In Alabama town, snail mail comes by boat

Marty Roney | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Coastal Alabama town has the last water delivery mail route in nation U.S. Postal Mail has been delivered by water to the residents along Week’s Bay and the Magnolia and Fish rivers since 1915 in the small, coastal town of Magnolia Springs, Ala.

The route started in 1915

The boat route takes about four hours a day

The unique route draws attention to the town

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Ala. – Neither rain, nor snow, nor the occasional alligator keeps Mark Lipscomb from completing his U.S. Postal Service rounds.

But the the odd hurricane may delay delivery for a day or two.

Lipscomb has been delivering mail to people who live along Week's Bay and the Magnolia and Fish rivers here for nine years . His mode of transportation isn't the usual, white U.S. Postal Service vehicle. It's a 15-foot-long Alumacraft boat with a semi-V hull.

"It's a unique job. It's a very special job," Lipscomb says. "It has it's share of challenges."

Lipscomb works the only year-round water delivery mail route in the country, said Debbie Fetterly , spokeswoman in Alabama for the U.S Postal Service. The route started in 1915. While budget troubles have forced the closure of several post offices the last couple of years, there are no plans to close this route, which serves about 180 homes along its 31 mile length , Fetterly said.

It takes Lipscomb about two hours each day to sort the mail at the Magnolia Springs post office, located in Baldwin County just a few miles east of Mobile Bay. Boating the route usually takes about four hours a day. The craft rarely comes to a complete stop and residents sometimes leave their mailboxes open for speedy insertion.

"I see alligators all the time when it's warm. Snakes, bobcats, deer, a lot of hawks. Sometimes you see bald eagles," he said. "This part of Baldwin County is very populated, but once you get on the river, it's wilderness."

Bob Holk has lived along Magnolia River for 35 years. He and his wife, Lolly, have raised three children on the river. He serves as mayor pro-tem for Magnolia Springs.

"Getting your mail delivered by boat is a lot like getting it delivered the regular way," he said. "You get bills you don't want and you get junk mail you don't want. The difference is our mailboxes face the water, not the street."

There is a downside to water delivery, Holk said.

"Our mailbox is a little too low," he said. "I went out to get the mail recently and it was a little damp. We had an especially high tide that day. So if you don't mind damp mail occasionally, there are no real issues."

Holk serves on the board of directors for the Week's Bay Foundation, an educational organization that works in conjunction with the Week's Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Having the only water mail delivery route in the country works well with his advocacy efforts.

"The mail route gets a lot of publicity and attention," Holk said. "That's good because it also brings attention to the reserve and the river. One of the reasons Magnolia Springs was incorporated was to protect the river."

The trip along the route changes from civilization to pristine beauty quickly. There are long stretches where the quiet is pierced by the drone of the boat's engine and the slap of water against the hull.

"There can be 16 piers in a row, then you go around a curve in the river and it's like it was in the old days," Lipscomb said. "Then it's another mile or so of just wilderness and you come into a stretch and have four piers in that part of the river. The river changes all the time. It's not unusual for me to see things I've never seen before."

There are times when he has to hit terra firma. This time of year because of the holidays he always sees a spike in package deliveries.

"If there are a lot of packages, or one or two heavy boxes, I can leave a slip in the mailbox, and the customers come by the post office to pick them up," he said. "Most of the customers know that if it's a small package, I'll put it in the boat in their boathouse to keep it out of the weather. I delivered a guitar recently. I took it up to the house and put it out of the weather."

Folks along the route have their mailboxes in the backyard, usually attached to docks or piers.

"People on the water tend to be a little more laid back than people on the usual routes," he said. "I took over this job from my cousin, who had it for 15 years. I'm fifth generation in this community and know just about everybody. I was a customer on the route before I took this job."

Harry Phillips, 63, has been getting his mail through the water mail delivery system for the past six years. The retired businessman says the mail is "always on time."

"It's been excellent. I'll be out on the dock, and (Lipscomb) is very friendly. We live at the bridge, and tourists and people from out of town come to the house and ask us if we mind that they go down to our dock and take a picture of the mail box and (the mailman)," Phillips said.

Should the water mail delivery system be cut, Phillips said the community would quickly come to its rescue.

"If it did, you would see the community come together and pitch in for the salary to keep it going," Phillips said. "That's one thing we are very proud of."

Weather is the big concern, especially when thunderstorms blow up.

"I just go into somebody's boathouse and take shelter until the storm blows over," Lipscomb said. "My customers take very good care of me. If they are home, they ask me into their house to ride out any bad weather. When it's hot, they'll meet my on a pier and give me water or a cool drink. I've been invited to birthday parties several times.

"A couple of years ago, we had a hurricane. We couldn't deliver for a day or two. But most of the time the letters and packages go through."

Roney also reports for the The Montgomery Advertiser. Contributing: Olga Hajishengallis; Amber Hunt, The Cincinnati Enquirer