When local mailman Jon Kolesar started his route on Monday — his final day of work as a mail carrier before his retirement — he wasn’t expecting to come across a surprise that would leave him in tears.
When the 35-year U.S. Postal Service veteran drove his mail truck into the Clover Highlands neighborhood in Houserville, he found that almost every house had a decorated mailbox, with cards inside to help celebrate his retirement and express how grateful they were to have him as their mail carrier for the last nine years.
Jean Ireland and Melinda Stearns, residents who chose to decorate their mailboxes for Kolesar, also decided to invite him to Ireland’s residence after his shift ended so that the pair, and some other neighborhood residents, could thank him one last time for the work he’s done.