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ZIP ties

OH town, college host ‘43022 Day’ bash

Mayor Leeman Kessler addresses the audience gathered near the Gambier, OH, Post Office.

Their number was up — and Gambier, OH, couldn’t have been happier.

The rural village, home to Kenyon College, celebrated its “date matches ZIP” day on April 30 with games, activities, festive foods and a parade.

A ceremony on the steps of the Post Office — where town and gown have mixed for decades — included a proclamation making the day official from Mayor Leeman Kessler, as well as comments from local postal workers.

A poem was written and read for the occasion by Royal Rhodes, professor emeritus of religious studies at the college.

The denizens of 43022 do not take their Post Office for granted. It is an integral part of town and student life, according to David Hoyt, a writer and news director for the college’s Office of Communications.

“During first-year orientation, every Kenyon student is assigned a PO Box,” Hoyt said, adding that many students “come to know and love the dedicated employees.”

Kenyon alumni around the country joined the festivities in spirit, with 43022 gatherings held in at least 10 other cities, including Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

So beloved is it as an institution that the Gambier Post Office was named “Citizen of the Year” at the town’s Independence Day festival in 2020.

“In such a small village, the Post Office remains an important community hub,” Hoyt said.