Life at the Post Office

When the Covington Post Office was located on Florida Street, in the second block north of Boston Street, it was a happening place. A&P Supermarket was right across the street, there were a lot of people coming and going there. I remember when the art students at Covington High would come paint holiday signs and pictures on the windows of the post office each year. 

The old downtown post office, before it was hit by the 1997 tornado

The Covington Post Office today

It was the center of community life in many ways, people would see each other every day at the same time, getting their mail, and sharing the latest news of their neighbors. Walker Percy would go there daily in his blue pick up truck to get his mail.

Here's a Tammany Talk column I wrote in 1972 about the daily experience of "going to the post office." Click on the image of the article to make it larger.