The Waterloo Post Office said “happy retirement” to three longtime rural mail carriers July 31, including a man who spent nearly 40 years on the job.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night kept Ron Taake from delivering the mail. He knew from a young age it was what he wanted to do.

“I remember going on a first grade class field trip to visit the post office,” he told the Republic-Times. “I thought then that I would like to work there.”

Taake said he had always admired rural Waterloo carrier Alois Hauptfleisch.

“When Alois retired, Glenn Rodenberg moved to our route,” Taake recalled. “He knew I was interested in being a rural carrier. Glen called me one evening to see if I was still interested and asked that I come in the next morning and interview with Postmaster Otis Lutz. Postmaster Lutz hired me as a substitute carrier. Glenn Rodenberg was my mentor and a very good one! I started subbing in November 1982 and became a regular carrier in May 1988.” 

Taake said he’s seen many changes in mail service over the decades.

“When I started, there were four rural routes and three city routes,” he said. “We used to have rural routes and box numbers instead of house and street numbers. All mail for Waterloo was processed at Waterloo and then sorted by the mail clerks and distributed to each route. Today, most mail is presorted in St. Louis and brought directly to your route.” 

He also said parcels are much heavier now.

“When I started, we delivered up to 10 parcels a day,” Taake said. “Today, we deliver 100 or more most days.

When Taake started, a first class stamp cost 20 cents. Now it is 55 cents.

In 1982, Route 3 had 414 boxes and was 68 miles long, Taake said. Today, it has 515 boxes and is 74 miles long. 

“The route has changed several times due to the growth in the community,” Taake said. “And so have the people. Today I am delivering to grandchildren of customers I started with.”

Taake worked for six postmasters and many coworkers throughout his career. 

“Five carriers that have been my substitutes have become regular carriers,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed my time working with many co-workers.”

Most of the rural county roads were rock when Taake started. Today, most of those roads are paved. 

“My compliments to our road districts and highway departments for maintaining and snow removal. Much appreciated,” Taake said.

Taake added that he provided his own vehicles to deliver mail and used 10 different ones in his 39 years.

“I am very proud of my safe driving over my career,” he said. “I had one accident, which was weather-related on an icy road.”

When he started there was one female carrier and three male rural carriers. Today, there are six female and three male rural route carriers.

Some other memories Taake shared include when the old school building next to the post office on Fourth Street was being demolished and the wall of the old school crashed down onto the post office building. 

“The falling wall fell onto my workstation,” he said. “No one was in the building at the time.” 

Postal workers temporarily moved to the old Walmart (presently Rural King) for a few weeks until Rural King moved in. They then moved to the former Carrot Patch Child Care facility until the current post office was built. 

“That was a very stressful time,” Taake remembers.

Another memorable experience came one day when Taake was delivering mail and saw a man on his porch roof waving as he drove by. 

“I waved back and when I was making my return, he was waving frantically and hollered ‘my ladder fell down, would you mind putting it up for me?’” Taake said. “He said several people just waved, as I did the first time. You never know what you may have to do while delivering mail.”

Taake said he was blessed with good health throughout the years, accumulating nearly 200 days of sick leave.

“I would like to thank my wife Althea for her support,” Taake added. “She even had to drive me around a few times. My family, co-workers and postal customers have all been a blessing to me.”

In retirement, Taake plans to continue farming with his family and do some traveling.

Joining Taake in Friday’s retirement party were fellow retiring postal carriers Gail Roy (20 years of service) and Sue Mehring (28 years). Roy and Mehring retired earlier during the COVID-19 restrictions period.