Moss From A Rolling Stone: The Autobiography of Otto Praeger - "Father of Air Mail"

Otto Praeger, born in Victoria, Texas in 1871 to German immigrant parents, never finished high school, completed only a few college courses, and yet went on to become an editor of a major San Antonio newspaper, and later the Washington, D.C. correspondent for several Texas newspapers.In 1914, he was appointed postmaster of the Washington, D.C. post office – one of the largest post offices in the United States. A year later, he was appointed Second Assistant Postmaster General, responsible for the movement of all U.S. mail carried by rail, as well as international mail.While serving as Second Assistant Postmaster General, Praeger created and developed the U.S. Air Mail Service, witnessing its inaugural flight in May 1918 in Potomac Park, Maryland, and later overseeing the first transcontinental air mail flight in 1920. The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum says that Praeger’s “…creative accounting and tireless lobbying funded it, his policies governed it, and his ruthless policy of expansion legitimized it in the eyes of the politicians watching over him.” His vision and leadership earned him the title “Father of Air Mail.”Later, Otto Praeger served as a special assistant to the Prince of Siam to develop Siam's Royal Mail organization including air services. Upon returning to the United States in the mid-1930s, he worked in a variety of roles, including vice president and trustee of the U.S. Shipping Board (Merchant Fleet Corporation), and Chief of the Historical Section of the Office of Defense Transportation. In this final role, he was credited with editing Civilian War Transport: A Record of the Control of Domestic Traffic Operations by the Office of Defense Transportation 1941–1946, published posthumously in 1948.In 1944, Praeger wrote, but never published, his autobiography, Moss from a Rolling Stone. Postal historian Martin H. Joyce has taken Praeger’s memoirs, edited and annotated them extensively, and added period illustrations to bring Praeger’s story to life. It is a compelling narrative for those interested in postal history and early 20th century U.S. government history alike. Read more