Harrowsmith Post Office to close at the end of August

Jeff Green | Aug 16, 2012

When the contract with Kevin and Margaret Lee, who have run the Harrowsmith Post Office for 15 years, expires at the end of this month, the postal outlet located in the far corner of Ella’s Bakery will close.

Mail to the rural routes near Harrowsmith will be delivered as normal since mail was already being sorted at the Verona Post Office. However those people who have been receiving mail in post boxes at the Harrowsmith Post Office will be served by new super boxes, which will be located in Harrowsmith at an as yet undetermined location.

Small parcels will be delivered to the post boxes and larger parcels and mail requiring a signature will have to be picked up in Hartington at Leonard Fuels.

Ella Vanderburgt had been approached to take over the post office contract in her bakery, but the two sides could not come to terms.

According to Ella the contract would not have been profitable for her, and might have made it more difficult to run her existing business.

“When I added it all up I saw that it would probably cost me money to keep the post office open. Canada Post said they were no longer interested in entering into a contract with a third party to run the outlet in my store, the way it has been with Kevin and Margaret, so when they could not agree to terms with me they decided to close the post office and put up the boxes,” Ella said.