Hardware store saves post office, local zip code

When the U.S. Postal Service decided to close its office in Glenn, Mich. after losing its lease, residents of the town were also told they would also lose their zip code. Half of the community would be considered South Haven, and the other half north would have a Fennville mailing address, according to an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette. 

Enter Glenn residents Robert and Vicki Amberg, owners of Gerstner Hardware in Glenn. The Ambergs proposed moving the post office into the hardware store as an alternative. The U.S. Postal Service said yes.

P.O. boxes had to be installed, ramps had to be built, and other logistics worked out. But now the Glenn Village Post Office -- one of just five Village Post Offices in the country -- will allow local residents to keep the town and the zip code they’ve always had: Glenn, Mich., 49416.