By Rebekah LaSala

In this economy, some post offices continue to thrive in spite of a reduction in hours or closure of other branches.

The issues of United States Postal Service hours being reduced and the threat of cutting Saturday services is an inevitable result of the scrambling of the Postal Service to save itself.

The fact that more people use Twitter, Facebook and e-mail as a means of connecting has also changed how people communicate.

Mail went from 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 160 billion in 2012, according to postal service spokesperson Ernie Swanson.

The Seahurst Post Office, an 80 years plus historic beacon in Burien and a former candy store, is located at 2116 S.W. 152nd St.

It serves a unique set of residents in Burien and more specifically, the Seahurst and Three Tree Point neighborhoods. Many of these residents come every day to get their mail from boxes at the Seahurst Post Office.

This small post office continues to be an urban anomaly in the world of post offices, with a quaint tea shop and substantially impressive herbal dispensary, Cascadian Herb n’ Tea, next door .

Customers can not only get a free cup of tea but also possibly some of that old small town feeling as residents bring their children, grandchildren, and dogs in to talk to Linda Burton, the postmaster for about 10 years and a U.S. post office employee for about 20 years.

Burton states that this is precisely why her customers are so passionate about the post office. Burton functions as the primary postmaster of this location, unlike at many area post offices.

The fact that many residents choose to use the post office to get their mail, according to Burton, is because of their true affection for this little hole in the wall.

Burton says, “Their parents had mailboxes. Their children have mailboxes. They are passionate about it and they love the convenience.” Burton says any socializing with other neighbors while people are there happens “by accident.”

Burton says they are just passionate about having a post office that is convenient, close to home, and does not have the hassle, noise or lines that is the current norm at the Burien Post Office, about two miles away.

So why does the Seahurst Post Office continue to thrive when rural post offices are closing? There are few post offices that still run like Seahurst.

The residents are able to afford to rent boxes at the location. Swanson states that the wealth of the residents is not why it stays open, although he adds that it is cheaper for the postal service to not have to deliver mail directly when people have a post office box.

Swanson says it simply comes down to number crunching, need and foot traffic. Although Swanson did not have specific figures, he stated that this location “does quite well.”

Instead of reducing hours, Seahurst Post Office continues to stay open eight hours a day, minus a lunch hour.

In fact, some residents do not even get regular mail delivery and rely completely on Seahurst for their mail. Swanson says these people represent only a handful of residents in Three Tree Point. Swanson stated that the residents who do not get regular mail delivery were established a long time ago when the post office first started. However, Swanson said he was not able to trace how that was determined.

Swanson emphasized that most residents in the Three Tree Point neighborhood actually choose to have a postal office box even if they are getting regular mail delivery from the Burien post office or another post office.

Additionally, Burton states that that when it comes down to it, the neighborhood residents, many of whom are retirees, vocalize their feeling that they need the Seahurst Post Office for convenience and to preserve the role it plays through the generations.

Burton says her customers have the time to write letters to their local representatives to keep the post office there and that they follow through on that.

Burton also states that what sets this post office apart is the convenient hours, the relationships and rapport she builds with customers, and the fact that people love the smile they get when they come in. Burton says it is her responsibility to keep a high satisfaction rate and maintain that great relationship, especially with the older population.

One Seahurst customer, who wanted to be identified as only as “Kim” stated that there are never lines when she goes with her daughter.

Diane Tanner, a resident of Burien says, “I like the convenience, that there is never much of a wait, and the scalloped shingles on the top of the building.”