A handwritten letter recently arrived at the USPS Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City, but it didn’t need to be deciphered.
The center, also known as the REC, receives digital images of letters and packages with illegible addresses. The employees there do the detective work of determining where the mailpieces are supposed to go.
This letter, however, wasn’t illegible. It was from 13-year-old Henry Hirschman of Providence, RI, whose goal is to write a letter to someone in every state.
“I thought what better way to get Utah off the list than writing to a USPS facility,” he wrote, explaining he watched a YouTube video about the REC and thought it would be the ideal location to send his Utah letter.
“We process millions and millions of images of mailpieces every single day and rarely is the mail addressed to me, so I was flattered that I had somebody who not only had great handwriting but also had an interest in what we do here at the REC,” said Barbara Batin, the center’s recently retired manager, who read Henry’s letter.
“I was so impressed. I thought this is phenomenal that there is a 13-year-old in Rhode Island who loves to write to people,” she said.
In his letter, Henry asked questions about the REC, including: What is it like to work there? How are employees trained to recognize handwriting? How much mail passes through the facility on a daily basis?
“I generally don’t write to people I know personally,” Henry said. “I try to find someone or something interesting on the internet and then I try to find an address — which is harder than it used to be. There are not as many physical addresses listed on websites but rather email addresses.”
Henry said he handwrites his letters because typing them “would be similar to emailing them and would defeat the purpose.”
The eighth-grader began his letter writing quest by mailing correspondence to people in other countries. Then he got the idea to send a letter to someone in every state.
“I’m two-thirds of the way there,” he said.
Henry tries to write one letter each week, but it’s harder during the school year, when he must balance his studies with activities such as fencing and serving as editor of his school newspaper.
David Hirschman, Henry’s father, said he’s glad his son is “interested in the rest of the world and wants to create this relationship.”
Meanwhile, the REC’s Batin is crafting a reply to thank Henry for his interest.
“We look at handwriting all day long and I loved his questions. I am thrilled to answer because it’s rare for someone to have such an interest,” she said.
