After 25 years working for the United States Postal Service, Rick Melvin is retiring. He has been a Rural Mail Carrier, working out of both the Blandinsville and La Harpe post offices the entire time.
Melvin said there have been many changes in the Postal Service since he started which took the fun out of it.
"There is much more pressure to hurry and get done, and there is much more mail," he said.
His greatest challenges were the winter weather and the country roads, but he admits that delivering the mail has really been a good job for him.
"I enjoyed the people I met and the people I worked with."
There are no retirement plans but Melvin will keep busy. He lives in Blandinsville and has two children, Tera and Tanner.
His wife, Teresa, passed away in 2001