Farewell: Chestnut Hill residents say their postal carrier, Robert Wojciechowski, is the epitome of the small-town charm and friendliness of Chesterton. He will take with him 27 years of memories about the town when he relocates to Michigan.                      (Tribune photo by Alexandra Newman)

By VICKI URBANIK

On Saturday, residents of Chestnut Hill, Aspen Pines and surrounding areas say they will be losing more than their postal carrier.

They’ll be losing a friend.

Robert Wojciechowski, a 27-year veteran of the Chesterton Post Office, is moving out of the area due to his wife’s job relocation. His last day delivering the mail locally is Saturday.

Chestnut Hill resident Andrea Ello said Wojciechowski has gone beyond the call of the postman’s duty in such ways as helping shovel out residents when in need. He even had the courtesy to send some of his customers a detailed note explaining why he was leaving.

“He always has a smile on his face,” Ello said. “He always has a good word for everybody.”

Resident Sue Barriball said the neighborhood will probably never get the same service again as it got from Wojciechowski. He’s known for leaving packages in garages or back porches if the people aren’t home. He’s also known for delivering packages at the door, especially if the customer just had a baby or just had surgery.

“He has a pulse on the neighborhood. He cares,” she said.

Barriball recalls that Wojciechowski once went out of his way to find kids to help with a neighborhood food drive, in turn helping them get the community service hours they needed for their confirmation.

“He took the time to get to know everyone. He took the time with everybody, with the young and the old,” she said.

Wojciechowski said he’s flattered by the praise but that “I just do my job.” If he’s highly valued by his customers, he said that’s only because he’s returning the favor —there have been plenty of times his mail truck got stuck in the snow and his customers dug him out.

Wojciechowski said his customers have seen him go through many transitions over the years, including marriage, divorce, remarriage, and an ulcer. When people learned about his ulcer, some left ice cream and glasses of 7-Up in their mailboxes to help calm his stomach.

“The people in Chesterton are like that,” he said.

He spoke fondly of a recent conversation he had with one of his customers. He remembers when she was just a little 4-year-old who would run out to the mailbox whenever she’d see Wojciechowski drive up with the mail. The girl, now a young woman, told him when she learned that he was leaving that he was the first friend she ever had.

There are others like her that Wojciechowski said he’ll always remember. He’s watched the community’s kids grow up and have kids of their own. He’s seen people move away and then move back. He’s gotten to know his customers by talking about their hobbies as well as their hardships.

Wojciechowski began his career with the Chesterton Post Office 27 years ago when stamps cost no more than 10 cents, the post office was on Broadway just where everyone thought it would always be and the apartment complex known as Aspen Pines consisted of a mere three buildings. The town had six city routes and three rural routes then. Now, the town has 14 city routes and seven rural routes.

Wojciechowski said he’s watched the town grow considerably. He used to deliver in South Park Acres but it was taken out of his route when the increase in mail volume and customer base meant that he was delivering mail for 10 hours a day.

He’s also seen changes in the Postal Service’s corporate mentality. The postal service has become more bottom-line oriented, as it strives to be more efficient and make the best use of automation. Taking time to talk to an elderly customer about his stamp collection or a middle-aged woman about the death of her husband—as Wojciechowski has been known to do—is now thought of as frivolous.

Wojciechowski is moving to Michigan, where he’ll work in the Saginaw post office. He won’t be guaranteed a 40-hour work week or paid holidays. He’s saved his retirement benefits, but not his seniority. “I’m an outsider,” he said of his job transfer.

Wojciechowski is bracing himself for an emotional last day on the route. He said if he had his way, he wouldn’t leave. Although he moved out of Chesterton 12 years ago, he feels this is still his home.

He said he can only hope that as the town continues to grow, it won’t lose the close-knit friendliness of its neighborhoods. But he adds with a sense of sadness, “times are changing.”

Posted 11/23/2001