Special
delivery
Milton
postal carrier Wood
marks 30 years on the route
By
Don Ward
Editor
MILTON, Ky. (June 2005) Pete Wood says that after
30 years of carrying the mail, he still enjoys meeting the people on
his routes through Milton, Ky.
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Photo
by Don Ward
Pete
Wood (center), celebrates his 30 years of service as a mail carrier
with his son, John Sam Wood (right) and the post office staff,
which includes (from left) Lori Webster, mail carrier; Traci Perkinson,
Officer in Charge; Kathy Hendershot, carrier; Sandy Heinz, clerk;
Cinda Wood, Petes wife and a post office employee; and Ceclia
Oak, postmaster (in back at right).
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It is a job he accepted when his mother, Madalyn Wood,
who was then post master, offered him when he was still away at college
at Eastern Kentucky University. After a stint in the U.S. Army from
1968-71 and having completed three semesters of college, Wood jumped
at the chance to get his foot in the door with Uncle Sam. Only this
time, he would be serving in a less dangerous capacity that is,
if you discount the growling dogs, the snow banks in winter and the
pot holes on those back country roads.
Wood started working in November 1974 as the substitute mail carrier
for the late Elwood Center and the late Dudley Whitaker. Back then,
there were only two rural routes in Milton; now there are four.
The late Dodd Jones was another substitute at the time who filled in
on occasion. Soon, she was also substituting for Wood when he became
a full-time carrier in June 1980.
Other employees that Wood has worked with over the years included Judy
Ward, former clerk and later post master from 1984-1993, Glen Hudson,
Norman Wright and Marc Meierle.
The job has changed a lot over the years its become
a lot more complicated, with computers and all, said Wood, 56.
We are tied more closely to Louisville through computers and everything
now must be scanned and handled differently than in the old days.
Wood arrives at the post office at 7:30 a.m. each day and spends the
first three hours sorting mail, then four hours out on the road delivering.
I like getting out and seeing people, he said. There
are a lot of packages, so I have to go to the door a lot and talk to
people.
In such a small town, Wood says he knows just about all of them personally.
In fact, one day he started reminiscing about all the people on his
route who had died over the years. I got up to about 100 and stopped
counting; it was too depressing.
To celebrate Woods 30-year mark, Traci Perkinson, the office in
charge at the post office, organized a party on May 18, complete with
cake and punch, and presented him with a pocket watch as a gift.
Woods sister, Emily Wright and her husband, Gary, traveled from
Arizona to attend the brief ceremony.
Wood, the son of the late Rev. Harry Wood, joked that he has another
30 years in him, but he definitely will stick around for at least the
next eight, since thats when he will earn full retirement benefits.
I can hang on for another eight years, no problem, he said.
Maybe a few more.
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