INDIANAPOLIS, IN — When Jack and Lois Albright opened their store 58 years ago, Corunna, IN, was a bustling metropolis with a gas station, a mill and a clothing store counted among the several businesses in town. But as with much of rural America, when the train ceased stopping at Corunna, the people and most of the commerce went away.

But Albright’s One-Stop, 200 Bridge St., Corunna, IN 46730, stayed in business. On Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, the store becomes the 15th Village Post Office (VPO) to open in the Greater Indiana District and the 83rd VPO in the nation. The official opening is at 11 a.m. [Eastern Standard Time] with an open house following from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Albright’s continues to be a family-run business. Rosanne Stafford is the grand-daughter of Jack and Lois. Her mother, aunt, uncle, brother and cousins all work at the store. She said they decided to partner with the U.S. Postal Service as a convenience to their local, older customers, but also as a show of support for their community.

“We want to service the community. Many of our customers are from an older generation, and we wanted to make sure they could buy their stamps and pick up packaging even when the Post Office was closed,” Stafford said.

In addition to their local customers, the store draws customers from four neighboring counties, as well as those who cross the state lines from Michigan and Ohio. “We’re a Mom and Pop store,” Stafford explained. “Service is real important to us — we still carry your groceries out to your car. We sell fresh meat, we have our own butchers, and we have a deli with lunch items made fresh each day.”

 Albright’s One-Stop is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

The new postal center will be officially opened by Manager of Post Office Operations Gary Soultz and several USPS executives and local officials will be present at the event. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. and an open house follows from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Last year, the Postal Service introduced the VPO model as an alternate retail location for postal products and services, especially in rural communities.

VPOs are operated by local businesses contracting with the Postal Service, and offer a range of popular postal products and services including stamps and flat-rate packaging. 

The Greater Indiana District has opened more VPOs in rural communities than any other postal district in the country. Six VPO’s are slated to open in December.

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