On the Hit List: North Central PA

For two weeks every summer, the town of Williamsport plays host to a the sports phenomenon that's known worldwide as the Little League World Series. The town made its money in lumber in the late 1800s, and today is otherwise unexpectedly small, a mere 30,000 residents.

This winter, the action will happen 30-50 miles north of Williamsport, where eight small Pennsylvania towns are preparing to have their post offices taken away from them as part of the Decimated "Expanded Access" Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI). And if you guessed that I'm about to show you all eight post offices in the area, then Yes!; you know me all too well, and I'm glad you read my blog. Thank you.

I reached all these post offices Saturday afternoon, which means they were all closed and I couldn't get any postmarks in person for my collection. But, that also means there weren't cars in front of the offices to obstruct one's view, either. So, things work out as they do.

So let's see what we've got:



One hopes you can appreciate the scale of the featured region. The post offices in the eastern half of the map are generally few and far between. There are a few other post offices not on RAOI and thus not shown: Blossburg; Mansfield; Covington; Liberty; and Canton. Additionally, Troy and Granville Summit are hidden behind the miniaturized map of PA. Still, those likely-to-be-closed offices outnumber those that will remain open over this 380-or-so-square-mile region of the state.

I approached Hillsgrove from the south. Boy, was that not fun after a classic Pennsylvania road washout. Multiple sections of the road were reduced to one lane due to parts of the road breaking off and making their way toward the river. One of the perks of Appalachia, which also demonstrates that USPS should tread carefully where it chooses to shutter offices, lest a town become isolated or its commute over to the next town become inordinately painful.

In fact, how far away is the next post office from Hillsgrove? Don't believe any numbers USPS shoves at you: It's 12 miles to Shunk. Oh, gee, Shunk's also likely going to get shuttered. But don't worry, Eagles Mere is a mere 17 miles away -- using SAFE roads, that is. It's a measly 12 if you try the mountain roads; the author aborted an attempt to drive over some similar passes about a minute into the climb.

So what's the Hillsgrove post office like? It's actually really fantastic: it's in the back of the old general store, behind the fishing rods and near the hunting camouflage outfit department. Here are some pictures!

Hillsgrove, PA post office:


The old mailbox out front:


The store owner gave me permission to take this photo in the back of the store:


Isn't this a place you would like to save?

Next up: Shunk, PA post office:


(It's another one with the classic old blue collection boxes. Here's another view, approaching the store from the east:)


The big news of the day at the Shunk General Store was that local law enforcement (the county Sheriff?) arrested the burglar who stole gas cans from a few locals' yards. Apparently the guy was caught on camera at one of the properties. Frankly I didn't even realize they had cameras out there.

Hunting is big out here, and Baumunk's General Store also has everything you'd need. Not sure about guns -- didn't ask.. but golly, they've got a post office!

Again, I was allowed to take photos. I'll just show you part of the old window:

Can you say "classy"? And "Boy, this place has been here a while! What a shame to not have this around anymore!"

Very friendly people there. I bought a couple of items from them.

If the Shunk Post Office closes, the next two post offices are Hillsgrove (oops) and Grover (... oops again): both at a distance of about 11-12 miles. Beyond that it's a 25-minute drive to either Canton (north of Grover) or Eagles Mere.

Grover, PA post office:
This was a photogenic, if minute, town -- some houses, some mill-y industry, some abandoned buildings. Classic later-in-the-century post office:


It's about four miles to the Canton post office; I'm rather sure this will be closed. Poor Grover.

Morris Run, PA post office:

Again, small town, four miles from larger Blossburg. At this, as well as at the rest of the post offices in the story, I didn't meet anybody who could tell me more about anything, so this is all I can present to you, dear Reader.

Mainesburg, PA post office:

Five miles from the larger Mansfield post office.

Arnot, PA post office:

Okay, this town is cute. It's tucked away within -- I'm guessing grandfathered into -- Pennsylvania's Tioga State Forest. Four miles from the Blossburg post office.

Roaring Branch, PA:

Nice name -- I'm guessing it has to do with the river behind it. Traditional architecture, a few establishments nearby. 4.3 miles to Ralston, 6.4 miles to Grover... oops, scratch those. 10 to Canton or 11 to Liberty.

Ralston, PA post office:
My experience at Ralston shows why it's dangerous to just take away a town's communication lifeline: If both Ralston and Roaring Branch is close, the closest post office is 15 miles south in Trout Run. Unfortunately, when I got there at 7 at night, traffic was backed up half a mile on this rural road. Just south of town a car accident had knocked over power lines, taking the whole route out of commission for a substantial stretch of time. Thus, that 15-mile trip toward Trout Run turned into a 33-mile, 53-minute trip, thanks to this blocked artery. If Trout Run's out of commission, Liberty is also a 16-mile drive.

In any case, this was a pretty post office:


Hope you all enjoyed this entry. Believe me, there's a ton more where this came from!
-- EK

P.S. If the distances sound large based on the map presented above, consider that these roads are rural and winding.

Neither rain, nor vast puddles consuming the town's main road...

Ah, yes, the two worst words in the postal tourist's English language: "Road closed." (Or perhaps some misinformed soul attempting to lecture, "[You can't take pictures of that!] That's federal!")

I spent Saturday and Sunday exploring rural Pennsylvania in a persistent drizzle. Apparently it had rained more heavily before; at two points in the main artery leading to Montandon, PA [across the river from Lewisburg, best known as the home of Bucknell University], the road had been flooded out. Meanwhile it's 11:20, and the post office closes at 11:30. The PO is still a half-mile away. What to do!?

Well, I realized that if I took a side road a few hundred yards, I could get past that pesky sign. So, I parked the car just before the lake flooding the town's primary artery several inches deep, and trekked out along the curb the quarter-mile to get to the post office. Just in time! Good ol' New Yorker instincts come to the rescue again.

Here's my trusty Camry waiting for me, in a telephoto taken in front of the PO.


Here's the photogenic Montandon, PA Post Office, #8 of my Saturday.


No, this post office is not on the RAOI study list, and will thus not be closed at the end of the year.

Speaking of Lewisburg, PA, their post office shares its grand old home with the courthouse. (Omg! That's federal!... Naw, it's actually just county.) I was informed by a local that the building was just sold to Bucknell, and the post office might be moved. I can't otherwise verify this information.

Here's the Lewisburg, PA post office: [Along the long side of the building; also, #9 of my Saturday]

Learning responsibility: Mary D, PA

If you live in a community affected by possible Post Office closure, you've either received or been able to pick up a Postal Service Customer Questionnaire at the PO in question. USPS obtains public commentary from all communities, and ideally, uses the feedback to determine whether or not to discontinue a post office.

On said forms (of which I have a copy from several post offices I've recently visited), customers can respond whether they use their local post office for just the purchase of stamps, the mailing of parcels, the pick-up of PO Box mail, and so forth. An interesting query is whether there's a school bus stop at or near the post office.

I was wondering why in the world such a question was on a postal questionnaire, but as I rolled into the town of Mary D, Pennsylvania and entered the post office at 3:20 on Friday afternoon, I discovered a possible reason why: when the kids got off their school bus, I witnessed several march in, some with their parents, go to their PO Box, and proudly march out with their mail, ready for delivery home. I didn't get pictures of this, but it was an absolutely adorable sight.

Mary D, PA post office:


It was odd to see a post office with hardly any recognizable signage [the other cues being the blue collection box, the parking lot, American flag, and the two minuscule Sonic Eagles on the windows], but this was one of what turned out to be several oddly-lacking-in-signage facilities in rural PA that I saw.

My above story is just an anecdote, of course, but it goes to demonstrate another aspect of the civic value of post offices. Once again, residents I saw on the street were convinced their post office would close. If they had to go to the next town, Tuscarora, for their mail -- even if it's just a mile away -- their kids would no longer have the opportunity to participate in an American tradition that's lasted more than 200 years.

Mary D lies southeast of I-81, and about 12 miles south of Hazleton, PA.

View Larger Map

The post office in the town of Brockton, PA, another mile down the road, was discontinued about a year ago. A resident directed me to the former site, in the side of someone's home just off the main street.

Incidentally, you'll never guess at which post office Brockton residents were told by USPS, a year ago, they could now get their postal services... that's right, Mary D!

Former site: Brockton, PA Post Office:


For the record, I'm still trying to figure out how Mary D got its name... I'm guessing it pertains to the first resident or the loved one of an initial resident, but I have no real idea. The question was posed on a question-answer website back in 2004, and nobody ever replied.

A Mark of Pride: Junedale, PA

My third-to-last stop in my relatively light 16-post office Monday was the post office in Junedale, PA -- one of the 203 post offices in Pennsylvania being "studied" for closure [read: its fate is most likely already sealed]. The town is just south of Hazleton, which itself is near the intersection of Interstates 80 and 81 in northeast PA. This was a meaningful visit for me; there was a local resident in the office who detailed to me the story of the beautiful landscaping in front of the post office. Let's take a closer look:

Junedale, PA post office


Three years ago this post office looked very different. A local Boy Scout earned his Eagle Award for providing community service. What did he do? He fixed up the front of the post office and made it beautiful.

First up: You see the trees and roses out front? This Eagle Scout planted them. The rock gardens? Also his work. If you look closely, you can see a bench right below the sign between the trees. Guess who built it! Yep, he did. He donated the new Junedale Post Office sign as well. Isn't it fantastic?

By my understanding, the final item was to extend the flag pole. Literally, he made it taller. Why? The Postmaster told me that it's because the flag used to drag on the roof of the post office. Now it waves without interference. (It wasn't windy when I arrived there, so we couldn't really see it in action; but we can see how it clears the roof, right?)

This is one anecdote that demonstrates the social importance of the post office to small communities such as Junedale across the country. Even though it's the only business in town, residents sure take pride in it. Outside the post office, when I was taking these photos, I told a resident "I hope you can keep this office open." Her response: "We do, too."

The post office suffers somewhat from a lack of parking; the main street in town isn't wide enough to maintain cars along the side of the street. (This New Yorker's solution: just leave the car wherever you please and leave the blinkers on. It worked out just fine.) The post office is on the town's main street, amongst rows of houses on either side. As with other mountain towns I'll note in later entries, it does make one somewhat appreciate the wonders of zoning, though I doubt the residents really mind being able to walk across the street to pick up their mail. (Or in a couple of cases, right next door.)



Rural communities across America are experiencing the indignity of being exposed to boilerplate 'public meetings' wherein they're basically informed that the decision has been made to close their post office. According to a resident I asked outside this post office, the public meeting felt canned and the residents felt the decision had already been made to close their office. This story was repeated to me in small towns all across Pennsylvania this weekend. Every single time I asked, I got back the exact same response.

[Note: Postal employees are actually not allowed to express views on these topics; therefore I don't solicit or publish such views from them. These views were expressed by concerned residents, not by our nation's fine Postmasters, clerks, or anyone else affiliated with USPS.]

Back inside the post office, I did ask the Postmaster how long she had worked at the office: 18 years. Doing a bit of research on Postmaster Finder, it would be 19 right when USPS is likely to close her office.

I did ask the Postmaster for a bit of history about the town. The town was formerly known as Coleraine; indeed, there is a Coleraine Welsh Congregational Church in town. Why does that sound an awful lot like 'coal'? Well, it's the middle of Pennsylvania.. need I say more? Even further back in time, the town was known as Leviston. The area was generally settled in the early 1800s as a coal mine.

Local legend has it that that car featured in the movie Titanic -- you know, the one Jack and Rose made steamy in -- was actually supposed to end up in Junedale: the local baron's new toy.

Junedale is an example of a post office wherein the Postmaster really cares to serve her community. Residents are known to use Junedale Post Office monthly planners, pens, and refrigerator magnets [all free of charge!]. All provide the office's phone number, and the magnet also contains the address and the office's working hours. They state "Thanks for being a loyal customer," and the residents love the office indeed. The Postmaster creates the items out-of-pocket.

Herein lies the irony: While the 2012 monthly planner has already been ordered, there might not be a Junedale post office as of the beginning of next year.

2,500 Post Offices

Okay. I've got a TON of interesting stories for everybody from this weekend's massive postal run. Unfortunately I also have a ton of coursework due the next two days, so I'll have to keep this short and sweet. I visited a grand 1,000 post offices back in March 2010; hit 1,500 in late November 2010; reached 2,000 on June 24, and as of yesterday [Sunday] I'm at 2,500. (By the end of today: 2,561.)

I don't plan these milestones; whatever happens as a matter of circumstance happens. This post office was my fourth of my Sunday 49-PO bash, and turned out to be the beautiful 1938 post office of Curwensville, Pennsylvania:



If only people still took so much pride in their work...

In Pennsylvania rich-in-coal country, this town grew rapidly at the start of the 20th century as a fire brick-making and mining town. Its current population lies at about 2,650.

I love the stonework on this building. It's a classic WPA Treasury Department-sponsored post office. This was a Sunday, so as with most Pennsylvania post offices, this was locked over the weekend. I'm curious to know whether there's any WPA artwork (a mural or sculpture) inside.

Sorry I can't show you all more now. I promise more soon!