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Postal carrier a 40-year staple on route
By Stephen Fashoro/Staff Writer
He stands as the embodiment of the U.S. Postal Service in Mesquite.
Through rain and shine, 100-degree heat and freezing temperatures, Jim Ritchie has made each of his 476 stops for 40 years. At 9:40 a.m., he can be found heading out on a walking mail route the same way he has for four decades.
While many city letter carriers drive distinctive white vans with the logo of the USPS on the side and deliver the mail to curbside mailboxes, Ritchie walks to deliver his mail. He can be found wearing dark-blue pants, a light-blue shirt, and a blue hat.
Ritchie, who will turn 73 today, began working as a letter carrier in 1952. While attending the University of North Texas, then known as North Texas State University, Ritchie would work for the post office as a seasonal employee mostly taking the job during Christmas breaks.
After college, Ritchie worked for an oil company. He stayed there for 10 years and decided to leave that job because he felt that the future of the company was questionable. He went back to work for the post office, this time as a full-time employee. Ritchie went back because working for the post office offered him a stable salary and job security.
Ritchie was born and raised in Dallas with four older brothers, two of which fought in World War II. His parents, who were farmers, moved from Terrell to Dallas in the early 1930s during the depression era.
Ritchie, who has two step-children of his own, occasionally finds his job challenging after all these years.
“After carrying mail all these years, sometimes you have your bad days and you can’t work your mail like you want to, it’s stressful and tedious,” he said. “You are expected to make it (deliver mail) in an eight-hour period, but sometimes you have excess mail so you have to go overtime.”
Ritchie has been on a walking route because he hurt his back in 1980. The doctor recommended that he walked to deliver mail rather than drive.
“I had to do so much twisting and turning when I drove, so it was better for me to walk,” Ritchie said. “I’ve stayed in good shape all these years and I have worked so long that I know how to protect my body. You have to set a pace, it’s like walking a mile on a track -- you can’t just give it all you got at the get go.”
Other than facing dogs and time, Ritchie also has to battle the weather.
“I have been in all kinds. I have come close to tornadoes, been in icy conditions, and delivered in rain,” he said. “You just have to be prepared for all of this, sometimes the weather changes and you really are not prepared for it.”
On his free time, Ritchie collects old records of artists such as Elvis and The Beatles. The genres of music he enjoys listening to are big band music, Dixieland music, country-western, rock and roll, and r&b. He is an avid collector of music with his album catalog reaching 6,000 at one time.
“I get it all, but I have run out of room for all of these records at the house,” he said.
Ritchie also enjoys sports. He loves watching golf, football, baseball, and basketball. Ritchie also enjoys talking about his family.
When he talks about his family, he credits them for shaping the person that he is today.
“Being raised in the early days gave me a lot of strength,” he said. “The way you are raised is the type of person you are.”
Marvin Harr, a fellow Mesquite co-worker and postal carrier, talks about Mr. Ritchie in similar fashion.
“He is a gentle man, has a good work ethic and he has a desire to be at work everyday,” Harr said. “He has done it well. He is somebody to look up to.”
Ritchie will be planning on retiring soon and is thinking about sometime later this year. He enjoys his job and all the people he meets everyday.
“It’s enjoyable, you meet all kinds of people and all kinds of dogs,” Ritchie said. “You have to have a sense of humor because people enjoy talking to you. I like to put a smile on their faces.”
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Marti harvey wrote on Mar 7, 2007 10:12 PM:
" I really would have liked to see a picture of this guy. It would have helped the story a lot. "
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