Rhodes, who grew up in Walkerton and graduated from Walkerton High School (“a year before they were John Glenn High School,” he points out), was drafted into the service as a young man and served in Vietnam before eventually working at McCord’s in Plymouth for 13 years.
“I got tired of factory life, so when I saw an ad in the paper (for a postal position), I went for it.”
Rhodes began his postal career at Plymouth in 1986, where he was a carrier for 20 years before transferring to Culver to fill the clerk position through which many – if not most – Culverites got to know him.
Over those years, he says, he’s been bitten twice by dogs, including one painful encounter that landed him at the doctor’s office. However, gazing out the window at blizzard conditions in Culver, Rhodes notes he’s never missed a day of work due to weather; nor can he recall a time when the mail wasn’t delivered due to inclement weather. “Maybe not all the mail,” he smiles. “But some!”
He has seen a number of behind-the-scenes changes in the postal service over the past 20 years, particularly in that much labor – for both clerks and carriers – has become automated. “A lot of (the mail) comes presorted,” he explains. “When I first started in the post office, clerks sorted most all the mail by hand. It wasn’t as quick or accurate. That’s what we’ve traded for. The post office has had to change because of economic times. It’s managed a bit differently. The number of clerks has streamlined at each branch.”
Whereas carriers used to sort all their own mail, Rhodes says now 75 percent of carriers’ workload comes presorted. “With automation, (carriers’) street hours have lengthened, so carriers deliver more addresses than they used to.”
Like every other business, he says, the post office has struggled under recent economic woes. “The post office is basically self-sufficient. We use no tax money. So it’s not really your tax dollars at work!”
Rhodes, a Plymouth resident, says he and Nancy -- his wife of 35 years -- are planning a trip to Florida soon after his retirement, though they won’t be moving there. “My wife won’t leave the grandkids!” he laughs. “Some of them live right next door to us.”
That’s clearly not a problem for Rhodes, whose three children and six grandchildren all continue to live in the Plymouth area.
A self-described “do-it-yourselfer,” Rhodes says he’ll stay busy. “My wife has a long list,” he smiles.
And, he adds, “I have a Harley-Davidson I like to ride.”