Sunday March 17, 3- 4 p.m., Olga Community Center
— from Clarissa Liening —
SLast year Olga residents learned that their beloved post office was in jeopardy of closing when the property that US Postal Service leases in “downtown” Olga was listed for sale. A time sensitive opportunity exists to save this historic and vital part of Orcas Island. A similar situation occurred a few years ago on the west side of the Island where the Deer Harbor post office was threatened. The community was successful in keeping their post office open by having the community purchase the post office building, ensuring that it would remain a community building. We hope to do the same with the Olga post office. A group of concerned citizens formed the SOPO (Save Our Post Office) committee with the mission to save the Olga post office.
Retaining all three US post offices on the island makes sense not only for east side residents, but the entire island by helping to reduce the traffic at the already busy Eastsound post office. It also serves the purpose of preserving this important and charming historical building by paying homage to and honoring our history of the time when mail was brought over via boat to Doe Bay and then moved to the distribution center in Olga, which has served the east side of the island since 1960 (as well as other outer islands).
An account is being established through the Orcas Island Community Foundation, where direct (tax deductible) donations to this project can be made.
Additional details on the effort will be presented at the first of a series of community meetings. The meetings will be held this Sunday March 17 from 3- 4 p.m. and a second is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20 from 6-7 p.m. at the Olga Community Club, in Olga. At these meetings, the SOPO Committee will report on the work that has already been done and will outline the work that still needs to be completed to make this a reality.
Interested community members from all parts of the island are encouraged to attend because community participation is vital to ensure this effort is successful. Additionally, there will be many opportunities for the community to be involved as the project progresses. Bring your talents, interest and ideas for saving this historical treasure and be part of another landmark project on Orcas! The immediate need has already been identified to for someone who is willing to establish and maintain a social media initiative, complete with the creation of a website.
There will be more updates on the project at frequent intervals. Anyone who is interested in being involved in this project in any capacity is asked to contact Clarissa Liening at (360)317-6179.
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I’m unclear on the deadline for responding to the possible closure, nor do I know the history of the building and service, but would like to offer the following suggestions.
First would be to put on a local history community event during May, History Lives Here month in the San Juans. Doing a history talk about the building and postal services in the building and on the island would be of interest to the public, and could be used to raise funds.If you are interested in participating in the county-side History Lives Here celebration, give me a call at 360.622.2037 or send email to sstrehlou@fridayharbor.org. I help coordinate the calendar and assist in promotion if wanted.
Secondly, the history of postal services on Orcas Island is one that should be documented if it hasn’t been captured already. I work with a county-wide group called the Writing Our History Project (WOHP). We are local history researchers, writers and enthusiasts from all of the islands who are capturing the yet untold stories of San Juan County. Our publishing partner is History Link, the online encyclopedia of WA State history. Our essays are published on http://www.historylink.org and are thereby available to a broad audience, free of charge, in perpetuity. the website could use more Orcas history. For more information about WOHP contact sstrehlou@fridayharbor.org and visit http://www.historylink.org to see what historylink is all about.