Hello, new visitors, especially those who are here because they saw the article about the Postal Service on TIME.com this morning. I hope you enjoy this photo journal, in which I seek to present some of the more unique aspects of, and stories behind, a critical -- yet increasingly under-respected -- American institution and facet of our country's social fabric.
Read some of the "favorites entries", at left, for some unique places and stories.
I do this all for fun. [Unfortunately] no one pays me for it. (Anyone know how one might get a grant for this?) I just enjoy seeing the country, learning about the history of various communities, and taking photographs in unique places. Waymarking, as it were, by visiting post offices and obtaining postmarks to document one's travels is an effective way of making sure that you don't miss any communities -- for the time being, anyway...
I recognize that this hobby is incredibly uncommon, but it's most certainly worthwhile. And I don't believe that those who want to save post offices are on the losing side of history just yet.
P.S. That Malone, WA sign was acquired on behalf of the nonprofit philatelic PMCC Museum in Ohio, its new home. (It's not my own personal trophy.) Site-specific signage can be donated to non-profit organizations for preservation purposes.
P.P.S. To be sure, in the article I don't mean to claim that EVERY post office is in jeopardy. But various bureaucratic threats, such as "lease disputes," in addition to USPS's "hit lists", mean that you can never be fully sure how long a given facility will be around -- at least in its present form.
I'm one of the people that found your blog through the Time magazine article. It's been very interesting reading about the various post offices around the country. The photos are great, too.
ReplyDeleteThey reminded me of how much I miss the post office in my hometown of Healdsburg, CA. It didn't close but instead was destroyed in a fire last year. It was nowhere near as nice-looking as some of the post offices in your photos but it was in the middle of the downtown district, within walking distance of many businesses and homes as well. So convenient to use and you would often run into people you knew and could stop and chat for a few minutes while you picked up your mail (it had the old-fashioned p.o. boxes with little glass windows). When it was destroyed by fire last year many people here felt like they lost something more than a post office. The city already had a postal annex on the outskirts of town and moved all services there but it wasn't the same as that downtown post office.
Even, what a fantastic site! I too found it via the Time article mention. I am very glad your passion is helping find and preserve, in some way, this important part of America. I've spent quite some time already looking through your site, and will be back often. Paul
ReplyDeleteI, as well, found your site through the TIME story. I appreciate your efforts to preserve the history of one of America's defining institutions. I, like many, long for the better time that never was, and grieve to see its passage.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very worthwhile hobby. Keep up the good work and most of all...enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a sign of the times. I noted an article in a Dutch newspaper that all postoffices in the Netherlands are now closed and all postoffice point of sales activities have been transferred to stores (http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4324/Nieuws/article/detail/2989886/2011/10/25/Laatste-postkantoor-deze-week-dicht.dhtml).
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