Local mail carrier retires

Rick Chilcote has many memories of his 35 years as mail carrier on Mount Gilead’s rural route 3 and three-and-a-half years with an Edison rural route.

One of his favorite stories happened one Christmas day when he had the duty of delivering the Express mail. He had a package for an elderly lady in the Cardington area. When he knocked on the door, she said she had been expecting him and invited him in for tea and cookies. When he said he had more mail to deliver, she took his arm and insisted he come in for cookies and tea. Chilcote said he stayed and visited with her for 30 minutes when he realized he would be the only person she saw on that Christmas day. He was her Christmas along with the package he brought from her nephew.

Chilcote watched three generations of families come and go as he went about delivering the mail. He said he knew at least 90% of the people since his home was on his route, which stretched from Mount Gilead to Chesterville.

“I was part of their life,” said Chilcote. “I saw times of joy and sadness. I only wish I would have kept a journal. I could have written a book.”

Chilcote has a vivid memory of the first day he considered working as a mailman. It was a warm day in April 1985, and he was on the porch swing when his mailman Larry Smith stopped by and said he needed a substitute carrier. Chilcote had always farmed with his father, Lowell, and his family, so he was hesitant in taking on the job.

His father encouraged him to consider it. He could still farm, and the part-time work would be a support for his family. After riding along with Smith, he decided to take the job and was hired by Postmaster Gene Beck. After attending a training session at the Columbus main post office on Twin Rivers Drive, he worked as a part time/substitute carrier for route 3 for 10 years. When Smith retired, he was the main carrier on route 3 for the next 25 years.

Chilcote spoke of many changes in the postal system since he began. He said the post office had wooden boxes for patrons when he started. Each box was labeled with only a first initial and last name of the family and route 3.

Now rural routes are evaluated by hand-held scanners for pieces of mail. The scanners have resulted in more hours for mail carriers and working more Saturdays. Chilcote said there were also pay cuts, which affected 65% of rural mail carriers across the United States.

Vince Brown and his family were on Chilcote’s route 3. He said the saying is true of Rick as a mailman who delivered the mail through “bad weather stories of ice and deep snow.” He changed from Brown’s route to Edison when heavy packages started to multiply. He remembers Rick saying he was switching to the Edison route because those people order less dog food and heavy packages by mail.

Chilcote said there used to be more mail, subscriptions of newspapers, magazines and catalogs. The last few years there was a big drop in mail and a big increase in package deliveries.

Another big change is having cell phones and GPS technology. The very first day he was delivering mail, his car broke down on state Route 61. He went to a farm house and used their phone to call his dad, then used his dad’s car to finish delivering the mail.

Now, everyone has a cell phone, while the GPS tracks the mail carrier’s driving and sends a warning if they are backing up too far. This requires them to view a safety video.

“Now we say, ‘I remember when we just delivered the mail,’” Chilcote said with a smile.

Considering the whole picture, Chilcote says he was blessed to have the work. “You learn to respect people and their privacy, and they return the respect. You know their politics, graduations, financial problems and divorce situations.”

He’s had some surprises – like the time when someone came to the door in negligee. She wasn’t expecting the mailman. He was only bit once by a dog when he was delivering a certified letter. The dog broke through the screen door, and Chilcote had 15 puncture wounds in his right hand. He added that he was fortunate to never to have an accident with his car.

In retirement, Chilcote continues to work on the family farm with his brother and works part time for the Edison Street Department.

His wife, Elizabeth, also has memories of Chilcote’s days as a mailman. She said for over 25 years, her husband would bring home the post office’s Santa letters at Christmas time. Before they met 20 years ago, he would answer them and see they would get mailed out to eager children who’d written them. She took over the letter writing after they were married.

“It speaks to the dedication Rick showed to his customers. He was always on the lookout for how he could provide excellent customer service,” Elizabeth Chilcote said.

Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel.