Going Postal
The old Post Office-
The old Post Office pictured is no longer in operation, replaced quite a while back with the more modern and typical building we normally see.
Prior to that, there was a much smaller building which claimed to be the smallest in the entire country. That one closed in December of 1956 and has since been moved to Pollardville, near Stockton.
Our P.O. is so much different than the more urban offices I've become used to.
It actually closes for lunch between noon and 1pm!
A parakeet named Rocky lives there almost full time, and occasionally can be seen flying about.
You will not get packages delivered to your door, ever. If a parcel doesn't fit inside your mailbox, you'll get the card advising you to come pick it up... but when you go, they know you by name!
We do have United Parcel Service and FedEx which delivers to one's door, but there's something special about walking into a rural facility where there's a bird in residence and time for a little chitchat while doing business.
posted by SierraBella at 8:15 AM
16 Comments:
chackler-
I absolutely love it!
Sometimes I wonder what my nearest neighbors think when we have guests. We have had BMWs and a Mercedes crawling up our common and steep gravel road, as well as a Harley and everything in between. "Let's give 'em something to talk about!"
Ours closes from 11:30 to 12:30 and it used to close at noon on Wednesdays, a southern tradition it took me years to get used to. Everything used to close at noon on Wednesday, hardware stores, post office, town hall, to get ready for Wednesday night church services.
romani heart-
You really are in the Bible Belt!
I'd bet the bigger town down the hill from us closes up by 8pm at the latest.
Growing up (in suburbia) I remember stores were all closed on Sundays and all restaurants were closed Mondays.
that is a cool old building... do you know when it was built?
cheesecakey-
I have a local histroy pamphlet here, but it's written rather badly. It looks like it might have been built around 1956, making it younger that me!
I love that! I was raised out in the country -- seriously, a dairy farm was just down the road -- and our little tiny town had only one tiny P.O. and count 'em: two delivery men. The grocery store owner was named Jerry and his birthday was the same as mine, so every time I went in with my mom he'd sneak me a cookie from the bakery even when our birthday was nowhere near. I love little town America!
eclectic-
I believe we have only one mail carrier, and they drive their own vehicle with a P.O. logo pasted (or magnetized) on it.
It sounds like you were raised in a lovely place. How can one argue with free cookies!
BTW- my last comment... meant to say "younger than me" not "younger that me!"
I love the title of your post. When I used to work in Corporate America and would get really, REALLY frustrated with rude stock brokers, that was my favorite line...."oooh one of these days! ONE of these days!! I'm gonna go POSTAL and it's not gonna be pretty!" Of course, I never went postal, I just quit my job instead and ran away to the insanity called "Being a Small Business Owner". Funny how that terminology stuck though, huh? I think the most recent incidents of disgruntaled employees shooting up people hasn't been related to the Postal Industry whatsoever. Go figure.
That is so neat!
kat-
It's definitely a little different!
This reminded me of the small local post office we went to everyday in my home town. Everyone in town had a P.O. Box so there were always gossips and chatters there.
There is a small post office in Oregon at Bridal Vail Falls where couples take their invitations to be post marked there. It's a little tiny wooden one, a lot like the one in your photo.
Ah, so you *ARE* demented like me! I got this "problem" from my Mom. Oh Jeez, if we're together and something happens that most people would be horrified to witness, we'll start laughing until we pee. Seriously. We have to separate from each other to regroup. And it can be totally stupid stuff too (like someone falling down) but I laugh like a hyena because my sense of humor is so whacked. But let it be known, I will laugh harder and louder at myself than any other unsuspecting victim....I'm "good" like that :-)
I was born in a very large city. At age 11 I moved to a much smaller town but not as small as some of you folks are describing.
Finally, internet's working and company's gone.
I like small towns too. But they can be a pain because simply EVERYONE not only knows your business, but they want to be involved in it, too.
I too have a demented sense of humor. It's nice to have the internet where all of us demented folk can get together and enjoy ourselves!
Being from the south myself, I totally can relate. We still have there small rural towns.... where the postmaster knows everyone by name and still does. I grew up on a farm with horses, and wish days I could go back there to that time and place.
Love your posting and it brought back pleasant happy memories
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hi greenie!
Yes! Most of our locals use the P.O. boxes too. The rural mailboxes tend to get bashed by teenagers looking for some fun.
The local store, and the P.O. are the places to run into one another and chat.
soozieq-
As long as you can laugh at yourself too, I'd guess you're forgiven!
When I first tried my shoe skis, I immediately fell on my butt, and it really hurt. Mr. SB had a look of horror... for just a few seconds, until he saw I'd rolled onto my back laughing. If you can't laugh at yourself, well you shouldn't be laughing at others, right?
squirl-
So you probably have a good sense of what we're talking about!
Aha, sounds like things going back to normal for you... great!
sylvana-
We've only been up here full-time for 3 years, so we're still newcomers. It might take a number of years before we're townfolk, which is fine with me.
It's funny that all us demented folks have found one another here in blogworld... safety in numbers I guess?
suzie-
You're welcome!
It's nice that lots of people can relate to the small town theme, and others show an interest in this. Two of my favorite blogs are rural-based observational style writings.
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