Clarence Holland
Clarence Holland will be awarded a 50-year Federal Service Award by Chattanooga Postmaster Pete Dechelle during a short ceremony at Eastgate Station on Tuesday.
Many things have changed in the five decades Mr. Holland has worked for the postal service, from the way mail is sorted to the number of packages he now delivers.
Mr. Holland first became interested in the postal service as a boy. He said, “The post office had postal inspector assistants who worked with boys in youth groups. I remember a gentleman by the name of Clyde O. Cooper stressing to children to get involved in the civil service. So I took the test when I was old enough.”
“The first couple of weeks it was hard getting accustomed to the driver’s seat being on the right side of the vehicle.
“I’ve always been a letter carrier. I started off downtown as a floater. Outlying stations would call when they needed carriers and that’s where I was sent to help out. I’ve worked in East Brainerd for the past 22 years.
“I’ve always enjoyed carrying mail. I make over 400 deliveries each day. My route is both walking and mounted. It’s not so fun delivering in the rain, and be careful where you step when there’s ice.
“During my career, I’ve been bitten by four dogs – three Chihuahuas and a border collie. Customer will say, ‘My dog won’t bite.’ Who are they kidding? Dogs don’t bother me. I will go into a yard with one dog but no more than one.
“We’ve always had the same blue uniform. I’ve delivered in all kinds of extremes, from the single digits to well over 100 degrees. That’s why I wear a hat in the summer and a toboggan in the winter months.
“Before I started working at the Post Office, my father-in-law offered me a job as a route salesman at a lumber sales company making $2.60 an hour. Starting pay at the Post Office was $2.62; I went for the money!
“When I was first hired in, we did all of our own markup mail because we didn’t have a computer forwarding system. But now it’s all done electronically. And my package volume keeps getting bigger. I deliver about 100 packages a day now. Back when I was first hired, we had parcel men who did nothing but deliver packages.”
“As my wife would tell you, I had planned on retiring at 55. (Holland will turn 72 on Easter Sunday.) I kept thinking I was going to be able to do it but you can’t continue to bowl, play golf and raise a family. We raised three kids and helped raise our two grandkids. We’ve been there for them which wouldn’t have been possible without the postal aervice, or as Mr. Cooper used to say, ‘The civil service would be a good retirement.’”