The Whitesboro Post Office celebrated two major milestones at a cupcake-and-punch reception Tuesday morning. Rural carrier Randy Smith retired after a 40-year career with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and rural carrier Sheila Johnson retired after 20 years (nearly all of which was devoted to Whitesboro).
Smith first applied for the USPS in 1980 at the age of 20. A lifelong resident of Whitesboro, he had been working construction with his uncle, building houses and doing concrete work, but work was slow in the winter. Looking for something different, he took the postal office test and waited for a response.
Five years later, the Denton post office reached out and offered Smith a job. He commuted two hours a day, driving from Whitesboro to Denton, for 28 years. When the one full-time position in Whitesboro (then held by John Walker) became available, Smith jumped at the chance. Although he was disappointed to lose seniority, his commute went from two hours a day to five minutes.
For the past 12 years, Smith has been delivering mail to his friends and neighbors. He has especially enjoyed delivering mail to the businesses in town, where he really gets to meet people.
