Thomaston’s most popular postal worker will clock in for his final shift on Friday, Nov. 29.
Pike County native David Bell, 64, has been known as the face of United States Postal Service’s Thomaston office for nearly 40 years. He began his journey after leaving the military in 1985.
After college, Bell served in the U.S. Navy from 1980 to 1984. At the time, he and his wife had two babies, and while working as a paramedic, he needed something more to make ends meet.
He said he applied for any job a veteran qualified, and the post office was first to return the call. He worked six months and two days in a main Atlanta office before hearing of an opening in Thomaston and transferring.
At the time, the price of a stamp was about 20 cents; today, a stamp costs 73 cents.
“The postmaster here went to church with my father and told him about the opening in Thomaston, so I applied,” Bell commented.
He spent six months in the back of the facility before moving to the front window in 1985, the place he has stood each day since. He now holds the longest window tenure of any clerk in the 302 zone (from Atlanta to Thomaston).
