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News
What’s happening on social media
V
arious news stories and inter- Evans didn’t want all
esting anecdotes that celebrate of the attention, but he
letter carriers and the mail have thanked his co-workers
been flying around social media. We and supervisors.
plan to collect the best ones in this “You’re blessed to make
space. If you come across a story you’d friends,” he told Spec-
like us to consider featuring, send it to trum News 1. “I mean,
social@nalc.org. you have concern for the
people, that they receive
Carrier earns rare honor after the things that they want
2 million miles of safe driving to receive, and you take
it seriously when they Minnesota resident Mary Steinbicker carried out a pandemic
In his 45-year postal career, Louis- project to send postcards every day in 2020 to friends and
ville, KY Branch 14 member Rick Evans don’t.”
strangers alike to spread kindess and cheer through the mail.
has achieved a rare feat: traversing 2 Fellow Branch 14
million miles safely delivering mail to member Audrey Harrod to bring postcards in lieu of gifts—so
families and businesses without an has known Evans for all of her 16-year she came up with a New Year’s resolu-
USPS career. “We’re just lucky to have tion in January 2020: She’d send out
accident.
people like Rick here, and hopefully one each day the entire year to spread
In late May, work at his downtown
lots of us get to stick around that long, kindness and cheer through the mail.
Louisville post office stopped one
you know, and not have accidents,” She had an abundance of postcards
she told the news station. already, as her affinity for them is
Though carriers in the area get to well known. Being a librarian, she
choose their routes based on senior- was organized in her approach and
ity, Evans picked a ZIP code with some kept a list of every recipient to prevent
of the busiest streets and businesses multiple cards from being sent to the
in downtown with near-constant same person.
construction. Despite this, Evans has Steinbicker sent postcards to her
maintained an unblemished safety large family, members of her church
record. congregation and friends from the
He told the television station that library, but also to people she’d never
Rick Evans of Louisville, KY Branch 14 (front l) the same thing that’s kept him a model met, including musicians in the Min-
was recognized in May for his 2 million miles employee can make us better people: nesota Orchestra, a newspaper editor,
of safe driving. “If we can be in the moment and share and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as well
the eye contact, share the moment as other elected officials.
morning to celebrate his achievement. with the people, and make decisions She’d start her missive with: “Dear
“I’ve been in the post office 26 years. in the moment, we’ll all be safe. We’ll Recipient, You are No. 138 in my
This is the first one that I’ve been in- all have better relationships. Those are Postcard Project.” Then she’d include
volved in,” Louisville’s acting postmaster the things that count.” a message tailored to the person, along
Chris Carroll told Kentucky’s Spectrum with a disclaimer that she was not at
News 1 about the carrier’s award. Lifting spirits through postcards the postcard’s depicted location, due
Along with the carrier’s proud co- After her retirement as a children’s to the COVID-19 pandemic.
workers, many regional managers said librarian, a Minnesota woman wanted The woman especially wanted
they needed to make the trip to honor a new project to concentrate on. youngsters who grew up in the internet
Evans. They also had not seen a carrier Mary Steinbicker has loved post- age to experience mail as a source of
achieve such a long, spotless driving cards since her childhood travels— joy, and as something that’s much
record. even asking her own wedding guests more than bills and ads. “You should
July 2021 The Postal Record 23
News
Social media (continued)
bit in maintaining those was even given a cake that read “Best c
connections, so that people Mailman Ever.” m
wouldn’t feel so isolated. It “He was very moved, and it made us t
certainly made me not feel happy,” customer Jim Krally told the
so isolated.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. a
Steinbicker’s project “Oh man, they got me going,” Criss p
was so well received that it told the newspaper, adding that he w
lives on in 2021 in a more had recorded some of the signs on his p
occasional form, telling the phone as “a little remembrance” and is
USPS Link that she calls it keeping the pile of postcards. m
her “Intermittent Postcard The carrier had delivered on the s
Project.” route for about six or seven years of his T
“Thank all your let- career, but he joked that people on his
ter carriers,” she told the former routes still want him back. “I t
publication. “Tell them I have a tendency to say hi to everyone,” i
couldn’t have done it with- he told the Post-Gazette. n
out the Post Office.” Criss told the paper that in retire- a
ment, he plans to take care of his t
Bob Criss of Pittsburgh, PA Branch 84 received a retirement Pennsylvania carrier father-in-law, who’s moving in with m
party from his customers on his route in April. receives warm sendoff him and his wife, Kim; to tackle his
be excited when the mail comes,” from grateful customers honey-do list; and to take Kim to a h
Steinbicker told Minneapolis’s Star Patrons on the route of Pittsburgh, winery on the weekends. They raised A
Tribune. PA Branch 84 member Bob Criss de- two now-adult children, Tyler and Em-
On Jan. 1, 2020, the project officially cided to surprise him on his final day ily, who he said “were always support-
was kicked off when she sent the first of deliveries on April 29, even though it ive of my career and understood that I
postcard to a former co-worker’s 9-year- was a rainy one. had to work on Saturdays, as well as a
old son; she has helped him learn Unbeknownst to the carrier, a few few Christmas days.”
cursive through their communication. days earlier, the Gorman family had Criss doesn’t know why his patrons
Longtime friend Kay Christianson printed and distributed a flyer that gave him such a sweet sendoff, but he
was excited to receive Postcard No. read, in part: “Bob is an amazing guy, feels the same about them.
174 from Steinbicker. “When you get a who always has a smile, a friendly “Felt like family,” he told the news-
postcard in the mail, it’s the first thing wave and a kind word. He’s gotten to paper, adding to his patrons, “Thank
I look at because there’s some adven- know so many families and watched you very much for all you’ve done for
ture or story of some kind that’s greet- their children grow up. If you’ve never me.”
ing you,” Christianson told the Star had the pleasure of a conversation
Tribune. “Usually it’s someone who’s with him then take a moment to say
The Traveling Diary helps
traveling, but in this case it wasn’t, so hello before it’s too late.” connect women by mail
there was another story to be told.” Included with the note was an In April 2020, a New Jersey woman
Steinbicker hopes that even though orange balloon for each house to blow thought that keeping a diary during
a postcard is small, it can have a sig- up and attach to the mailbox, as well the COVID-19 pandemic might help her
nificant impact. “How do we maintain as a postcard to send Criss well wishes. sort through her feelings. Kyra Peralte
a relationship when we’re not togeth- As “Mailman Bob,” as the neighbor- wrote about the challenges of balanc- T
d
er? How do we maintain the sense of hood kids call him, pulled up that ing work, marriage and motherhood
t
community when you’re afraid to walk day, he gave pause as he saw all of his during a global crisis. c
up to somebody?” she told the news- smiling—and some crying—customers, Peralte was curious about how other t
paper. “I’d like to think I did a little as well as banners and balloons. He women in her situation were coping. She p
24 The Postal Record July 2021
craved connection, so soon after, she of people—115 and counting—have New York carrier retires with much
made the decision to drop her journal in signed up for a turn with a notebook. fanfare from her devoted patrons
the mail to share it with a stranger. Peralte found the first willing
Dozens of customers on Oneonta,
She had invited other women from participant on a Zoom conference for
NY Branch 97 member Mary Brower’s
around the globe to fill the remaining entrepreneurs, during which she men-
route celebrated her retirement on
pages of her composition notebook tioned the traveling diary. Following
April 30 with posters, banners, bal-
with their own stories of life during the that, a woman from North Carolina
loons, flowers and lots of well wishes.
pandemic. contacted Peralte and said she would
“She’s going to be missed in this
“I wanted an interaction that felt hu- like to share her tale next.
neighborhood,” customer Fred Gerowe
man, and it feels very human to read In May, Peralte posted an article she
told Oneonta’s The Daily Star. “Who-
someone else’s writing,” Peralte told wrote on Medium, an online publish- ever takes over this route is going to
The Washington Post. ing platform, titled “Why I’m col- have some big shoes to fill.”
She explained to the newspaper lecting stories from different women Brower had delivered mail on the
that she had dreamed up “The Travel- in a traveling diary” to recruit more route for seven years, walking at
ing Diary,” which would be a simple participants to contribute. least 10 miles a day. (Prior to going to
notebook that would travel by mail Word spread, and she created a Oneonta full time, Brower worked for
and collect handwritten stories with website, thetravelingdiarytour.com, 16 years as a carrier part time out of
the ultimate goal of creating a com- so women could sign up. Deposit, NY.)
munity. Each person has a three-day limit She was touched by her patrons’
A year later, seven notebooks and is allowed to fill the notebook reaction to her retirement.
have traveled from North America to with as many pages of writing or art “They’re all just the nicest people,”
Australia to Africa. A growing group as she wants, before mailing it to the Brower told The Daily Star. “I told
next person in the queue. them I’ll come by every week and I’ll
“Everyone approaches the blank actually have time to visit with them.”
pages in their own personal way,” Customer Jodie Gerowe loves the
Peralte told The Washington Post. fact that Brower remembered so much
Women from different cultures, about the people she delivered to. “Mary
races and lifestyles shared their knows the name of everyone on her
experiences during the ongoing route, their kids, their grandkids and
pandemic, capturing the moment their pets,” she told the newspaper. “If
they were written. Some stories were she knows you’re waiting for a package,
about heartbreak or ongoing protests, she’ll come running to give it to you.”
and other women wrote about joyous Another resident, Erica LaBuz,
occasions or in ways that celebrated praised his carrier’s affable personal-
their families. ity: “She’s just so kind and fun to chat
Perlate now has her original note- with,” LaBuz told The Daily Star. “She
book back, while the other six are still always makes time for everyone. She
circulating the globe. has a big route, so she could say ‘No,
“It was beautiful to have it again and I’m busy,’ but she never does.”
to read it,” she told the paper. Brower said that in retirement she’s
She loves that she feels a strong looking forward to taking the time to
Through her website (top), New Jersey resi- bond with women who have shared learn Spanish and sign language, play
dent Kyra Peralte sends notebooks (above)
their experiences, women whom she music and spend time doing ministry.
to women around the world for a project
called “The Traveling Diary” to help them sort otherwise never would have met. “The “I think I’m going to spend my first
through their feelings during the COVID-19 Traveling Diary is making sisters out of month or two writing everyone thank-
pandemic. strangers,” she added. you notes,” Brower told the paper. PR
July 2021 The Postal Record 25
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