Jim Maraniss & Gigi Kaeser of West Chesterfield, MA write:

West Chesterfield Post Office

The West Chesterfield Post Office (zip code 01084), which was recently repainted at some expense, is now in danger of being closed. This office has 45 boxes, and it also serves 23 families on a delivery route. The service there is enough to bolster one’s faith in government although in fact it’s only a satellite, not truly a federal operation-maintained by the town and funded by the U.S.Postal Service at $9000 per year. The federal funding is no longer enough to keep the office open, thanks to a hike in the wage (minimum wage) now to be paid to the two women who keep the office open.

From the angle of a citizen of West Chesterfield, it’s not hard to reason the need, which is not a matter of mere convenience. The post office is the nearest thing we have to a community center, where neighbors meet each other, where practical information is exchanged (Who will brush-hog your field? Did Sam’s mother really have a mountain lion on her roof?).   It is, for some of the town’s citizens, and especially for people who are alone, who don’t drive, or are just coming home from work, the most tangible benefit of small-town life. It would be terrible to have it disappear, and a loss to future generations.

When we first moved to West Chesterfield, we found two hand-written signs taped to the post office door. Their messages tell what we don’t want to lose: “Turn off the lights.” and “Don’t lock this door.”

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