By Amanda Breitbach
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
Small post offices can have a special relationship with the rural
communities they serve.
In Brockway, MT population 140 Postmaster Joey Mothershead serves
customers in ways that go far beyond just delivering the mail. She takes her
responsibilities seriously and tries her best to set hours and design
displays that serve local residents. Located in the middle of town and
sharing a building with the Brockway Mercantile, the post office also serves
as a bus stop. Although she isn’t there when the kids get on the bus in the
mornings, Mothershead makes it a point to be open in the afternoon when
parents are picking students up so they can do their mailing at the same
time. When they are running late, parents know they can call and she will
make sure their kids get off the bus and give them a warm, dry place to
wait. After one busy day when she didn’t notice that a child who was
supposed to wait at the office did not get off the bus, Mothershead made a
special sign to put in the window so drivers would know when to let a
student off.
The lobby of the Brockway Post Office also serves as a place for area
ranchers to visit and for curious visitors to ask questions. Two sturdy
church pews that sit near the door and a soda machine whose profits benefit
the volunteer fire department are the largest furnishings. “I could see
there was a need. They need somewhere to interact,” Mothershead explained. A
glass-doored cabinet contains aerial photos of the town and its annual
rodeo, Brockway Dairy Days, donated by local photographer Del Gackle.
“Joey¹s also kind of our makeshift Chamber of Commerce. People stop here and
ask directions,” said Genny Priest, the carrier who currently runs the
contract route west of town.
While rural communities depend on their post offices for a variety of
services, the post offices also depend on community members to stay open.
“People don’t realize how much their home post office relies on them,” said
Ellie Chupp, postmaster in Bloomfield, which has an actual population of
just seven.
Candace Dempewolf, who has worked for the United States Postal Service for
over 17 years, agrees. Dempewolf has been the postmistress at the Lindsay
Post Office since 2004. As older residents pass away or relocate to bigger
towns and younger generations move away, the population has dwindled, she
said. Because post offices are rated through a system that stresses revenue,
it is difficult for the smaller offices to get high scores, she explained.
Post offices are rated based on the number of post office boxes rented by
area residents and the number of delivery sites along a route as well as
revenue, but the money they bring in weighs heavily. Stamp sales are
generally the largest source of income, but package postage and mailing
materials also contribute.
When a post office is reviewed every three years, it is rated for a certain
level. In Brockway, population numbers support a level 11 office, which
means that the budget provides for a postmaster who works 40 hours Monday
through Friday plus two hours on Saturday. In Bloomfield and Lindsay, the
offices are rated level 55, which supports just 36 hours Monday through
Saturday. According to Mothershead, the amount of work and paper-pushing is
almost exactly the same for both levels, but the smaller offices have to get
it done with less time.
The challenges of managing a small post office are different from those
faced in a larger facility in other ways, too. “When you have a small post
office, you do everything. You shovel the snow, you vacuum, you scrub…
besides your other duties,” Dempewolf pointed out. Still, it is a great job,
she said, that offers good benefits and has somewhat flexible requirements.
Chupp agrees. When she goes to trainings with postmasters from larger
communities, they often complain about their coworkers, but she has little
to complain about. If there are any negative aspects to her job, they are
far outweighed by the positive, she said. The Bloomfield office is actually
contained within the same structure as Chupp’s home. “I walk to work.
Through the kitchen and the bathroom and I’m home,” she said. She also
enjoys the local people. “They’re either friend friends or they’re almost
family,” she added.
“Our community is very fortunate to have our post office. You lose your
identify if you become a route,” Mothershead noted. Undoubtedly, rural
residents would agree. From the extra services rendered to perks like free
coffee and bus stop pickup, small post offices are often the hubs of local
activity. “We’re there to service our people, and I think that’s one of the
biggest things,” she concluded.
