Except for a brief three-month stint in Manteca for some on the job training, Joe Berchtold spent his entire career with the U.S. Postal Service right where he wanted to: in Escalon.
The longtime employee was feted on his retirement recently, surrounded by co-workers as they wished him well while sharing refreshments and memories.
Berchtold started working at the Escalon Post Office in 1987 and, with three years’ credit for military service, he ended up with a 41-year career with the USPS.
“I was a city carrier for seven or eight years,” Berchtold said of his first position with Escalon. “There were four city routes and you had about 550 to 600 mailboxes on each.”
As a carrier, Berchtold said you did have to put up with the elements – from the chilly winters to the blistering summers – and it was a fast-paced job. That left little time to visit with patrons along the route.
“You had to minimize the socializing because you had to stay on schedule,” he explained.
After spending several years on the carrier route, Berchtold said he wanted the opportunity to work inside, handling a variety of duties in a controlled environment.
“I wanted to be a clerk because it was more diversified,” he said. “I wanted to be inside and I could talk to people more.”
He had to test for the position as well as request a transfer to the clerk position. He was approved for the post and then went to Manteca briefly for training before returning to Escalon.
“The environment, to me, was like a dry bar,” Berchtold said with a chuckle, describing his role as a clerk. “We didn’t serve alcohol but we served hospitality; I got to know a lot of people.”
And it is the people he considers the most rewarding part of the job, having the opportunity to serve the postal customers in Escalon and getting to know them.
Anticipating the chance to let customers know he was going to retire, that didn’t happen, as Berchtold went out on leave prior to his official retirement day.
Now, he said, he hopes they know why he’s no longer there to greet them with a smile when they come in to the Coley Avenue post office.
“The biggest change (through the years) was the transition to automation,” he added.
Berchtold and his wife Nellie – also retired – do have some short trips planned and the now-retired postal clerk said he also wants to get involved with local groups like the Senior Fun Bunch, to stay busy in retirement.
“It’s totally different,” he admitted of retirement versus getting up and heading to work, “but it’s about time.”
He pointed to current Postmaster Ken Crandal as the best he has worked with over the years and said a retirement dinner hosted in his honor was a “very humbling” experience.
“I’ll miss the camaraderie we have every day,” Berchtold said. “We have a lot of good customers, a lot of good employees. There’s a real connection and I’ll miss that.”
