by Bonnie Whitehead
CLIFFORD – Without fanfare, Gary Schaus was ready to escape the spotlight and quietly ease into retirement after a lifetime of postal service to the people of Clifford and area.
“It was time to step down and bow to the younger generation. It’s a different kind of job now,” Schaus said.
With just one day to go before officially retiring on July 13, Schaus paused with letter in hand to recall his earliest memory of delivering mail.
“My brother Rae and I have really never known a day without mail. I remember sitting in the front seat with my Dad when I was just a lad, joining him on his Saturday morning mail delivery route. When I was five and my brother Rae was one, my mom and dad (Eugene and Erna Schaus) drove around with me in the back and Rae in the bassinet. When we were older, we used to wait for the train to bring in the mail bag at high noon. We were known as the mail route kids.”
“You needed to be old enough to drive, so when I got my driver’s license at 16, I was sworn in by postmaster Kay Matheson and started driving the routes as a relief driver, and later on for Margaret Hooper. My aunt Elsie Buhrow turned over her route to me when she retired. My official start date was Jan. 6, 1987 with Route 2. We delivered mail every Monday to Friday with special deliveries even on Saturdays up until 1981 or ‘82. I took over Route 3 from my dad when he retired on Feb. 1, 1992 and I’ve been driving the route until this very day.”
Schaus outlined a typical day on the job.
“It’s a job that ties you down every day. I arrive at the Clifford Post Office at 8:30am Monday to Friday and take about two hours to sort all the mail. Then, it takes me about three more hours to run the route that follows east of Clifford to Pike Lake. My wife Gloria helped me quite a bit until her illness and passing. We used to take holidays to Florida and my son Mike would fill in for me. My daughter Lisa has been a tremendous help on the route. Stretching out my arm to reach 364 boxes gets a little tiring. Lisa is a great help. I couldn’t have kept going as long as I did without her help.”
Postmaster Phyllis Kaufman feels, “Gary will really be missed in the Clifford Post Office and on his route. He has extensive knowledge about the route and its people.”
“Lisa will also be missed. She is a really hard worker,” Kaufman added.
There is a long-term connection to the local post office for the Schaus family. Eugene Schaus started delivering mail in November 1941. His son Rae Schaus and his wife Dianne took over a route in 1973 and added Route 2 in 1992 and Gary took on Route 3.
Schaus shared a few anecdotes from his time behind the wheel on Route 3.
“You could see something new every day, but there was nothing too exciting to tell, although there was that one snowy day I do recall. It was wonderful to meet so many people every day awaiting their mail.”
Schaus has noticed many changes to the job over the years. “Years ago we had carrier contracts, but now we are employees of Canada Post. Jeff is the new RSMC, Rural Suburban Mail Carrier for Route 3.”
During his last week, Schaus was training Jeff Pollard from Wingham who felt the job would be a great retirement job after a career in policing.
“I am learning that Gary has so much knowledge about the route and the people. There will be lots of learning and lots of work to do in this job. These are big shoes to fill,” Pollard said.
If everyone on Schaus’ mail Route 3 sent him a greeting card through the post office, he would be opening 364 cards filled with best wishes.
While he will still get up every day to go to the post office, it will be to retrieve his own mail.
Schaus helps his son, Mike, on his dairy farm and plans to tour Canada during his retirement years.
