By Staff
LAUDERDALE COMMUNITY Mel Trawick is postmaster in the Lauderdale community. The Lauderdale post office moved to a new building between Highway 45 and Old Highway 45 in January. Photo by Carisa McCain / The Meridian Star
By Chris Allen Baker / staff writer
April 29, 2002
Mel Trawick remembers when a 1st class stamp cost 15 cents and when most postal work was completed by hand.
For most of the 23 years she has spent as postmaster of the Lauderdale community, Trawick and her staff have handled mail in a small building on the two-lane Old Highway 45.
In January, the post office moved into a new building across the street that is closer to the four-laned Highway 45 and twice the size of the now-vacant 980-square-foot office.
And now, Trawick and her staff complete most work by computer.
The post office is just one of the many recent changes Trawick and others have experienced in the northeast Lauderdale County community which marks one of the county's four corners.
More people are moving into the area, Trawick said. And when they visit the post office, they love to talk.
Trawick and her carriers once covered two small routes in the northeast corner of the county. Now they have three routes covering about 250 miles; they deliver to Daleville, Dalewood and Naval Air Station-Meridian and Porterville in Kemper County.
The biggest advantage for people, she said, is that the post office lobby is now open 24 hours a day. Trawick had to lock the old building after hours.
Geraldine Loyd, a post office customer, said she likes the convenience.
After Trawick finishes a day of helping customers, completing postal reports and making sure the mail is delivered, she heads home to her husband, Howard, 59.
The Trawicks enjoy line dancing, square dancing, hunting, fishing, traveling and spending time with their son and two daughters.
Trawick said she is ready for more change, including a jump in the price of 1st class postage in June from 34 cents to 37 cents and the addition of more residents to the Lauderdale community.