Mailman Verkuilen Retires after 45 years

The Thorp Courier (Thorp, WI)
February 13, 2008
Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon

It was the year that John F. Kennedy died and Marv heard that news on his car radio as he delivered mail during that long ago deer hunting season.  He has worked each and every deer hunting season since then, always subbing in for one of the regular mailmen so they could go hunting.

In the earlier days, Marv filled in for vacation days and sick leave days for Bernard Frenette on Route 3.  He did that until the late 1970’s when he switched to being sub on Route 2, first with Deacon Hedler and then with Tony Penk, also doing some work on Route 3, as needed.  Eventually, he subbed for Robert Schesel on Route 2 until January of 2003, when he began delivering mail full time to the patrons on Route 1.

Now, as of March 1st, after delivering mail for 45 years, he will retire from the Post Office.  His original employment with the Thorp Post Office goes back even further than his 1963 start as a rural carrier.  In late 1960, the year he graduated from Thorp High School, he worked inside the post office during the Christmas season helping with the extra volume of gift cheese packages being sent out by Blue Moon Cheese.  He repeated this work during the 1961 season.

In between and during his stints at the post Office, he worked the family dairy farm.  The two jobs added up to many long hours of labor, especially when all the field work needed to be done.  He continued to run the farm, eventually building to 200 acres and 45 milking cows plus young stock, until selling it in 2000.  He and his wife, Diane, raised five children on that farm, and Marv was the third generation on the family farm.

He was also the third generation to work at the post office.  Grandpa John Verkuilen was appointed Post Master of the Thorp Post Office in January 1933 to serve out the term of R. H. Tolford who had died.  John served as Post Master for about one year.  He passed away in 1936.

About this same time in the 1930’s, Walter Verkuilen, John’s son and Marv’s father, began working as a rural mail carrier.  Walter continued running the family farm and being a sub mail carrier until shortly before his death in May, 1963.  Consequently, Marv took over both the farm and mail route shortly after that.

At some time or another, he has served all three of the routes.  Marv knew where just about everyone in the rural Thorp community lived.  He maybe didn’t know all of their faces, but he certainly knew their mailboxes.

Long, long ago he gave up keeping track of the number of flat tires he has had to change or the number of times his mail route cars needed brake work.  Various people along his routes have helped him when he got stuck in the mud or snow.  And, he has always enjoyed the times he’s found a few fresh baked cookies or other treats waiting for him in a mailbox.

In 2005, he was presented with a plaque and certificate for one million accident free miles. 

It’s been a good job that he has (mostly) enjoyed.  As he looks ahead to retirement, he is going to miss seeing all the friends he has made along the way.  Now, it is time to do a little more traveling, and spend more time with the grand-children.  And, maybe for the first time in his life, he will go deer hunting!

Congratulations, Marvin on your retirement.  Everyone is invited to an Open House in honor of his retirement on February 23, at Thorp Senior Center from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Submitted by Diane Verkuilen.