Metro Atlanta mail carrier retires after 55 years on the job

ATLANTA — An Atlanta-area postal carrier went on his route for the final time Friday 55 years after he first began delivering mail.

Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen is at the branch on Glenridge Drive where the post office threw Thomas Jackson a retirement party.

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No one with the postal service in Atlanta has been on the road longer than Jackson.

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Nothing has stopped him, not rain, snow, heat, gloom of night or pandemic.

Jackson told Petersen that he believes that if you really love what you do, you should keep doing it.

“Back in the day, I was on a three-wheel scooter delivering mail,” Jackson said. “One in the front and two wheels in the back.”

They called the vehicle a “Mailster.” Fifty-two years later, his truck is quite a bit bigger.

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Jackson said over all these years, his routes have been between 30 and 40 miles, five to six days a week, for 52 weeks a year.

“There’s a lot of demand on postal carriers, but we get it done,” Jackson said.

Residents said they will miss his smile.

“Just an unbelievable person. Patient. Kind,” Jenny Krivo said. “And we always get our mail!”

Jackson said he will miss everything about his job.

“The people, the kids, even the dogs!” Jackson said.

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Inauguration Day: Andre Dickens officially sworn in as Atlanta’s 61st mayor The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. at his alma mater Georgia Tech.

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