Yesterday we received our 32-page investigative report regarding the closing of the Oysterville post office. It was prepared by Stephannie (with two ‘n’s) Wood. It is unclear whether Ms. Wood was actually here, in Oysterville, although she has signed most pages of the document. Her title is ‘PO Discontinuance Coordinator.’
On page four of the report, Ms. Wood has listed alternate access points nearby and their mileage from our current post office: (1) Nahcotta CPO (Contract Store 3.5); (2) Ocean Park (Post Office 4.4) and (3) Bay Center (Post Office 6.7). There is even a map, although what it shows is peculiar. It looks as though Oysterville, Nahcotta and Ocean Park are all on Stackpole Road. Nemah is shown across Willapa Bay. Bay Center is missing.
Nevertheless, if we get to choose our alternative, I’m considering the Bay Center option. By road, according to Mapquest, it is 46.72 miles and takes 1 hour and 6 minutes. That’s if we go via Sandridge Road. If, however we go via U.S. 101 (is that through Naselle?) it is 47.60 miles and takes 1 hour and 16 minutes. But, the Post Office says it’s only 6.7 miles, which must be as the seagull flies, straight across the bay. I assume they’ll provide the boat? It might take as long as the road trip, but it would be so much more pleasant.
Ms. Wood’s study is flawed in a few other respects as well. On page five she has checked the ‘NO’ box to answer the question: Are there special historic events related to the community? Excuse me? We live in a National Historic District. That did not happen without specific historic events occurring here. How about, for one thing, our post office being the oldest in continuing existence under the same name in the state? Or that we were the County Seat for almost 40 years and had the first court house in the county? Or that we were School District #1 of Pacific County? Or that we had the first church in the county, the first newspaper… but I digress.
Ms. Wood signed the page that said: “Provide digital photos of the facility. Include photos of front, back, full property, and additional structures on the property.” The next five pages include eighteen photographs, five of which show the Oysterville Store from the east giving a glimpse of the post office at the far end of the building IF you know what you are looking at. There are no photographs of the post office from the front. There are none from the back. There are no photographs of the Smiths’ house on the same property.
There are, however, photographs of our house, the church , the schoolhouse, the sign where the Oysterville Courthouse used to be, and several other buildings within the National Historic District. I cannot imagine how anyone could look at those photos and not think that the community has “historic significance.” But then, I can’t imagine anyone looking at a map and suggesting Bay Center as an alternative post office for us.
Perhaps if they closed down this study and all the people responsible for it, they could afford to leave our little post office alone. And think of all the money they could save on that mail boat…
History repeats itself – perhaps there is a new Mr. Loomis out there who can get the mail boat contract from Bay Center and the clamshell railroad can finally make it up to Oysterville!