DUTCHTOWN, Mo. (AP) - Residents of a tiny southeast Missouri town say they rely on their small post office and hope to keep it for years.
The post office in Dutchtown was one of about 3,700 that narrowly escaped closure last year. The Postal Service instead shortened hours at more than 13,000 offices, saving an estimated $500 million per year by September 2014.
Dutchtown postal clerk Doyle Parmer says the village's nearly 100 residents receive a free post office box because there are no delivery routes.
The post office is housed in a corner of an out-of-business convenience store and bait shop. But resident Dustin Schmidt says it is vital. Without it, he'd have to travel to another town to pick up his mail.
"It's needed, really. Everything goes on here," Schmidt said.
The new hours at the Dutchtown post office took effect last week - 10 a.m. to noon weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays. The hours are based on revenue and the number of retail transactions, said Richard Watkins, Postal Service spokesman in Kansas City.
Customers can still access post office boxes and the lobby when the retail window is closed.
Nearly two-fifths of Postal Service retail revenue comes from sources other than traditional post offices, such as grocery and convenience stores, pharmacies, bank ATMs and online services at usps.com, Watkins said. That is up from 35 percent just a year ago.
Tracey McElreath doesn't like Dutchtown's new hours. She said it is hard for people who work in the morning. Even if boxes are still available, the personal touch is lost.
"You can't talk to a box," she said.
At the Gordonville post office, less than five miles from Dutchtown, hours were reduced at the end of January to 4 hours on the weekdays and 1 hour and 45 minutes on Saturdays. Gordonville has about 400 residents.
Resident Earl Amelunke said the reduced hours are a bit of an inconvenience, but people will get used to it.
"I'm just proud that we still got it here," Amelunke said.