Post office closure 'is end of era'
GILLIAN Ferris has reluctantly bolted up the doors of Jerrettspass post office, closing the book on 109 years of her family's history.
The 52-year-old postmistress who has worked in the post office for the last 26 years admits its closure at the start of this month was “like a death”.
Mrs Ferris said the closure of the post office is “quite literally the end of an era for Jerrettspass”.
“There has been a post office in Jerrettspass since 1851,” she said.
“It was in the Porter family from 1900, which is my mother’s maiden name.
“My mum and my uncle ran the shop. Before them, in the 1920s, their parents had a draper’s shop and a public house.
“The pub closed in 1926 and the draper’s shop closed around the same time.”
Mrs Ferris said it will take her some time to get used to not opening the post office every morning – but she is determined not to give up her work altogether.
She said the post office had been the hub of the community.
“You get to know everyone coming in and there was always great craic,” she said.
“Customers would have walked into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee and brought one out for me.
“My sister-in-law had helped me out two mornings a week in the post office and shop.
“At the end, the shop part was not too busy but the post office was busy.
“There are two garages left in Jerrettspass now but no shop.
“I am still going to do post office work but I am just getting things sorted out here first before I do anything else.
“I have been offered two or three different posts in post offices, with people wanting time off for holidays.”
Mrs Ferris added it was “lovely working in a seat of family history”.
“It was lovely knowing I was working somewhere where my whole family had also worked,” she said.
“The post office closed on January 7 – it was a bad start to the New Year.
“It is like a death.”
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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