Mazama Store and Post Office

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The first post office in Mazama opened on June 1, 1900. It was originally to be called the Goat Creek Post Office, but the Postal Service would not accept that name. Guy Waring, an influential figure in the community at the time, suggested the name Mazama, claiming it was the Greek word for mountain goat. It was not what he said it was, but the name was accepted and it stuck. Minnie McCain Tingley was the first postmaster in Mazama. She married Huey Tingley, with whom she had two children before Huey abandoned the family. Later, she married Jack Stewart, who was a prominent figure in the mining industry in the area. After seventeen years, Minnie sold the Post Office so she could take care of her mother. Angus McLeod took over from Tingley and combined the Post Office with his bar and boarding house. He ran the business for ten years. In 1920, Homer and Lucille Peters opened a store across the street from the location of the then current store. Later, they took over the Post Office from MCleod. In 1930, the Store and Post Office were purchased by someone referred to only as Mrs.Brawn, who owned it for five years, After that, the Store was sold to Wink and Gretch Byram, who for their nine years of ownership lived in a room behind the Store. They sold after business declined during WWII. The Stookey Brothers, the subsequent owners, sold the Store and Post Office a year later after having similarly little success.The next notable owners were Bill and Vi Pederson. They moved the building to where Merle Kirkley's North Cascades Cycle Werks is now located, and built a new Store and Post Office. In 1977, Mary and Steve Milka bought the Store and named it Mazama Trading Post. Several unremarkable owners succeeded the Milkas, until Jeff Sandine, who bought the Store and Post Office around 1990. He was the one to close the Post Office, which remains out of operation to this day. A few years later, Scott Rogers and Jen Gode, who were Sandine's employees, took over. They increased the seating capacity, installed a new espresso machine, and added a commercial kitchen and a patio, allowing the Store to grow into a community hub. The current owners, Missy and Rick LeDuc, purchased the Store in 2007. It now sells fresh coffee, pastries, soup, and a variety of other foods and gifts.