Beloved postman’s makes his final mail call

Published 10:49 pm Thursday, March 19, 2009

MONROE — If Kevin Carlin’s career could be measured in letters delivered, the stack would be more than a million envelopes high.

After 33 years, the letter carrier pushed his last piece of mail into a box Thursday — a satellite TV bill.

His route took him to businesses along Monroe’s commercial corridor, the courthouse and many homes. He delivered an estimated 2,500 pieces of mail a day to 600 stops.

His customers said he brought more to their lives than packages.

On Thursday, people on his route surprised him with hugs, bottles of wine and even a party.

At Merrill Gardens retirement community, a gargantuan cake, bunches of balloons and giant butcher paper letters spelling “Kevin!” waited for him. So did dozens of seniors in a line of chairs inside the lobby.

Everyone burst into “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” when he stepped through the door.

Carlin nearly fumbled the tub of mail he was holding.

“I want to hug everybody,” he said. “It’s been my pleasure. You really made me feel good, even before this.”

“We’re sure going to miss him,” said Helen Carpenter, a resident of Merrill Gardens for nine years. “I think he’s the greatest mailman I’ve ever had and everybody else here thinks so, too.”

Carlin always has time for a warm word, she said. His memory for who lives where is sharp as a letter opener. He buys stamps with his own money so he can have them on hand for seniors who can’t get to the post office.

“He has a precious way about him,” said Toni Accetturo, who had him for a mail carrier at Merrill Gardens and her previous home. “He’s gentle and thoughtful. He’ll go the extra mile.”

In Carlin’s career, he’s experienced it all: dog bites, people chasing after his truck with letters to mail, ridiculously heavy packages.

He once lugged five boxes of mail-order weights up two flights of stairs. Another time, a pit bull knocked him down and tore his uniform.

“It’s a never-ending job,” Carlin said. “You get it all done, and you come in the next day and there’s another big stack of mail waiting for you.”

Carlin loves Christmas time, even when it meant slogging through ice- and snow-encrusted parking lots with unwieldy packages. You’d think all that extra mail would be a burden. It wasn’t.

“I look forward to it every year,” he said. “Instead of the usual bills and junk mail, it’s cards and packages.”

It’s not exactly easy to land a job with the U.S. Postal Service today but in 1976 it seemed all the stars had to align. For Carlin, they did. He took a civil service test and a year later the call came.

He left college a few credits short of a degree to take a job as a mail handler on the graveyard shift.

Trucks full of mail would lumber into Everett and he would unload the mammoth sacks in the night. It was hard, physical work.

“I didn’t mind,” he said. “I was young and strong.”

It wasn’t long before he snagged a coveted letter carrier position. His north Everett walking route included the home of the late Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson.

Don’t worry. He would never reveal what kind of mail Scoop or anyone else received.

“It’s nobody’s business but my customers,” he said.

He worked briefly in Southern California before returning to work routes in Lynnwood, Everett and finally Monroe. He’s worked his current route for more than a decade.

At age 54, he still has plans for a second career — maybe nursing. He’s going back to college to finish his degree. He’d like to spend more time with his new granddaughter, 10-month-old Hannah.

Carlin said he just wanted to do the best job he could.

“When I’m done, I’d like for my old customers to say, ‘There’s the best mailman I’ve ever had,’” he said.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.