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March 29, 2004Postal relocation causes stir on peninsula Record-Eagle/Lara Neel Judy Gienow leaves Old Mission’s post office, which is moving from where it’s been for more than 100 years. "I’ve been coming to this post office since I was 3 months old, I don’t want it to move," Gienow said. Store owner: 'The rumors are quite wrong'ByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Old Mission Peninsula's post office is moving from its century-old home this week over an apparent financial dispute. The post office branch at 18294 Old Mission will switch to 4007 Swaney - about a quarter-mile to the northeast in an American Legion Hall - on Tuesday. Mail may be picked up at the new site that day, but window service won't be available until Wednesday. The change of address has created a bit of a stir on the peninsula, with locals blaming a lease dispute for the U.S. Postal Service's decision to pick up stakes. The move - and local chatter - have created headaches for Jim Richards and his wife, Marcy Levine, who in 1998 purchased the general store and building that houses the post office. "The rumors are quite wrong. All they are doing is trying to hurt us," Richards said. "We have had threatening calls over this. People need someone to blame, and I guess we are the ones." But Levine said the couple wrote a letter to the post office in December to clear up a few issues on previous contracts, which may have prompted the post office to change its address. "We wanted to talk about a cost issue. All we wanted was to start a dialogue about it," she said. "We were not going to raise rent, but had some stuff we wanted to clear up for the future. "It was not a make-or-break issue and it was not clear to us that they wanted to go. It has been quite painful," Levine said. "We didn't want to ruin anything. We like the idea that it was there." Susan Pfeifer, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Postal Service's district office in Grand Rapids, said the Old Mission move is a trend for smaller offices in the current economy. "I have seen two or three in the last little bit that older landlords are retiring and don't want to lease, or where rent has been raised and we can't up our rent," she said. Mark Ladley, a peninsula resident for 16 years, said the new location wouldn't be inconvenient, but for historical reasons he's disappointed by the loss of the current post office. "I use it for business because it is easy. I don't have a problem driving the extra," Ladley said. Mark Stoltz, officer in charge of the Old Mission branch the past three months, said the move shouldn't be too traumatic for customers. "We are just moving down the street," he said. "It's no big deal. Sort of is, but it isn't. It is a smaller location, but it won't be a problem."
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