Olathe Post Office

A Colonial-style post office was constructed at a cost of $90,000, and dedicated at Old Settlers in 1939.

Mural

"The Mail Must Go Through"

1940

Oil on canvas - removed from post office and moved to Olathe City Library.

Artist

1873-1958

On September 11, 1896, Albert T. Reid sold his first political cartoon to the Topeka Mail and Breeze. A Cloud County native, Reid longed to pursue an artistic career. After this first cartoon, his work began to appear regularly in the Kansas City Journal, Kansas City Star, Chicago Record, and the New York Herald as well as several national magazines including the Saturday Evening Post.

At the beginning of his career in art, he spent three years on the Kansas City Star. From there he went to the New York Herald and then to the staff of "Judge," and became one of the contributors to McClure's Magazine. All westerners are especially acquainted with his regular contributions in the Kansas City journal and the Topeka Mail and Breeze. His cartoons have made him a power in politics. "In Varying Moods," a charming little volume, one of the poetical gems of the day, by William Hamilton Cline, is beautifully illustrated and decorated by Mr. Reid. His excellent drawings in "Cupid is King," by Roy Farrell Greene, have been highly praised by the best critics in the country. An admirable collection of his humorous drawings illustrates Tom McNeal's Fables.

Reid was a successful businessman, a staunch supporter of the American farmer, a composer, a painter of murals and a teacher of art. The art school which he started with George Stone in Topeka was the beginning of Washburn's Art Department.