Rural post offices seek relevance cont...
customers would be forced to drive lengthy round trips to Leicester, Weaverville or Mars Hill for their postal needs. But more than stamps and pack-
aging products, having a post office can give a community a sense of identity and a link to its history. Alexander, for instance, was a
thriving community in the early 20th century. Much of the develop- ment and businesses have long de- parted Alexander, with a post office being one of the few aspects left that defines the area. For unincorporated areas, ques-
tions persist how, or if, they will re- main on maps if they lose their post office. A portion of the Big Ivy area is already on home delivery from Weaverville and has a Weaverville zip code. Having a post office and zip code gives an area recognition. Stuart said people in rural areas,
like Barnardsville, take pride in their post offices. A review of the 1959 community club scrapbook shows a mailbox improvement proj- ect, furthering the notion that the post office represented an important part of an area. Also, communication is still an is-
The Barnardsville Post Office in 1959. Photo courtesy of the Big Ivy Historical Society. Continued from page 6
Last January the U.S. Postal Ser-
vice filed an update with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) in- dicating that 162 offices remain un- der review for possible consolidation under the station and branch con- solidation initiative. To this date, no final decisions have been made regarding specific office consolida- tions. Te filing with the PRC updates
a review process begun in the sum- mer of 2009 that initially examined about 3,300 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas, focusing on facilities in relatively close prox- imity to one another where consoli- dations might be feasible without compromising customer access. Bill Conner, who served as post-
master from 1979 to 1992 at the Mountain Home branch, a rural office serving northern Henderson County, said because of consumers’ shift toward buying online and us-
ing other outlets for shipping pack- ages, he understands the motives of the Postal Service. “It’s a small segment of the popu-
lation that is being inconvenienced by a post office closing,” he said. “People like going to their local post offices and I can understand that. ... But it’s a matter of economics, re- ally.”
Ingrained in a community In Barnardsville, postal service
traces back to the 19th century. At that time, the United States mail for the Big Ivy area arrived at a station in Stocksville, near present-day Flat Creek. A deliverer would walk daily carrying a light load of letters to the area.
Te first post office in the old
Democrat community, located about a mile northwest of present- day Democrat, was kept by John A. Carter. It began in 1847. Job Barnard, a son of Joseph Swain
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Barnard and Polly Dillingham Bar- nard, grew up in Big Ivy. Along with his friend Frank Roberts, he opened and operated the area’s first general store. In the mid-1870s, the U.S. government established a post office in the community, and Barnard’s store was chosen to house it, leading to the naming of the postal district as “Barnardsville.” Dillingham’s first post office was
located about three miles southeast of Barnardsville, where it was di- rected by Clingman Dillingham. Later, it moved a mile south, near the Stoney Fork intersection, to the spot still known as “Dillingham.” Tere Manon Whitaker was the first postmaster of record, while at Rockview, the little community on North Fork, Joe Ray ran the post office until it closed around 1930. Te Dillingham office closed several years later. Losing post offices in Barnards- ville or Alexander would mean
sue in rural areas. Post office bulletin boards provide a place for messages to be exchanged, lost dogs notices to be posted and community gather- ings to be announced. Te National League of Postmas-
ters urged anyone concerned about the loss of their post office to contact their representatives in Washington, D.C. In 2009, the Oteen post office in
Asheville was removed from the U.S. Postal Service’s list of facilities under consideration for closure, thanks in part to the involvement of U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC). Te Oteen facility provides ser-
vices to the Charles George Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the local veterans living in the area. “Tis is great news for people
living in the nearby area who now won’t have to drive out of their way to reach a post office that offers the same services as Oteen,” Shuler said at the time in a release. “I under- stand that the Postal Service must cut costs, but there are better op- tions than just closing post offices.” Tere are approximately 32,000
post offices in operation across the country.
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KNOW WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR!
by Michael Creasman, CFP
Young adults often find they are unable to ob- tain credit cards without an adult cosigning, and
those without credit histories or well- paying jobs may find it impossible to rent an apartment or borrow money without a cosigner. Nearly all of us want to help our children in every way possible, but parents may want to look carefully at what they might be getting themselves into. Te Federal Trade Commission estimates that three-quarters of cosigners are asked to repay loans because the primary borrower has defaulted. With this in mind, prospective cosigners should look at the primary borrower through the eyes of a lender. No one should cosign a loan that he or she cannot af- ford to repay him- or herself.
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TAXES AIN’T BEANBAG
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January 13 - January 19, 2011 - THE TRIBUNE/LEADER 7
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