Chain letters - a Denver craze: Panorama: Rocky Mountain PBS

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Chain letters - a Denver craze

posted Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 6:26pm

See more on: Colorado in the 1930s, 1930s Daily Life, Colorado, History

We've all received them, but did you know that money chain letters originated in Denver before 1930? After a lull of several years, the letters began appearing in Denver again in 1935. This normally harmless fad blossomed into a postman's nightmare. Recipients of the letters were asked to send a dime to the top name on a list of six. They were to remove the top name and then enter their name at the bottom. The letter promised that those who reached the top would receive 15,620 dimes.

In the first fifteen days of the chain's operation, mail volume soared by two million items. Authorities considered prosecuting the participants but realized it would be difficult to jail half the population of Denver, so they gave up on the idea. Instead they sold lots of stamps. By mid-June 1935, when the craze had subsided, postal workers had collected more than $20,000 in overtime.

Source:

Trials and Triumphs: a Colorado portrait of the Great Depression, with FSA photographs, Stephen J. Leonard

What's your point of view?

Bonnie
Thursday, October 15, 2009 › 10:13am
How very interesting!