Several familiar faces have left the Iola post office recently.
Carriers Dale Matthews and Jamie Hunt hung up their satchels months ago.
Lori Moran, window clerk, is retiring at the end of the month.
Noting their departures, carrier David Tidd had an epiphany.
I was there before all of those guys, Tidd laughed.
Tidd, too, is retiring this month, bringing to an end his 34-year career as a mail carrier.
There arent going to be any more retirements for a few years now, Tidd said, once he and Moran have exited. But thats OK. The post office is in good hands. Theyre a good group.
Tidd, 56, began as a substitute carrier in October 1984, and within a few months when three of his colleagues were hired as postmasters elsewhere had his own route in downtown Iola.
I fell in at a good time, he said.
Hes delivered along roughly the same route since the summer of 1985, taking in the downtown square and eastern parts of town.
He once tried to calculate the number of miles he walked each day along his route, which encompasses as many as 612 stops in a day.
I used to use a pedometer, that would show 13 to 14 miles a day, he said. But this new GPS shows a little less.
And while the volume has gone down, his route has expanded every now and then to take in more stops.
I dont spend as much time in the cage, but I spend a lot more time walking, he said.
TIDDS last official day with the U.S. Postal Service is May 31, although his carrying days are done already. His last delivery was last week. Hes now using up accumulated sick and leave time for the duration of the month before his retirement is official.
Still, retirement will be anything but a life of leisure.
Tidd will stay busy as ever on his 140-acre farm north of Iola. He also puts up hay for a number of other farmers in the area, and does soil testing for USDA agencies.