Wregglesworth retires after 26 years with the USPS
The biggest adjustment for Terry Wregglesworth, 62, of Onaway, who retired from the United States Postal Service earlier this month, is there is no pressure.
Wregglesworth delivered a rural route on the dusty roads of four townships and the city of Onaway for 26 years, outlasting a half dozen bosses, and a baker’s dozen worth of vehicles. He now is getting acclimated to life that’s not as regimented.
The schedule was a hectic one for Wregglesworth, who drove a bus for the Onaway Area Community Schools for 24 of those 26 years. He would begin his day with the bus route, picking up the kids and delivering them to their destinations, and then it was off to sort and deliver the mail.
Wregglesworth would have six hours between the morning and afternoon bus routes.
“I WAS ON a tight time frame every day,” said Wregglesworth. “As the mail grew, I had to keep speeding up, and speeding up, because the time frame in between didn’t change.”
A couple of years ago, he purchased a cell phone and was able to get hold of Marion quicker. She would get in the couple’s pickup and pull him out.
THE SCHEDULE only provided part of the pressure. There was always the worry of how long the vehicle Wregglesworth was driving would last.
NEITHER RAIN, nor sleet, nor snow, nor brakes, or snacks would keep Terry from his appointed rounds. Snacks?
Those would come from his family-like customers, who Wregglesworth said he would miss, especially the friendly people at Lynn Street Manor. “They would always say I was the best mailman they ever had, and I would say, ‘I was the only mailman you ever had,’ ” he said. Wregglesworth started delivering the mail before the apartment complex was constructed.
He said they would make goodies for him and want to chat, but there wasn’t much time for talking. The treats could come along for the ride, though. “Since I quit doing the mail, I have lost 20 pounds,” Wregglesworth said. “That is no joke. Since I’ve been doing physical labor and not eating constantly.”
AROUND CHRISTMAS, Marion would look forward to the fudge Terry would bring home. He said Opal Atkins and Newt Chapm
Wregglesworth considered Marion the best co-worker he could have ever had, considering she was always there to help get the mail through. “It was an excellent job,” said Wregglesworth. “It gave me a good steady paycheck.”
Now the couple plans to take up farming on 80 acres of land they purchased eight years ago. Retirement is going to take some getting used to, considering Terry worked 12 to 13 hour days for so long.
It’ll be like a week of Sundays – with a lot less pressure.