In 1982, the community of Magnolia received word from the United Postal Service at Montgomery that their post office would be closed on October 1st of that year. The community was shocked. A petition, signed by over 300 people who used the Magnolia Post Office, was presented to the sectional center manager/postmaster in Montgomery, who had made the decision to close the post office. This petition asked the official to reconsider his decision to close the post office. The petition was disregarded. So, late on the afternoon on Friday, October 1, 1982, the U. S. Flag was lowered and the post office of Magnolia was closed. A black wreath was placed on the door of the post office by citizens of Magnolia as a token of their sorrow over its closing.
The Magnolia community realized that unless something could be done, their post office would be closed forever. So they decided to do something about it. They wrote hundreds of letters to postal officials and to congress. Friends of the community got involved and helped. The Democratic Reporter and other newspapers joined the cause.
After several weeks, a message came from the Postmaster General in Washington, stating that the Magnolia Post Office would be re-opened on December 27, 1982. Early on the morning of this day, people from miles around gathered at Magnolia to celebrate the re-opening of the post office. The black wreath that had been placed on the door when the post office closed was removed and was replaced by bows of red, white, and blue ribbons. Once again, the flag was raised. The honor of cutting the ribbon for the re-opening of the post office was bestowed upon Mrs. Mabel P. Mendenhall, who had served as the postmaster for more than 32 years and had retired on the closing date, October 1, 1982. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Magnolia, Alabama 36754 Post Office was back open for business.
This post office is located in Marengo County, AL in the community of Magnolia (United States Postal Service – Google Maps).
Source: Postmasters Gazette, April 1984 Issue, article by Hugh Mendenhall.
Date of photographs: April 8, 2016.