MCCORDSVILLE, Ind. — After a recent story highlighting McCordsville’s efforts to preserve its historic post office, one resident reached out to share her own remarkable connection to local postal history. She became the first Black Postmaster of the town in 1985.
Norma Florence, 84, has spent most of her life working in post offices across Central Indiana—from Camby to Broad Ripple. But in 1985, she made her mark in McCordsville in a historic way.
“When I die, I think I'm gonna be postmaster in the sky,” Florence said.
Her love for the postal service started early.
“I told my mother when we were little, I'm gonna be postmaster,” she recalled.
That dream came true when Florence was appointed the first Black postmaster of McCordsville, and one of the first Black women to hold the role in the state.
“I said, I'm your new postmaster, and they looked at each other like, wow,” she said, reflecting on her first day in the position.
Florence acknowledged she was breaking racial barriers at the time.
“I was Black and it was all white town, but we got along good… I can get along with a rock, I think I get along with anybody,” she said.
“I'm Norma Florence and I always went anywhere I wanted to go, and nobody stopped me from performing where I wanna go.”
Her service didn’t go unnoticed. The U.S. Postal Service recognized Florence for her work, and soon, residents were expressing their gratitude in the form of letters and notes.
“It makes me feel that I was doing a good job,” she said.
Her dedication left an impact that extended far beyond McCordsville.
During her tenure, McCordsville resident Florence May was serving in the U.S. Army in Saudi Arabia.
“It was the best thing that could happen when you're out in the desert is that you get that envelope with your name on it,” May said.
“It's a hard life living in that type of experience. The best thing in the world was to get the letters from home.”
May, now a Vernon Township Trustee, says those letters helped her get through tough times.
“Mrs. Florence had a huge part in bringing these letters to me, but also in delivering my letters from the desert back to my family,” she said.
The two women—connected by name and purpose—share a bond that goes beyond the mail system.
“She was really delivering my family to me and delivering me to my family… you really see how important the post office is,” May told WRTV.
For Florence, that mission was always about more than just a job.
“I thought everything has got to make it right no matter what,” she said.
And while she’s now retired, she’s proud of the legacy she left behind.
“I was lucky I went to a good place with good people. I got to know them, they got to know me. It was a good experience and something I’ll always remember. They still remember me.”
When asked if she believes she left her legacy in McCordsville, she answered simply:
“I did.”
