Springs celebrates Post Office Centennial

The original building is long gone, but the sense of the post office being the hub of a diverse community lives on 100 years later.

The community will celebrate the centennial of the Boyes Hot Springs post office with a series of events Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9. The open house includes an exhibit of historical photos, entertainment and refreshments.

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is scheduled to speak, along with Supervisor Valerie Brown.

Local artist Michael Acker designed a commemorative postmark and commemorative envelope that will be available at the post office on Friday, July 8, the actual day of the 100th anniversary. Read his story with historic photos.

Organized by a committee of the Springs Community Alliance (SAC), the event recognizes the importance of the post office in an area where many residences have no mail delivery.

“The immigrant population relies on the post office for communication with their families back home,” Acker said, “The postal workers are known and loved by everybody.”

The event also celebrates the history of the area and gives a look into possibilities for the future, Acker said. In addition to an exhibit of historical photographs, plans for the proposed new Boyes Plaza will also be on display.

Acker, a member of the SAC, developed the idea while researching the history of the area for a series of art pieces he was planning. He discovered the first post office was founded in July of 1911, and the committee embraced the centennial as community event.
The original post office was inside a store (owner A.D. Graham was named postmaster) near the train depot at Boyes Blvd. and Sonoma Highway. A fire erased all traces of that structure in 1923; a parking lot now occupies the site. The post office then moved to the Woodleaf Grocery Store, which is now the location of the Big Three Diner.

Acker features the distinctive Woodleaf signage in his unique postmark design. A commemorative envelope and hand-cancellation with the special postmark will be available Friday only.

On Saturday, the open house continues with postal-themed tunes from The Hot Flashes at 10 a.m. Remarks from Supervisor Valerie Brown are scheduled for 10:50 a.m., with Congressmember Woolsey to follow at 11 a.m.