LEXINGTON — Through rain, sleet, hail or snow — and sunshine too — Dick Childress has driven about 613,575 miles delivering mail on a rural route that extends to the Custer County line.
His last day was Friday, as he steps into retirement, after 27 years.
“My dad delivered this route years ago,” said Childress. “I used to ride with him when I was a kid.” He said he already knew the out of town part of the 75 mile route when he started in 1989.
The mail route, comprised of nearly 250 customers, also includes four streets in Lexington: Constitution Drive, Freedom Lane, Independence Avenue and Liberty Drive; and interestingly there are as many postal customers in town as there are in the rural portion.
Childress said there has been an increase in the number of packages being delivered nowadays, compared to when he started, as people order things on-line. He said there used to be six to eight packages during any given day and now there are 30 to 40.
Source: Rural postal carrier retires after 27 years | News | lexch.com