Nada Post Office

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, most towns have a post office. Nada has a history.

And that history, friend, is one long story of wherever the postmaster happened to hang his hat, or her hat, or his shingle, or his pump handle. Let me walk you through it. It all started in 1894, when William J.

Engbrock, Jr. was appointed the first postmaster of Nada. He set up shop right there in the general store owned by his father, William Engbrock, Sr., and things stayed nice and tidy like that until 1898. Then the town, as towns do, moved on.

Dr. Francis Daehne was appointed in 1898, and just like that, the post office relocated to his medical office and pharmacy. You want to pick up a letter and maybe have your constitution checked while you're at it, well, Nada had you covered.

Meanwhile, back at the general store, things would cycle around again. Joseph H. Labay, named postmaster in 1900, brought the office back to retail territory, and Joseph J.

Patter, also known as Potter, appointed in 1903, kept it there a while longer. Then 1911 rolls around. Adolf Hruzek becomes postmaster, and he doesn't just move the post office.

He moves it across the street, to his own general store. A man of conviction. Appointed in 1921, Antone Lichnovsky held things together for a good stretch, and in 1935 he relocated the office to his general store, the new one he'd built right along the newly constructed State Highway 71.

Progress had come to Nada, and Nada leaned into it. Lichnovsky's daughter was appointed in 1946, and she carried on from that same store, keeping it in the family. Then 1953 brought another move, this time to the site of the postmaster's new service station and garage.

That particular address stuck around for thirty years, which by Nada standards is practically permanence. And finally, in 1987, a new post office facility was built on this very spot, on land purchased from the Braden family. A building made just for the mail, with no general store attached, no pharmacy in the back, no gasoline out front.

Just the post office, standing on its own at last. Nada's mail had finally found a home.

What the marker says

The post office in Nada was established in 1894 when William J. Engbrock, Jr. was appointed the first postmaster. The post office was located in the general store owned by his father, William Engbrock, Sr., until 1898. Subsequent locations of the post office changed several times over the years, depending on the profession of the succeeding postmasters. Twice it was housed in the medical office and pharmacy of Dr. Francis Daehne, appointed in 1898, and Dr. John A. Halamicek, appointed in 1915. The post office returned to the general store during the terms of Joseph H. Labay, named in 1900, and Joseph J. Patter (Potter), appointed in 1903. Adolf Hruzek became postmaster in 1911 and moved the post office to his general store across the street. Appointed in 1921, Antone Lichnovsky moved the office in 1935 to his general store built near the newly constructed State Highway 71. His daughter, appointed in 1946, also served from his store. In 1953 the post office moved to the site of the postmaster's new service station and garage, where it remained for thirty years. In 1987 a new post office facility was built here on land purchased from the Braden family.