LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Something special brewing in Jefferson

Dear Editor,

This is a special month for the community of Jefferson. It’s one that marks significant progress and promise​.​

Our post office hasn’t been open for business since the end of April 2013, so we’ve been a little more than a year without convenient postal services beyond the rural delivery from the carrier who comes from Demopolis.

One of our top goals in re-opening Jefferson Country Store was to give the USPS some reason to see value in our community again. I had read an article about one being opened in the state, and at that time, there were less than five in Alabama. We have shared that goal with our neighbors since the beginning, and everyone has been very supportive and shown a lot of interest in the endeavor all along. Since the opening in October 2013, we’ve had customers come in several times a week hoping to buy postage.

It’s become quite common for gas stations and other small businesses to sell postage stamps, but the VPO is our affiliation with the USPS that makes us an approved postal services provider. Beyond that, this affiliation gives us the opportunity to be recognized on a national level and to somewhat restore an identity that had begun to quickly fade a couple years ago. Our first town hall style meeting with the USPS was in November 2011, and that’s when we learned that our local post office would likely close with several others. In September 2012, the store closed, and the post office saw its last day of operation the following spring. From there, things were starting to look rather bleak around the community. The store and the adjacent post office no longer offered that social hub for the greater Jefferson community.

A year ago, another important part of our community was on the brink of dissolution. Our volunteer fire department’s participation was less than five, for the first time since its founding in 1986. Once very strong, the department had nearly diminished because of the lack of participation. In November, the community began taking steps to prepare for the department’s inspection to be held in April that would essentially determine its fate. The community has come together to grow our department to nearly 30 members, more than half of which have engaged in weekly exercises to be considered ‘trained’ by our inspection agency. This month, after hundreds of committed hours of training, prepping, and paperwork, we received the report from the spring inspection, revealing that we have improved our rating by two points on a 10-point scale, for an all-time high rating of 6/6X in Jefferson. A benefit of this improved rating is lower insurance premiums for everyone, but more importantly a peace of mind that comes from having the support of an entire community in times of need.

Most days, the store brings in anywhere from 70 to 120 customers from not only the neighborhood, but from across the region to enjoy the atmosphere that defines our community. And here we are with a sign on the front of our little store that once again connects us to the national organization that our community for nearly a century shared a partnership with. It’s such a reality check to know that people travel from far and wide to come sit in our old rocking chairs and enjoy the relaxed environment and friendly atmosphere that small communities may sometimes take for granted.

This is a community that is steeped in tradition. We have one of the last remaining Community Clubs, which meets monthly for a fellowship supper and hosts events throughout the year, like our annual barbecue, where we serve some 2,200 pounds of pit-cooked pork to a couple thousand of our closest friends. In addition, Jefferson is home to the first rural vacation bible school in the state, which has brought nearly 40 children and adults closer to Christ this week. Jefferson Community School hosted a spring fling this year that brought together nearly 30 young people for games, food, fun, and celebration. Here, generations of families have lived on the same soil for longer than most people can fathom.

Jefferson can maintain these traditions and the same spirit in our community, while recognizing the fact that there are basic needs that must be met, like daily mail services. I am grateful to the United States Postal Service and Postmaster Jones of Demopolis for her support in helping us restore postal services to the community, and we all look forward to continued progress for the Jefferson. I want my generation to

​ understand the value of living in a community like Jefferson, but the truth is that if we don’t meet those  basic needs, most young people will not remain as involved or invested in the community as the previous generations have been. This month has been filled with the types of milestones that our community has really needed.
Something’s stirring in Jefferson, Alabama, and it’s refreshing. What had begun to look like a community that once ​was ​now looks​ again​, to me, like a community that is and will be.

Sincerely,

Betsy Compton

Jefferson, Alabama