Bernard Connolly - Oakland

1960

Bernard Connolly, Bernadette Connolly, mayor Cliff Rishell

Bernard Joseph Connolly (August 11, 1931 – September 4, 2007) was a letter carrier for the US Postal Service. He had a moment of fame in 1960 when he decided to take a postman's holiday, and deliver letters in Europe during his vacation. It was dubbed "Journey to Understanding." After a successful tour of Europe, the next year he did a similar trip in Asia.

Connolly was born in Massachusetts in 1931, the oldest of 4 children of Annie and Colman Connolly. By the 1940 census, his family had moved from Boston to Oakland. He apparently went to work for the post office right after graduating from high school; the 1950 census lists him living with his mother and siblings, and a "postman" for the post office. In 1956, Bernard married Bernadette Angela Benasso (Connolly).

Connolly got permission to take and wear his official uniform, and asked people if they had letters to send to one of the 21 cities he was traveling to. The Tribune had special envelopes created and distributed at East Bay post offices. They also ran a series of articles about the upcoming trip to raise awareness of it.

1960

The 12 countries and 21 cities Connolly traveled to with his wife were:

Austria - Vienna, Innsbruck
Belgium - Brussels
Denmark - Copenhagen
France - Viodos, Paris
Germany - West Berlin, Ballersbach, Munich
Great Britain - London
Ireland - Dublin, Galway
Italy - Rome, Genoa
Netherlands - Amsterdam
Portugal - Lisbon, Fatima
Spain - Madrid, Seville
Switzerland - Zurich, Lausanne

The 4-month trip started in Lisbon, with more than 15,000 letters to deliver. They ended up visiting a number of other towns include Hinterzarten, Germany, where numerous photos were taken by Willy Pragher of Connolly and German letter carrier and gold medal Olympic skier Georg Thoma.

FromLandesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg (Baden-Württemberg State Archives at Freiburg)

The Connollys also visited Moggio, Italy, where Bernadette had relatives.

1961 Asia Trip

Encouraged by a letter carrier in Japan, Toyohiko Inatsugi, the next year Connolly made a similar trip to Asia. There was less fanfare and buildup about this trip, but some people donated 25 cents to fund a mile of the journey. This trip was filmed by a photographer with a sound camera.

Countries on this trip included: