Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

SIDNAW -- Ever driven through Sidnaw?  It's easy to miss because it doesn't have much...a mini mart, a church, and a post office.

"The post office is kind of the gathering place of everyone in the morning to come and get their mail, say hi, how are you, have a good day.  It's like a little family," says Faith Stenson, a Sidnaw resident.

Sidnaw is one of over 3,600 U.S. post offices that will be studied over the next several months for possible closure.  Customer traffic, revenue versus operating expenses, and space utilization will all be considered in the study.

Why the need for the study?  Well, officials say the days of brick and mortar mail operations are over, so they're exploring the concept of the "village post office."

"We want to be where they are--if they're at the pharmacy, if they're at the banks, they may be at the gas station to utilize postal services," says Sabrina Todd of the U.S. Postal Service.

This was startling news to be delivered to the 160 people with post office boxes in Sidnaw; they say that if they lose their post office, they'll lose part of their identity.

"If you lose your churches, you lose your post office, you might as well roll up the streets and move somewhere else because you don't exist," says Sidnaw resident Robert Thompson.

And Robert's right.  If their post office closes, Sidnaw will lose their zip code because they don't have a rural carrier operation.  Not to mention, they may have to travel much farther for service.  The two closest post offices to Sidnaw are Covington and Watton, both of which are also on the list, meaning that Sidnaw residents could have to travel as far as Trout Creek, which is 20 minutes away.

The postal service will spend at least four months evaluating each operation.  Until then, it's a wait-and-see attitude from the Sidnaw Post Office and the neighbors who depend on it.