Rita Gluck, Montpelier’s beloved mail carrier, made her last route on Tuesday after 30 years working for the United States Postal Service.
Downtown businesses came together to give Gluck a send-off on her last day, putting balloons and banners outside their shops. Then, after closing, the business owners in the area threw Gluck a surprise party at The North Branch Cafe on State Street.
“I really do feel like a true and valued part of this community. I know everyone. It’s really sweet,” Gluck said. “I feel like this entire town is my family, and that is the most special thing.”
Gluck started delivering mail in Montpelier in 1991, the year she moved to Vermont. She had been working at a flower farm in the Northeast Kingdom, but when October came, Gluck said she realized she needed a new gig for the winter.
Gluck walked into the postmaster’s office, then full of mail carriers in a meeting and cigarette smoke (they could still smoke indoors then), she recalled.
“I said ‘I think you need me because holidays are coming,’” Gluck said. “He thought that was funny and hired me.”
Over the past three decades, Gluck said she has seen the job change and that company executives make all the decisions about carriers’ work without consulting them.
“People who have never touched a piece of mail think they should be making decisions about how we handle the mail,” Gluck said.
Gluck said the job also has become micromanaged, thanks in part to technology. Trackers in the trucks allow upper management to nitpick drivers for things like backing up too far or going a mile over the speed limit.
Gluck, who is 59, said she also does not want to get injured.
“I’m watching a lot of my co-workers have physical issues,” Gluck said. “Right now, I am still quite able-bodied and would like to take advantage.”
Gluck said she is not ready to reveal her retirement plan publicly but teased what’s in the works.
“It’s possible that in the future I will be a Montpelier business owner,” she said.
Gluck has not only been delivering mail, but also building relationships as she goes into each of the businesses downtown.
She brightens everyone’s day while delivering the post, said Claire Benedict, co-owner of Bear Pond Books on Main Street.
“Everybody loves Rita,” Benedict said. “She is the most cheerful person coming through your store every day with a big smile and a hello and a good attitude.”
The downtown route Gluck is retiring from is her favorite for its mixture of residential homes and businesses, she said.
“Most of my day is spent walking around downtown and seeing all the business owners and meet-and-greet with people I know from all over town,” Gluck said. “But then the end of the route is sort of residential, and I get to fill up with an entirely different energy from my residential people. It’s a beautiful mix.”
Kelly Sullivan, owner of Splash Naturals, a fashion, skincare and makeup boutique on Main Street, said Gluck has been coming into her store for several years and has become a friend. Even though she knows Gluck is on a schedule, Sullivan said their conversations never feel rushed.
“She comes in with a light about her, and she’s sincerely interested in what’s going on in our lives,” Sullivan said.
“It’s all about the relationships I’ve made over the years,” Gluck said.
She didn’t just get along with every human in town. She got along with every dog, too, and is proud to say she’s never been bitten.
Gluck grew up in Wisconsin, which she described as “the other dairy state.” And delivering mail in the winter is not as bad as people think, she said.
“There are really only about two weeks worth of days total, in the whole year, that it’s really hard being a mail carrier. Most days you can find ways to adapt,” Gluck said.
Good news considering almost everyone has told Gluck they think being a mail carrier would be a great job.
“But I will say, a lot of people have tried being a mail carrier, and it’s harder than it looks,” she said. “To do it well, you need to be organized and efficient, and it turns out there are a lot of people out there who aren’t.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated who she first approached for a postal worker job.
