Arthur Young
Arthur L. Young, Plano Community Forum member, was appointed the first African American Postmaster in Plano in 1981, TX. Dallas Sectional Center Manager, Leon Dudley administered the oath of office on February 25, 1981. Candidates were selected by a 3-member committee based on merit and recommended to the Sectional Center Manager for a final recommendation to the Postmaster General.
Young graduated from Lincoln High School in Dallas and entered the postal service in 1957 as a carrier at Fair Park Station, Dallas. In 1973 he was promoted to superintendent of delivery at South Oak Cliff Station and then manager in 1977.
He and his lovely wife, Helen, still reside in and serve the Plano community.
James Lawrence Thomas
James Thomas was known by the citizens of Plano as "Mr. Jim", an unselfish humanitarian. He provided food and shelter not only for his own family of 11 children, but also for the children of other families, both African American and white.
Mr. Thomas opened the first laundry service in the city, provided janitorial service for most of the downtown businesses and found time to be Plano's first African American fireman. He died in 1968 at the age of 78.
