University of Virginia Library

Rockland And Washington: Quaint Tranquility Vs. Automated Bustle

Sort And Deliver; IF It Gets There

ROCKLAND, Del. – Rockland
is hardly an example of
metropolitan America. Houses
cluster around the focal point
and only industry of the
village, an old 'Doeskin' tissue
factory. A river tumbles past
the factory, splitting the
village in two, as wooded hills
rise on either side.

'Quaint' best describes the
Rockland post office. If not
for the new sign or the flag
flying in front, the structure
would be little different from
the private residences
surrounding it. In fact, it
would be possible for someone
to drive by the Rockland post
office a hundred times without
knowing that it is in fact a post
office.

Most people have images of
what a typical post office looks
like. There will be window mail
boxes and a bulletin board
with messages from the

Postmaster General alongside
FBI "wanted" posters. A teller
will be transacting business
behind a window, while a
larger office will feature a
whole row of window
clerks.

The Rockland post office
has only a few window mail
boxes and a small bulletin
board with a couple of flyers
tacked on it. A tiny lobby is just
inside the door. In relation to
Rockland, our University
Station post office is large; the
Washington, D.C office is
unimaginable.

There are not many
employees in the Rockland
office-in fact, there are only
two. Paul T. Cowan, Officer in
Charge, does everything from
selling money orders to raising
the flag every morning.

Only 500-750 pieces of mail
are handled each day at
Rockland. It does not gush in
at all hours; it trickles in during
the one daily delivery made to
the office, and then only after a
roundabout journey.

Mail that eventually reaches
Rockland begins its trip from
Philadelphia, the regional
center for that part of the
country. It is then taken to
Wilmington, Delaware's largest
city, and only after being
sorted there is it finally sent to
Rockland.

The 1970 postal reforms
that so drastically altered
methods in large post offices
seem to have passed over this
little town. "The delegation of
authority has been more
localized," says Mr. Cowan.
"Now I'm supposed to make
decisions concerning how to
run the office."

Prior to the changes made
in the Postal Service, the proper
methods of performing
routine, day-to-day tasks were
outlined in postal regulations
originating at the top in
Washington. Many postmasters
encountered problems when
these regulations did not fit
particular situations.

Even localizing these types
of decisions has not had much
effect on Mr. Cowan's job. A
small locality such as Rockland
will not benefit from actions to
streamline the massive
every-day operations of a large
post office.

Mr. Cowan admits that mail
delivery is slow. "Mail
processing has gotten worse,"
he Bluntly says, making no
attempt to excuse the fact.

Inadequate Personnel

He looks with suspicion on
efforts made to tighten the
Postal Service's budget He says
the problem of poor mail
delivery may arise "when they
don't replace employees when
they retire" Mr Cowan's
feeling is that there may be
inadequate personnel do the
job properly

A small post office such as
the tranquil one in Rockland
shows few changes in mail
processing over the years.
Everything is done manually,
because there simply is not
enough volume to warrant
automation. The Rockland
post office depends on the
larger central offices for the
mail it receives. Thus, the
problems that affect everybody
are centered in the larger
offices.

Desperate Efforts

Nationally, desperate
efforts are made to modernize
and make more efficient the
process that gets the mail from
huge regional centers to small
localities. At Rockland, the job
for Mr. Cowan is the same as it
was before postal reforms: sort
and deliver the tiny amount of
mail that does get to Rockland.