Patti Whitcomb can remember only one time when weather stopped the mail — a blizzard halted incoming trucks from Kansas City — but Monday morning was business as usual, despite below-freezing temperatures. LAYERING is an important lesson to learn, Whitcomb said. She will bundle up at first, but since she is on the move, she may need to ditch some outer layers as the temperatures rise — even the slightest amount.
Whitcomb is one of four mail carriers in Iola city limits who braved the cold to deliver their mail. They can teach many of us lessons in preparation.
The Register caught up with Whitcomb about midway through her route, which covers much of the south side of Iola. She had been out since around 9:30 a.m., when temperatures were around -4 degrees.
“It just seems like everything takes so much longer,” Whitcomb said, while stopping between houses on South First Street. The temperature at this point had warmed up to a toasty 8 degrees with ice and snow covering the ground.
“It takes you longer to get the mail out of the truck because you’re so bundled up. It takes you longer to get to the mailboxes.”
She said preparation is key in a situation such as this. She was adorned in all of her USPS attire, anything from her hat and scarf to jack, pants and heavy boots. Whitcomb, 54, has been with the postal service for 27 years. Her daughter is a mail carrier in Chanute as well.
Days like this provide a little something extra for Whitcomb, she said, for better or worse. The weather may be cold, but people are nice, warm and friendly for the most part. She said carriers are encouraged to be careful in sections that may be icy or steep — the snow is much better than purely ice, she said.
“It’s a challenge, I wouldn’t want to do it day-in and day-out like this, but once in a while here and there it’s not a problem,” she said. “It’s kind of fun to get home and say, ‘I did it.’”
“You have to bring a little bit of everything, so you can adjust as the day goes on,” she said.
In the end, Whitcomb said it’s important to do whatever it takes to get the job done safely and efficiently. Something about “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night”…
“You know, you have to do what you have to do to get the job done safely,” she said.
After being a carrier for half of her life, Whitcomb said getting the mail to the public is something she takes pride in, despite the weather or the situation.
“I do take pride in it,” she said. “I think you have to have a strong will. I think you have to have a sense of responsibility and doing what you have to do.
“I don’t think you can be someone who likes to be comfortable at all times.”
As temperatures begin to rise slightly over the week, Whitcomb’s job should become a little bit easier. The use of a truck in the morning would be appreciated, she admitted. Monday morning the ignition had frozen from the inside.
NEITHER SNOW NOR RAIN…
