Emery • Washington politics are threatening the heart of this hardscrabble town stretched along the Muddy Creek, residents say, potentially bringing the same kind of disruptions as the time when Emery School was torn down in 1963 or last year’s closing of Consolidation Coal.

Although they are far from alone in their fears, this hamlet of 308 people is in danger of losing its post office, which has been a lifeline to the outside world since the 1870s, when the first contract was awarded to deliver mail to what was then known as the Old Muddy, 200 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.

Residents are resentful that their post office is among 3,653 local offices, branches and stations listed since this summer for possible closing — especially when considering that their sacrifice would bring less than a 0.2 percent savings to the financially troubled U.S. Postal Service, postal officials say. They point out that even as the federal government subsidizes oil companies and corporations, people living in rural Utah will be bearing the brunt of the cuts to the USPS.

Retired truck driver Cameron Brinkerhoof, 87, explains it this way:

"How about closing down a post office in Salt Lake City and requiring people there to drive 30 miles round trip to mail a package or to buy stamps," he said. "Politicians would save a lot more by cutting back on home mail deliveries in the big cities. But it won’t happen because there’s a lot more of them than there is of us."

Citing steadily declining mail volume as one reason for its steadily declining revenue, the Postal Service has designated Emery’s post office among 13 in Utah that could close (in addition to more than 250 processing centers nationally, including one in Provo). All except the office near Salt Lake International Airport are in isolated, rural areas, often great distances from supermarkets, department stores and other urban conveniences. Congress has placed a moratorium on closures until mid-May to determine new guidelines for the shutterings, but that hasn’t curbed the angst.

In Emery, with no café, school or market, the post office is one of the town’s few gathering places.

"It’s here that we learn who bagged an elk or whose cows are coming off the mountain, and we do like to chat about politics," said resident Doris Mangum , 76, who has lived in Emery for 70 of her years. "We only have one church, and because not everyone here is a Mormon, this is really the town’s only social center. The post office is our identity. It’s always been important to us."

The same can be said of Randy Johnson, the town’s postmaster for more than 40 years. He is known for having spare change in his pocket for customers lacking the correct amount for stamps or packages. He’ll also call when live chickens are delivered so the chicks can be picked up without delay.

Residents say that just about everyone knows his home telephone number for after-hour emergencies or to help those in a bind. Such as the time last Christmas Eve when a father telephoned to say he was running late, so could Johnson reopen the office the family could retrieve a skate board that had been delivered earlier in the day?

"It wasn’t a hardship," said Johnson of the request. "We’re pretty much like family here." He isn’t allowed to discuss closures.

In even more isolated areas, post offices have been so vital that the Utah town of Garrison,population 200, was named for its first postmaster. Residents in the town, once known for cattle rustlers who would slip across to the Nevada Territory to evade capture, now may have to travel more than 100 miles to Milford if their post office is closed. To make matters worse in many residents’ eyes, Garrison ranchers could drive to Baker Nev., which is only eight miles away — but that post office also is on the closure list.

A closure in Garrison would harm surrounding communities, such as residents in Eskdale who rely on the post office to deliver mail bags every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Residents fear that service would end if the Garrison facility is closed. They already drive 18 miles, one way, to Garrison if they need to use certified mail for government agencies and other services.

"If they remove the Garrison post office, and the facility in Baker, Nev., we’re not sure if we would be able to get any services at all," said Eskdale resident David Sturlin.

Residents in Hanksville, population 200, would have to drive more than 50 miles to Green River if their post office closed.

"With that kind of a distance, we don’t understand why we were ever put on a hit list," said Hanksville mayor Stan Alvey. "It makes absolutely no sense."