My POP folder disappeared…

First of all, I never wanted my old saved emails to be moved, but they were put into the POP folder created by Hotmail or Outlook or whatever.  So, once I found them there I left them, assuming that they would remain there until needed in the future.  Now, the POP folder has disappeared and I have lost all of my saved emails.  How do I get them back, and who's stupid idea was the POP folder to begin with.  This is very irritating since I pay for my account annually.  I was given no notice prior to the original transfer to the POP folder, nor was I informed of it's imminent disappearance.