My Day: Robert E. Price Post Office
By Dr. J. Ester Davis
The Dr. Robert E. Price Post Office will be re-dedicated with enhanced signage, pomp and circumstance ceremony, on Sunday, December 3, 2017, after services at New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Dr. T. L. Brown and Hamilton Park UMC, Dr. Sheron Patterson, Pastors. The rededication will be chaired by the Honorable Adam McGough, Dallas City Council, District 10 and the Honorable Thomas Jefferson, a long time civic leader and member of “community royalty” in Texas.
A name on a post office is of significant importance not only to the community but to the entire country. The constitution grants Congress many important powers, i.e., make laws, declare war, coin money, establish rule of immigration, courts and impeachment. Post offices in the United States of America are constitutionally mandated, which gives them authority over naming of our United States Post Offices (USPS). So, our Members of Congress, both past and present, Republican and Democrats are part of this distinct honor for the life, light and legacy of Dr. Price.
Dallas is honored and especially graced with two post offices named after renowned African American Pastors, Dr. CAW Clarke Post Office and the Dr. Robert Price Post Office. I was most interested in the number of post offices named after African Americans across the United States. There are quite a few.
The Nat King Cole Post Office in Los Angeles, Martin Luther King Jr., Post Offices, the Larry Doby Post Office, a Hall of Fame Outfielder. But my utter surprise was the Jordan W. Chambers Post Office in St. Louis. Mr. Chambers was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1944 and 1952. Mr. Chambers owned the Peoples Undertaking Company in St. Louis. History is addictive and it has no end. Once you get started with a tidbit of curiosity, you are smitten. The Gwen B. Giles Post Office is named after the first African American woman to serve in the Missouri Senate. She was born in Georgia in 1932.
Dr. Robert E. Price, was a gentle giant, former Pastor of the New Mt. Zion Baptist Church for 42 years in historic Hamilton Park. (Look for the Dallas County Commissioners Proclamation online). The Robert E. Price Post Office is located at 8135 Forest Lane @Central Expressway in North Dallas. The Robert E. Price Post office is a cultural feature post office in Dallas County. Speaking with Dr. Price’s daughter, Pat Price, she mentioned her Dad’s twenty-five years (25) with a mortgage company, his inroads, influence and love for the Hamilton Park landscape, which he helped to create and sustain. Maxine Cash, a retired teacher, long time resident of the area, remembers Dr. Price walking the neighborhood visiting all the neighbors.
To all involved, thanks for the memories, the forever recorded history and the everlasting monument.
Ester Davis is a celebrated writer and signature television host/producer.
She can be reached at www.esterday.com or 214.376.9000
