Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Save the Postal Service from Itself
Edit: 10/14/11 @ 8:43AM
Welcome, Washington Post readers! Below is a good introduction to my postal thoughts. You can return to the blog's main page and see my most recent P.O. adventures, complete with photos, and analysis, here.
You've probably heard about the Postal Service's Wish List: 3,600 post offices that it desires to shutter. That's 10% of ALL post offices in America. In decimating [literally, reducing by 1/10th] its nationwide network USPS might save $200 million a year -- which would shave its current annual deficit by 2.5% and save a whopping 0.3% of its operating budget.
The fact is the Postal Service will not save itself by making it less relevant to the communities that use and need it most. Rural post offices are the centers of their respective towns; post offices serve as meeting points and help maintain these communities' social fabrics. Without the post office, many of these towns will wither and lose their points on the map. Post offices contribute to the fabric of America and make the country richer. Let's save as many as we can!
-- Going Postal Author Evan K., New York City
A fantastic blog can be found here: Save the Post Office.
I am so glad that there are more people who like me who are attempting to document the post offices that are slated to close. I requested hand cancelations from all the post offices in the rural area that I am originally from. Some were closing, other aren't, but a cancelation can serve as proof that a town that no longer existed, did. I am donating them to my local libary, and may write a history on the postal service in my area. I thought about pictures, too! Keep up the good work! Melanie Raleigh, NC
ReplyDeleteI read about you in an article and came to visit your blog so I could personally thank you for documenting a piece of American history.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great tiny post office in a very rural area near Eatonville, WA that I have always wanted to stop, photograph and take a peek inside. You've inspired me to make a special trip to do just that on the next sunny day we get.
When you get ALL the post offices documented (I hope you will) it would make a fantastic coffee table type book. Be sure to keep the history you collect about each and add it with photo and postmark.
Keep up the good work! And it's a great idea for planning roadtrips!