Every once in a while, I come across something that was an important part of my day-to-day activities at one point in time but is now obsolete. When I recently saw an image of the “inter-department delivery” envelope, I smiled.
Most of you who are younger than 40 likely have no idea what this thing could possibly be used for. But for those of you who did rely on these delivery mechanisms, you recognize them immediately. The yellow color. The six holes punched in them. The many names and the lines drawn through them. The red string and paper button to tie it to. These handy envelopes were used over and over in many businesses that had separate departments or multiple offices.
During my days at Partnership Press, we had offices in multiple communities, and we had a courier who travelled between them a few times each day, mostly picking up and delivering a bunch of these inter-department envelopes. With a central accounting office, it was the main way that we sent and received our payables, receivables, time cards, and other items.
But we also used these envelopes to send copies of publications, encouraging notes and anything else that needed to get from one place to another. It sounds a bit like the Pony Express now, but these were the days when email was basic and Internet access was dial-up, meaning that sending any large attachments could take hours.
The inter-department delivery envelopes would get ragged after repeated use, and one of the challenges was to find space to write in the name of the person you wanted it to be delivered to. If we couldn’t find new envelopes — or were too cheap to buy them — we would simply tape a white sheet over top of the envelope with new lines.
Do you remember these inter-department delivery envelopes? Does your office still use them today? What other items can you think of that were so necessary at one point and so forgotten today? Shoot me a note and let me know. Just don’t send it in the yellow envelope.
Have a thoughtful Thursday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
