Americans go to great lengths to defend the local mail outlet.

It's also important to check out why a post office is on the chopping block in the first place. Those under review this summer are mostly metropolitan branches or stations. But in the case of small post offices, federal law states that the reason can't be just that the office isn't bringing in enough revenue. If that's the only explanation given, then the Postal Service can't legally shut it down.

Often times, post offices face closure because their leases expire. That's the case in Deer Harbor, Wash. After failed attempts to find a new location for the post office, the community decided "in desperation" to buy its property just to keep it in business. If it can raise the $250,000 purchase price by the end of this month, the Postal Service has agreed to continue operations there.

The Postal Service seems willing to negotiate, and it's not really bothered by the protests. "It actually it makes us very proud to know that we are a valuable member of the community," says Welch. She says that the USPS appreciates the great lengths that some communities will go to just to ensure that their services can continue. What the Postal Service would appreciate even more? If those people would show their appreciation by taking the simple step of sending more mail. Oddly enough, that seems to be the unthinkable last resort.