June Holler leaves the post office after 35 years with the community
By Julie Rossman
Correspondent
As June Holler walked her mail delivery route along 11th Avenue in Union Grove for the final time, she admitted she felt a bit emotional, but quickly said, “It’s time … my body says it’s time,” Holler said.
After 35 years with the United States Postal Service, Holler, Town of Yorkville, retired June 28.
Reflecting on the past 35 years, 33 of which were spent in Union Grove, Holler said she appreciated working the job she held for so long. “It’s been an honor to work for the post office,” she said.
Having spent all of her time on the same Union Grove route, Holler said she’s had fun seeing kids whom she delivered to now grown with kids of their own – and still living on the route.
“A lot of customers have become like a second family,” Holler said.
She will miss seeing all those folks she’s used to seeing, but admits there are parts of the job she won’t miss at all.
“I slipped on black ice and hit my head – I did have a concussion,” Holler recalled. Since her fall, Holler says she panics whenever there’s ice on the sidewalks.
Also, Holler knows she won’t miss the hot, humid days of summer. “Those take their toll after 30 years,” she said.
And there are those pesky, biting bugs. In recent years, Holler developed an allergy to bee stings. “I’ve been stung a couple of times now, it’s scary,” she admitted.
Holler said the job has given her some nice exercise over the years, however, all the walking has also taken a toll. “I’ve had arthroscopic surgery on both knees, and another surgery on my heel,” she said.
Amazingly, Holler is only the second mail carrier to work the route she has walked for so long. August “Gus” Wilk was the city’s first mail carrier, establishing the route in 1959.
Holler graduated from Union Grove High School in 1975. She said her mom worked at the Racine Post Office, and Holler decided to take the civil service test.
She worked third shift at the Racine post office for a few years, until she had her first child. She transferred to Union Grove to be closer to home and for better hours.
Now, at 56, Holler says she never imagined working 35 years with the postal service. “You don’t think about it, but now I look back and say, ‘wow,’ where did all the years go?”
Holler will miss the camaraderie she’s had with her co-workers. According to Union Grove Postmaster Wayne Litza, the post office will miss her, too.
“She’s been one of our more dedicated people,” Litza said.
He recalled one day that Holler came back from a day off to help them out when they were in a bind. “She was two hours away, but she said ‘call if you need me,’ even if I’m two hours away,’” Litza said.
Litza has worked with Holler for the past 17 years. “She has made my job easier, if that’s possible,” he said.
Holler and her husband Robin have three grown children, and three young granddaughters, whom she can’t wait to spend more time with.
It’s ‘Nana’ time,” she said with a big smile on her face. She plans to watch her granddaughters: Whitney, age 4; Maggie, age 2; and Molly, who is just eight weeks old, three days a week.
“I’ll still have my time,” she said.
Holler also plans to do a lot of gardening and canning, and might even try quilting.
“I appreciate the years I’ve had with the postal service, now it’s Nana time … time for the next stage,” she said.
-
-
-
-
-