Historical events:  The Treaty of Paris, the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Massachusetts, Captain James Cook’s arrival in Hawaii in 1778, the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Civilian Conservation Corps, the International Women’s Year (1975), and the 120th anniversary of the American Pharmaceutical Association are among those commemorated in his collection.

Miscellany:  Such diverse subjects as space exploration, Pueblo art, energy conservation, coral reefs, hot-air ballooning, architecture, the Olympics, Horace Moses’ establishment of Junior Achievement, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are also depicted, which shows, Riddle said, how much of America’s history and culture is reflected in its postage stamps.  “I don’t guess stamps have missed many subjects over the years.”