The men behind the modern-day pony express
In the main hallway of the TSC, two men sit in a small room filled with paper, boxes and mail, with smiles on their faces. These two are Kevin Johnson and Allen Wolcott, Utah State University’s very own postal workers.
Johnson and Wolcott do not work for the U.S. Postal Service, but for the university in a subsidized post office.
“The university owns the contract for the office, but we adhere to postal rules and regulations,” Johnson said.
The post office is located between the Quickstop and the Bookstore on the first floor of the TSC, and Wolcott and Johnson are there every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Johnson said, although sometimes the two arrive early.
Johnson has worked at the office for 11 years in July. He said he has wanted to be a mailman since he was in first grade.
“My teacher set up a post office in our class, and I was the postmaster,” he said. “Ever since then, I’ve wanted to work at a post office.”
Johnson said he was born and raised in Cache Valley and worked for a medical billing company before he came to USU 11 years ago.
Wolcott, who Johnson said has been at the university 15 years, was out of the office on a spring break trip and could not be reached for comment.
Johnson said he and Wolcott work at the office every day the university is open and they genuinely like what they do. Johnson said he likes talking to the different people that come by, and many come back every year or every summer.
“We’re kind of like the beauty shop – people talk to us a lot. Some students even have come back and brought their babies,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the post office in the TSC is more than a regular post office. The office is not only for regular mail, but also takes and gives mail to the United Parcel Service (UPS).
The TSC post office is open even when the post-office in town is not, Johnson said, because it follows a university schedule.
“We get a percentage of what we sell back in money, so it maintains the office here,” Johnson said. “It’s great when the faculty, students and staff use the options they have here.”
David Parkinson, director of the Bookstore, said he uses the office in the TSC all the time, because it’s across the hall from him.
“Other people have to go down to the post office, but I just bring whatever I need to send to work, and it’s right there,” he said. “It’s really convenient.”
Matt Eskon works at the USU distribution center and gathers the mail in the early afternoon each day. He said Wolcott and Johnson are nice guys, and they are always pleasant to be around.
Eskon said he takes the mail he picks up to the center, where it goes to the room where they process mail to be shipped out.
“There are a couple different rooms. We have a big room where we do bulk mail, a room to sort mail for departments and another room where we sort the outgoing mail,” Eskon said.
The post office has many benefits for students, Johsnon said, such as discounts on mailing and the ability to purchase post office boxes.
“We have some students that buy a box, and we see them year after year,” Johnson said. “Then when they leave, it’s like losing family.”
The post office boxes are sold for $21 for six months or $42 for a year. Johnson said during breaks, at no charge, the mail students receive can be forwarded to any address and then stopped when students get back to school.
“Right now we’re at about 50 percent capacity in P.O. boxes,” Johnson said. “We’d love to have more people use them – they’re the best kept secret on campus.”
The two men have worked together for so long, Johnson said, that it’s like a marriage.
“We know how to work really well together, and we’ve learned a lot,” he said.
Johnson can understand almost anyone, from any country, who comes to the post office to send mail, since most mail sent is from international students, Johnson said.
“A lot of the international students know how to speak English in their field, but when it comes to every day things, like mailing a letter or getting an envelope, they struggle,” Johnson said. “So we’ve learned how to understand even the hardest things.”
He said, “The people here make the difference, it’s why I like working through the university so much,” he said.
– april.ashland@aggiemail.usu.edu