Only In Castle Dale

Too often you hear the phrase, "That could only happen in . . ." and usually the phrase ends with a negative criticism of the area you are describing. Such a criticism seems unfair and degrading. Usually these phrases are shared by those who might not understand or appreciate what a community is like. It may be because it is so foreign to them that anything different surely must be wrong or unacceptable. I hope that that isn't the case for us.

Ever since we have moved to Castle Dale we have felt welcome and loved by neighbors and the community. It is in this light that I would like to finish the above phrase. And here is the first entry that I hope will continue to grow as we continue to enjoy living in such a wonderful place. Perhaps this may spark what you love and appreciate about where and who you live among.

Only in Castle Dale does the Postmaster cry. Living in Castle Dale has been a unique experience for us. We don't have the convienience of having mailboxes and having mail delivered to our house but we go down to the Post Office and get our mail out of a post office box. I always wondered what the P.O. Box meant and now I know. When we first moved to Castle Dale I went and approached the Postmaster and asked him what I needed to do to get a post office box. He kindly told me that I could get one for a few hundred dollars for the keys. Not knowing the postmaster or even how much a box cost I got out my credit card and proceeded to give it to him. It was then that he revealed that he was joking. It was from this moment that I realized that this postmaster was something special. Being from Emery County, this postmaster also was an aucioneer so it took me some time to understand what he was saying. I also came to find out that he knew just about everybody in town by name and could carry on a friendly conversation with him. We came to find out that he was also in our ward. He was one to play jokes on you and to always have a smile. I looked forward to going to get my mail because I knew that sometimes he would be behind my box waiting to scare me or just say hello. He would tell me stories of times he went and chased mountain lions while he carried on with his work. But the last time I went into the post office was different. Instead of a joke, I saw tears. Instead of smile, I saw heartache. What is it that can make a postmaster cry? Well, he is moving and leaving Castle Dale. To me it is incredible that someone can be so loving and so kind while working. Only in Castle Dale can somebody doing what this man does for a living, love people so much that it can bring him to tears.