Carseland post office reopens

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Carseland Post Office has reopened, thanks to the efforts of the local community.

There have been challenges surrounding the Carseland Post Office over the past few years. In September 2019, The Times reported that a search to fill its vacant postmaster position yielded no applicants, putting the future of the outlet in peril. Then, following an overnight break-in in late December 2019, the post office closed indefinitely.

Carseland’s post office is a group outlet, meaning its postmaster must fund the rent and utilities for the office. Finding a new postmaster that was willing to foot the bill proved difficult.

But in April, the Carseland and District Community Association and Agricultural Society voted to provide the necessary rent to reopen the post office. Canada Post has since hired a new postmaster to operate the post office, meaning the “intrusive” mail boxes in the parking lot of the Bow River Alliance Church parking lot across the street will soon be gone, explained Bev Ross, executive assistant with the organization.

As of Aug. 10, its doors are once again open, much to the approval of many community members.

“The community did this,” said Wheatland County Division 3 Councillor Donna Biggar. “They fought for it and achieved it, and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Keeping the post office was important because it is, in effect, the centre of Carseland, explained Glenn Olund, a nearby rural resident. 

“People always came here,” he said, outside the office. “Then they go to the parts store, the liquor store or the food market.”

For Olund, having the post office open again makes Carseland “feel like a town,” he said.

Having the post office closed was inconvenient, added resident Tanya Payne. 

“It was a lot of driving back and forth,” she said. “I work in Calgary, and sometimes I don’t get home until after 4 (p.m.), so I had parcels I couldn’t always pick up.”

The reopening of the post office will make life easier for Carseland’s residents, especially its seniors, said resident Alison Penn. 

“We have a lot of senior citizens that can’t drive or don’t like driving into Strathmore,” she said. “It’s a very nice relief.”

The reopening of the post office shows what can be accomplished with a shared mindset, said Biggar. “If a community can get together with a common goal, they can work for the benefit of their sustainability and well-being.”