The post office delivers the mail. But the Sundre post office delivers so much more thanks to the long-term service of Sharon Jackson.
For 55 years, Sharon Jackson has been a dedicated letter carrier in Sundre.
In 1968, she first picked up a mailbag and hasn’t put it down since.
“If it wasn’t for my eyesight and my health, I would still be going – oh yeah. I’d have gone until they found me at a mailbox,” she said laughingly to Simon Ducatel for the Mountainview Today.
“I enjoyed doing the route; I really did. It was my route, and they were my people, and it was up to me to take care of them, and I tried to do my best to do that,” she said.
Sharon wasn’t your average mail delivery person. She truly made an effort to connect with everyone on her route – and went to the utmost lengths to ensure every letter, parcel, and package got into the right hands.
“There’s so many stories people have,” said Diane Stefanchuk, one of the lucky residents who lived along Jackson’s route.
She spoke of one instance where a letter sent by a young child was simply addressed to “Grandma.”
No address, no nothing.
“Sharon found out who the grandma was and managed to deliver it…She went above and beyond.”
But, after all these years of faithful service, Jackson’s health has finally forced her to throw in the towel. But she’s done so with support and love from those she served for all these years.
A whopping 70 people came out to celebrate Jackson’s endless efforts and send her off to a happy retirement.
The event surfaced many colourful stories, with everyone reminiscing on just how much Jackson’s care for her community had meant to them. Some of these folks had been living on her route since her first day on the job.
Going day in and day out down the same route every day might feel mundane to some, but Jackson looked at it with fresh eyes every day.
“It ended up being the love of my life because I enjoyed it. I like the scenery; I have a very pretty route to drive around,” she said.
Jackson’s daughter, Ginger MacDougall, her son, and his daughter – Jackson’s great-grandchild – were all present at the farewell party. MacDougall thought back fondly on how her mother’s outlook on her job shaped both her childhood and her as a person.
“She would always tell me when I went for the drive, ‘Just wait until we get to the next box; they have the most beautiful flowers planted,’ or they have a new unique mailbox, or they built a beautiful display for the holidays or a neat gate, or they added something to their yard…it never went unnoticed.”
Jackson treated her clients like family as well, finding the time to write every person on her route Christmas cards yearly.
“Each and every person on her mail route over the years became an extension of our family,” she said.
The cake at the celebration depicted a beautiful scene of a winding road, fields and trees and a little mailbox on the side.
We can only wish her a retirement as idyllic as the scene depicted on her cake and that as she moves into this golden age of her life, she can continue to enjoy the postal service by being on the receiving end of many letters, packages, and Christmas cards.
As much as Jackson will miss her route, the people on her route will likely miss her more.
