At 91, He's Retiring. With a Perfect Record

Jack Lund was a mail carrier for 69 years
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2019 2:35 PM CST

A Utah mail carrier is retiring with a perfect record after an incredible 69 years on the job—and attributes his longevity to the fact that he actually enjoyed it, Fox News reports. "Nobody has ever accused me of being smart, and I didn't know you had to quit when you are 65, and I have enjoyed driving the truck, so it is what I wanted to do all my life, and I have enjoyed driving the truck," Jack Lund, 91, tells KSL-TV. Figuring he's driven about 3.5 million miles since 1949 between a Salt Lake depot and smaller, rural offices, Lund says he took the timeworn post-office motto ("Neither snow, nor rain...") very seriously. In fact, he recalls a delivery that was impeded by four feet of snow on a mountain south of Panguitch.

"The highway patrolman told me I couldn't go, and I said, 'This is a mail truck and you can't stop me unless it’s impossible,' and I fooled him, I guess, because he let me go," says Lund. Now his truck is parked for good and he was honored Wednesday in a ceremony with coworkers, family, and friends at the post office in his hometown of Richfield, per ABC 4 News. But after nearly 70 years behind the wheel, what's next? "I haven't made a lot of money, but I have made a good living, and if I can live a few more years and enjoy life that will be fine, it will be different without the responsibility of hauling the mail but I think I can handle it," says Lund. (A greeting card sting didn't go so well for one postal worker.)

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