Will Mauck created the Tin Can Mailman with 400 books he borrowed from a friend, and a stack of fruit crates, which he nailed to the wall as extemporaneous bookshelves! The project began in 1972, after Will's volunteer years with the Peace Corps in Tonga.
The Origin of Our Species
Will Mauck created the Tin Can Mailman with 400 books he borrowed from a friend, and a stack of fruit crates, which he nailed to the wall as extemporaneous bookshelves! The project began in 1972, after Will's volunteer years with the Peace Corps in Tonga. Will was an eccentric oceanography graduate who refused to wear anything other than shorts and thongs, even in the winter. He named his bookstore after one of the Islands of Tonga, the remote island of Niua Fo'ou, or Tin Can Mail Island.
Tin Can Mail Island is named for its crazy postal system. Originally, there was no safe harbor where mail ships could dock, and so mail for the islanders was inserted into tin cans and thrown into the ocean. The strongest swimmers were elected to fetch the cans. The tradition conTIN- ued until sharks ate the last mail swimmer! You can read more about Tin Can Mail Island, including its new postal system, on our Links and Liaisons page.
Richard Sanborn and Calista Sullivan bought the Tin Can Mailman from Will in 1994. Previous librarians, Richard and Calista reincareerinated themselves as book brokers on the corporate second-hand hippy-hop arcata frontier. And Will Mauck surfed away to Hawaii on his flip- flops to open yet abother Tin Can store! Richard shaped the store that we have today with a historical landmark renovation grant from the city.
Four years later, Richard and Calista sold the Tin Can book- store to Wadeth Bory. "Wa" worked for Will the last year of his bookbidness, and continued as store manager with Richard. Ms. Bory is a native of Cambodia and grew up with her family in Orange County. She plans to continue the traditions of Will and Richard, with the exception that she is not limited to shorts and thongs!
