The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Delphos postal museum director retiring

Delphos Postal Museum information

After 20 years at the helm of the Museum of Postal History, Gary Levitt is stepping down as museum director.

Gary Levitt
Delphos Postal Museum Director Gary Levitt

Levitt first started the museum as a series of exhibits in the lower level of the Delphos Post Office. Veteran’s Day, November 11, 1995, was the grand opening of the museum.

“Delphos is so proud of its history,” said Levitt. “It only seemed fitting to showcase this grand structure and to create a home for our postal heritage.”

One of only three such postal history museums in the country and the only one operating as a non-profit organization, the museum has brought thousands of visitors from almost every state of the union and every continent except Antarctica.

In 2008, the museum was moved to its current location at 339 N. Main St., where it shares nearly 12,000 square feet of display area with the event center located on the second floor of the museum.

Levitt understands the value of travel and tourism to the local economy. This summer alone has brought several hundred people to enjoy Delphos while visiting on motorcoach tours. To bring the point home, much of the funding for the museum has come from motorcoach tours that Levitt has led around the United States, having just completed the first of two nine-day tours of New England. He already has plans in the works for a tour of Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis in October 2016. MPH Tours will continue to operate under Levitt’s guidance for years to come.

Upon becoming Delphos’ postmaster in 1993, Levitt pledged to work diligently for the betterment of the community. He is a past president of Delphos Rotary, the Delphos Area Chamber of Commerce, where he also served as Canal Days chairman, and the Delphos Club, where he is presently the secretary-treasurer.

He is a life member of the Optimist Club, serves on the board of the Van Wert Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, a co-chair of the Destination Delphos Marketing Group, a member the Delphos Kiwanis Club and serves on the steering committee of the Delphos Area Economic Development Growth Partnership.

The board accepted Levitt’s resignation with its gratitude for all his work in creating a world-class museum that will continue to have a very bright future. The board of directors then selected Robert Ebbeskotte to fill this important vacancy. Ebbeskotte is also extremely active in the Delphos community, where he serves as a trustee of the Delphos Canal Commission, the Delphos St. John’s Alumni Association, the St. John’s Hall of Fame, and the athletic boosters.

As a member of the steering committee of the Delphos Area Economic Development Partnership, Ebbeskotte continues to devote much of his time to the improvement of the Delphos community. He also chairs the Destination Delphos Marketing Group and has been vice president of the postal museum for several years.

Although his appointment is effective immediately, he and the current board will be installed at the annual dinner on February 8, 2016.

POSTED: 10/07/15 at 7:17 am. FILED UNDER: News