Ellenson to retire as mail carrier after 40 year career in Henning

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

After 40 years and close to a million miles on the road, longtime rural mail carrier Steven Ellenson has definitely left his stamp on the area. His long career with the United States Post Office, which began long before the internet and the likes of Amazon, will officially come to an end on Friday when he delivers mail on his rural Henning route for the final time.

“I’m going to miss all of the people, but not Amazon,” said Ellenson with a laugh about the dramatic increase in packages he has to deliver every day. “The mail volume is down, but the packages are up.”

Ellenson began his long career with the USPS in the 1980s when he approached longtime postmaster Howard Trana about potentially filling in as a substitute mail carrier. 

“I happened to know the old post master Howard Trana,” said Ellenson. “They were always looking for subs and he said I think you should apply.”

He spent the first 16 1/2 years of his career delivering mail as a part-time carrier, before transitioning into a full-time role. While his route has largely stayed the same over the years, which is less-than 15 miles from the center of Henning to the edge of his route and takes him approximately 106 miles round trip each day, the type of mail that he delivers has changed dramatically over the years. While conventional mail volume is down dramatically from when he first began with the post office, Ellenson said the amount of packages he delivers on a daily basis is up dramatically. In fact, there were times around the holiday season that his vehicle would be filled from top to bottom with just brown boxes of items that have been ordered online and need to be delivered to homes on his route.

With largely the same route through the years, Ellenson said he enjoyed the opportunity to see how the rural area has changed. Whether that be new houses, new families, the wildlife or watching as one generation of local youth grows into another, the people on his route became a part of his everyday life. 

“Driving around you can see all of the stuff,” said Ellenson. “You see all of the different families change.”

Even though he will miss delivering mail to the people on his route everyday, Ellenson said the time just felt right to park his delivery vehicle and hang up his mail carrier bag. After all, when mail is delivered six days a week it can be a challenge to get away and travel, something he said he is looking forward to when he delivers his final package on October 31.