Mike the Mailman Makes Going Postal a Pleasure

"Mike the Mailman Makes Going Postal a Happy Event in Happy Valley," headlines a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Mike Herr who runs the one-man post office branch on the campus of Penn State University.

Reporter Dennis B. Roddy writes, "When someone enters wearing a shiny pair of sneakers, Mr. Herr drops everything, rings a small bell and holds up a handwritten sign that says, "Nice Sneakers. Ask him if he's Mike the Mailman he'll say it's a possibility. Ask him where he grew up he'll challenge the proposition that he ever did. Tell him you are sending a late birthday card, and he will pull out a rubber stamp and slap on an official-looking "I Sent This Last Week." Students have come to ask for that one by name."

Dennis goes on to pen...

"Ask him if he's Mike the Mailman he'll say it's a possibility. Ask him where he grew up he'll challenge the proposition that he ever did. Tell him you are sending a late birthday card, and he will pull out a rubber stamp and slap on an official-looking "I Sent This Last Week." Students have come to ask for that one by name.

"When someone enters wearing a shiny pair of sneakers, Mr. Herr drops everything, rings a small bell and holds up a handwritten sign that says, "Nice Sneakers." Ask him if he's Mike the Mailman he'll say it's a possibility. Ask him where he grew up he'll challenge the proposition that he ever did. Tell him you are sending a late birthday card, and he will pull out a rubber stamp and slap on an official-looking "I Sent This Last Week." Students have come to ask for that one by name.

He keeps the newest stamps -- the kind honoring old comic strips or filled with floral patterns -- on hand. One customer told of the time a student brought in a package marked "fragile." Mr. Herr excused himself, walked to a back room where he picked up another box filled with loose metal and dropped it with a wonderful, heart-stopping crash."

Mike is quoted as saying, "I think if you're going to be someplace for eight hours, make it fun not only for yourself but the customers."

According to the article, "People have suggested Mr. Herr seek a higher station. He has been advised to run for mayor of State College. He prefers to run a post office, so long as he can run it in a way that keeps people happy."

Shown above, Mike Herr holds up a sign that reads "Nice Sneakers" to the next person in line at the University Park post office.

To read the entire article, click here.