GOWANDA — The job of a mail carrier has changed a lot over the past 50 years, but in the village of Gowanda, the postal service has one constant: Bill Vance.
Friday morning, current and former employees of the United States Postal Service celebrated Vance for 50 years of service to the community as a substitute mail carrier.
Vance, 77, has been a fixture in the community for half a century while working alongside a pleasant crew who he says never included anyone with a bad attitude. “We don’t have crabby people here,” Vance said. “It makes it nice to come to work.”
Many years ago, Vance was able to fill a bag with letters and walk from house to house in the community that has welcomed him so fondly. Now, due to the rise in online ordering, mail carriers deliver far more packages than ever before.