Busiest mailing day of the year

GREEN BAY - Area post offices were jam packed with customers on Monday for the busiest mailing day of the year. Nationwide more than 960 million letters were processed on Monday, including hundreds of thousands of letters in area.

A steady stream of customers, with holiday packages and letters in tow, filed into Green Bay's Main Post Office on Packerland Drive.

"A night gown, coffee, a St. Bridget's cross," said Edith Townsend from Allouez, explaining the contents the holiday package she was mailing.

"I'm mailing my mother a letter for my friend in Australia," said Carla Carrigan of Green Bay as she waited in line.

The customers all had a mission in mind for their goods.

"So it gets there before Christmas!" said Raws Price of Gillett.

Monday was the busiest mailing day of the year for the U.S. Post Office.

The West Side main post office processes all of the mail for Northeast Wisconsin. Officials say on an average day 180,000 letters are pumped through the machines at the West Side post office. However, on Monday more than 650,000 letters were canceled.

"The Monday that precedes the full week of Christmas has always been the biggest day for us. When people are spending that whole weekend filling out Christmas cards," said Tim Lewis, the Green Bay Post Master.

Lewis says despite the slow the economy, he does not think customers are cutting back on spreading the holiday cheer.

"So far, we haven't seen that. I know that in my house, I'm still mailing my 100 Christmas cards a year. So, I think it's the time of the year to reach out to family and friends," said Lewis.

Meanwhile the U.S. Post Office is preparing for another active day on Wednesday--the busiest delivery day of the year.

Employees at the United States Post Office are not the only ones staying busy. FedEx says Monday was also their busiest day of the year. UPS expects this Thursday to be their busiest day.