Talk about snail mail. It's no joke in parts of rural Alaska.
Users of the Internet take for granted the delivery of outgoing e-mail messages to anywhere on the globe in a matter of minutes, and joke about "snail mail" when referring to the U.S. Postal Service.
In communities with fewer than five mail deliveries a week, it's no laughing matter, however.
Mail service in Southwest Alaska various from community to community, from daily to, yes, just once a week.
"Customers say the mail may take one to two weeks longer to get to Aleknagik from Anchorage because it goes through Dillingham, and then sits until it is flown to Aleknagik," said Gordon Hodgson, the postmaster at Aleknagik, population 229, which lies 16 miles northwest of Dillingham, and is, in fact, connected by a road.
"We used to get mail five days a week," Hodgson said. "We used to the mail service with two different air carriers, twice a day. Finally one carrier went out of business, and now they have decided the only way they can make it pay is to bring it in three times a week.
"The big problem is even though they are scheduled to come in three times a week, with the weather a lot of times, or mechanical problems, we will get it once or twice a week, or rarely not at all.
"It is kind of a challenge for people to deal with it, but everyone seems to deal with it," Hodgson said.
Some residents who work in Dillingham deal with it by having their mail delivered to Dillingham and picking it up there, but Hodgson said he's fine with the current situation.
"I can see both sides of the coin," he said. "I can understand the airline's problem and not wanting to lose money. I can understand them wanting to cut it back to three days a week."
Hodgson said about 1,000 pounds of mail are delivered on average each week by Grant Aviation, totaling maybe 50,000 pounds a year.
"It is down from what it used to be," he said. "Used to get 100,000 pounds a year. We have lost a lot of customers over the years, and more and more people are working in Dillingham, and have started to pick up their mail there, which makes it harder for carriers. The less they bring it up, the more people want to get it in town," which makes it even more difficult for people who live in Aleknagik and don't get to Dillingham often, he said.
The air strip at Aleknagik is only about 2,000 feet long, and it's a sight to see when these pilots come in, in bad weather and bad wind, Hodgson said. "It is amazing that they are as efficient as they are. Grant's pilots are probably as good as it gets. It's amazing to watch them," he said.
At Iguigig, population 64, on the south shore of the Kvichak River on the Alaska Peninsula, mail is delivered three times a week by PenAir, and locals are satisfied with this service for letters and half-satisfied with the way some of the packages arrive, said Alexanna Salmon, administrator of the Iguigig Village Council.
It can be very quick, except if the package goes to the wrong location, and then it can take three extra days, she said. The worst service is express mail, which often arrives "very abused and beat up," she said.
At Iliamna, mail arrived more quickly, via Everts Air or Ace Air Cargo. Everts delivers all but the first-class mail, which is picked up at the post office at Iliamna, said Nancy LaPorte of the Iliamna Air Taxi.
The air taxi then takes mail on to the communities of Port Alsworth, Pedro Bay, Kokanok, Pope Vannoy Landing and Nondalton. Iliamna Air Taxi also delivers the mail via floatplane or skies in winter, to Pope Vannoy Landing, population four, via float plane in warmer weather and skis on the aircraft in winter.
"Over the years we've run an extra flight on Christmas Eve," LaPorte said. "The last two years it seems like the package volume is lighter, the mail volumes are lighter," she said.
This story is posted with permission from Alaska Newspapers Inc., which publishes six weekly community newspapers, a statewide shopper, a statewide magazine and slate of special publications that supplement its products year-round.