RUDOLPH, Ohio — Volunteers in the northwest Ohio village of Rudolph have come together to save the most famous postmark of all. Thousands of letters flood the village post office every December so they can be stamped with a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer postmark. But the tradition was in danger of ending when the post office staff was cut down to one and the work became too much to handle. That’s when volunteers in the community decided to take over the job. When word spread, pleadings from local politicians and townsfolk persuaded the U.S. Postal Service to allow volunteers to stamp the special Reindeer Station postmark on the 80,000 letters and cards that come in from across the country. Close to 75 people, including a few retired postal workers, have signed up to work daily shifts.

— The Associated Press