Ship a Snowball? The Magnolia Mailbox Will Do It!
By Norma W. Goldstein
Much of the longevity and success of any business depends on a close connection to its community. The Magnolia Mailbox on West Wheeler Street has been a core part of the Magnolia community for over forty years. Having a conversation with the Mailbox owner Dan Penhollow is like chatting with a knowledgeable, friendly neighbor who also happens to be a wise businessman.
The Mailbox, which is independent from other Seattle-area Mailbox businesses, provides supplies, online services, unique gifts—such as greeting cards that can be planted as seeds, and the always popular Magnolia-themed merch—and more. Building relationships and providing top customer service are important to the Mailbox staff. Every day, Penhollow and his four employees help people with courtesy and friendliness.
Magnolia Mailbox owner Dan Penhollow showcases some of his Magnolia merchandise.
Photo by Norma W. Goldstein. 2025.
From mail to packages to community
“Over the years, we’ve made a lot of friends and have attended many weddings and funerals,“ Penhollow states. “Watching kids grow up is the best thing. We really feel that we are part of the community. People are happy to see us; we are happy to see them“ (1).
The Magnolia Mailbox has been open for four decades with several different owners, offering local mail and shipping services to the neighborhood to supplement the USPS. Penhollow recalls going to the Mailbox for baseball cards—like George Foster from the Cincinnati Reds and Ruppert Jones of the Mariners—when he was growing up nearby in Lawton Wood: “Then the Mailbox focused on trading cards, and yes, it also had mailboxes“ (2).
Penhollow’s love for this community stems from his younger years spent working at his father’s store, the Thriftway on 34th Avenue West. The grocery store, originally a Red Apple, had been in operation since 1937; it was sold to Metropolitan Market when Dan’s parents Jim and Lynne Penhollow retired in 2012 (3). “I learned grocery and customer service from working with my dad at Thriftway,“ Penhollow recalls. “It was hard being the owner’s son. I couldn't get a promotion, so at age 28 I went out and got my own store“ (4). After many years managing his own grocery store in the University District, he returned to Magnolia and bought the Mailbox in March 2002, becoming its fourth owner.
The Mailbox has added more services over the years—and Penhollow has added even more mailboxes—but shipping has always been an essential aspect of the Mailbox’s business. The Mailbox has a few taglines on its website, the first being “Pack it. Secure it. Ship it.“ The second, “If it fits through the door, we can ship it!,“ reminded Penhollow of a true but humorous shipping request. One winter’s day a few years ago, a patron made a request to ship a snowball to a friend in California. Taking extra packing care and using dry ice to help preserve the frozen snowball, Penhollow shipped it speedily to its destination. Some time later, the same customer returned and teasingly announced, “It didn't make it.“ Mailbox staff and the customer both burst out laughing. “But at least we tried,“ Penhollow says (5).
Penhollow also recalls addressing more urgent mail requests, including one that saved a patron’s client from death row. To protect the privacy of the patron and his client, Penhollow declined to give further detail.
Whether a snowball or a timely letter in the mail, personnel at the Mailbox take their own customer service very seriously. According to manager Amber Smith, “The best part of working in the Magnolia Mailbox store is the community“ (6).
Mailbox manager Amber Smith enjoys meeting and greeting customers, many of them longtime and repeat visitors.
Photo by Norma W. Goldstein. 2025.
Providing services and Magnolia pride
Penhollow’s friendliness and attachment to the Magnolia neighborhood have certainly rubbed off onto his employees. “We are all about community and helping everyone, no matter what,“ says University of Washington student Adriana Laufert, who has worked at the Mailbox for two years. She says that they get “all different kinds of customers, from young teens to parents and grandparents. Some customers have lived their whole lives here, and others have just moved here. The best parts are the relationships you create with the local customers, seeing them outside of the store and looking forward to seeing them come back“ (7). Penhollow grins at the statement; he met his wife at the Mailbox.
“We give people more options on shipping,“ adds Penhollow. “And there’s more accountability and better insurance. We pack fragile and unique items so they will arrive at their destinations safely“ (8). Well, maybe not a snowball.
Mailbox customers and staff conduct business surrounded by colorful merchandise and shipping materials.
Photo by Norma W. Goldstein. 2025.
All kinds of customers rent their own mailbox at the store, and a mailbox rental, Penhollow shares, “has a street address, not just a PO box number“ (9). The store also offers “will call“ mailboxes during business hours and faxing, scanning, and copying services—all important parts of the business. “We do a lot of printing for people without a printer of their own. They email us, and we make copies and mail them off as needed,“ says Penhollow (10). In addition, they even go to people’s homes to do notary services, just another example of doing whatever is needed to help their customers.
According to Penhollow, “We market to the neighborhood. We get repeat customers even if they move out of the neighborhood. We do our best. People come to us for customer service, the cornerstone of our business“ (11). The Mailbox even offers neighborhood-themed merchandise like postcards and Magnolia-emblazoned tote bags, T-shirts, hoodies, and more.
“You are the best!“ calls out a customer leaving the Mailbox.
So, when Magnolians want to send a package or rent a mailbox, they just might want to head to the Village and try the Magnolia Mailbox. They will get what they need and along the way might make a friend.
A Magnolia resident since 1993, Norma Walrath Goldstein and her family came from the East Coast to make Seattle their permanent home. A writer, poet, and editor, she has been an educator for over fifty years and currently trains college boards of trustees across the country.
Notes
1. Dan Penhollow. Interview with the author, 2025.
2. Dan Penhollow.
3. Melissa Allison. "Metropolitan Market Buys Magnolia Thriftway." The Seattle Times, 11 July 2012, https://www.seattletimes.com/business/metropolitan-market-buys-magnolia-thriftway/
4. Dan Penhollow.
5. Dan Penhollow.
6. Amber Smith. Interview with the author, 2025.
7. Adriana Laufert. Interview with the author, 2025.
8. Dan Penhollow.
9. Dan Penhollow.
10. Dan Penhollow.
11. Dan Penhollow.