By Tom Kelly
Editor and Publisher

A bygone era of life and industry in the Piney Woods was memorialized at Urania, Louisiana, on April 16, when the U.S. Post Office there was named in honor of the late Murphy A. Tannehill, who served as Postmaster for 32 years beginning in 1940.

Urania, today a small village just west of U.S. Highway 165 between Tullos and Olla in LaSalle Parish, was home to the Urania Lumber Company, founded by the legendary Henry Hardtner, during the era of the first great timber boom in North Louisiana beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At a ceremony at the Post Office at 2150 East Hardtner Ave. in Urania, Fifth District Congressman Rodney Alexander, joined regional Post Office officials in naming the office The Murphy A. Tannehill Post Office Building. Mr. Tannehill served beginning in 1940, as the fourth Postmaster.

Postal officers conducting the dedication with Congressman Alexander included Daisy Comeaux, New Orleans; Betty Roshto, present Postmaster; and Trent Nelson, Manager of Post Office Operations for North Louisiana. Charles Tannehill, son of Murphy Tannehill, spoke about his recollections of growing up in Urania, and assisted Congressman Alexander in unveiling the memorial plaque in the Post Office lobby. Urania Mayor Terri Corley welcomed guests to the community.

According to Postal records, the Urania Post Office was originally established in what was Catahoula Parish on December 10, 1896 with Henry E. Hardtner as Postmaster. With the creation of LaSalle Parish in 1892, with a population of 100 residents, the Village of Urania was identified with the LaSalle Parish Book of Records and transferred in the U.S. Post Office Department to the newly created LaSalle Parish. Known as "Sawmill," the population grew with the sawmill industry. In 1903, the population was recorded as 400 residents in the Village of Urania and a total population of 800 in the outlying areas associated with the sawmill.

Henry Hardtner was appointed Postmaster December 30, 1896, followed by George M. Tannehill on October 10, 1914, Mrs. Dora Tannehill as acting Postmaster on April 19, 1940, and Murphy Tannehill on August 22, 1940.

Murphy Tannehill was born in Winnfield, Louisiana in 1907 to R.L. and Lula D. Long Tannehill, his second wife. R.L. had 18 children born of his two marriages, and served as Sheriff of Winn Parish for 12 years.

Murphy was husband of Evelyn Davidson Tanehill of Vienna in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. They were the parents of three children, Charlotte T. Westbrook of Tupelo, MS, Richard H. Tannehill of Baton Rouge, and Charles L. Tannehill of Ruston.

During Murphy Tannehill's years as Postmaster, the Postal facility was located in the Urania Lumber Company commissary until that building was destroyed two times by fire. At that time the present modern building was constructed.

In the years that Mr. Tannehill served, people usually felt that they could go into any town and find two honest and honorable men--the banker and the Postmaster. Tannehill served as both for one of his patrons, Mrs. John McKeithen. Mrs. McKeithen, a mere wisp of a lady, had lost her trust in banks after the 1929 Depression, so she asked Mr. Tannehill if he would keep her money for her, and he agreed. He took an envelope, had her sign across the flap, and told her whenever she wanted to "put some in, or take some out," just come and get her envelope. This continued until her death.

Tannehill served in the original board of directors of the Hardtner Memorial Hospital of Urania.

One of his most satisfying endeavors was publication of "The Rosinbelly," a mimeographed legal-sized sheet, that he wrote weekly from April 21, 1942 until August 21, 1945. It was essentially a World War II hometown newspaper for the men and women from in and around or with a connection to Urania. It sometimes had a cartoon, not always so nice, and would from time to time be devoted to the names and addresses of those serving in the military. This allowed them to contact each other, and sometimes to find that they were serving on the same base. It was typed each week by Ruth Proctor over in the Lumber Office. Q.T. Hardtner furnished the paper and the postage.

After the war, Tannehill put together and published a pictorial director of all the Rosinbellys that could be located.

Tannehill served as chairman of the fund raising efforts for the Boy Scouts of America, for which he was awarded the Silver Beaver medal, Scouting's top honor for service.

He was chairman of the LaSalle Parish Library Board of Control, the only parish in the state where a library was established before a tax was passed to support it. In all other parishes, a demonstration library was first established by the State library. He later served as chairman of the State Library Board.

Mr. and Mrs. Tannehill moved to Tupelo, Mississippi in 1982 to be near their daughter, Charlotte. He died there in 1993.

Postmasters serving since Mr. Tannehill, and the dates of their appointment, have been Rush D. Parker,June 30, 1972; Dennis W. Store, Office in Charge, March 30, 1974; Jodie K. Ganey, May 26, 1984; Carolyn V. Thornton, Officer in Charge, September 16, 1992; Wayne Stowe, November 13, 1993; Lula B. Midgett, April 2, 1994; Sherrie Davis, officer in charge, March 31, 1999; and Betty L. Roshto, July 3, 1999.

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