Flick Fact: The amazing way to ‘travel’ from here back in 1913-1915? | Rail-item
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Question: Back in 1913, you could take a car out of Bloomington. You could take a train out of Bloomington. Because there was no airport, you couldn’t really fly out of Bloomington. But there was one other method of going from one place to another, especially if you were a child. Do you know what that was?
Answer: Incredible to think about today, but when the Parcel Post system began on Jan. 1, 1913, until the practice was ended two years later, you could drop your kids in the mail in Bloomington and, for the proper postage (15 cents) affixed to the child’s shirt or coat, plus $50 insurance (if you worried they might not make it), send them by parcel post to, say, their grandparents in Oklahoma City. In fact, the children’s book, “Mailing May,” is about that.
Photos: 2022 Cruisin’ Uptown Normal event
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A 1955 Crown Victoria with a glass roof, owned by Bernie Miller, 78, of Pontiac, is parked Saturday on North Street in uptown Normal for a car cruise-in event.
Brendan Denison
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Dave Kopsell, right, of Bloomington, gets a close look under the hood of a 1967 Dodge Charger owned by Dave Jones, left, who brought three of his Chargers out to a Saturday cruise-in in uptown Normal.
Brendan Denison
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Stephen Stewart, of Carlock, on Saturday in uptown Normal shines the rims of his dream car: a 1986 Buick Grand National.
Brendan Denison
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Shown is a 1971 Oldsmobile 442-W30, parked Saturday at a cruise-in event in uptown Normal. Owner Jake Bauman, of Goodfield, said he and his wife, Chris Bauman, drove it for their 1973 honeymoon before trading it off in 1977. The married couple reacquired the car last year after finding it on Facebook just 20 miles from their home.
Brendan Denison
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A 1947 Ford Deluxe, owned by Cecil Jones, of Bloomington, is parked on North Street in uptown Normal Saturday as part of a cruise-in organized by the Mid-State Cruisers.
Brendan Denison
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Three of Dave Jones’ Dodge Chargers are parked in a row Saturday on East Beaufort Street in uptown Normal.
Brendan Denison
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A silver 1967 Dodge Charger owned by Dave Jones, of Downs, has its engine on display at a Saturday cruise-in event in Normal.
Brendan Denison
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From left, Cindy and Don Kopack with the Mid State Cruisers are the organizers of Saturday’s Cruise-In at uptown Normal.
Brendan Denison
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Dave Jones, of Downs, flips through a photo book on Saturday in Normal showing a lifetime of memories made with a 1967 Dodge Charger he purchased at age 19.
Brendan Denison
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A wooden sign placed in a 1971 Oldsmobile at a Saturday car cruise-in event in uptown Normal commemorates a 1973 honeymoon ride taken by Jake and Chris Bauman, of Goodfield.
Brendan Denison
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Michael Asfaw, front center, shows his 3-year-old son Auggie, second from right, a horn on a classic car on Saturday at an uptown Normal cruise-in event.
Brendan Denison
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From left, Chris and Jake Bauman.
Brendan Denison
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