Red letter day

June Casagrande

A lot has changed since Nancy Buck took a $3.16-an-hour job at the

Newport Beach Post Office in 1968.

But, at least on the Balboa Peninsula, a lot has stayed the same.

Though workers now use computers instead of pencil and paper to add

up the cost of stamps, the small-town atmosphere and close-knit

community still create an environment where Buck knows about 90% of

her customers by name. And it’s those people she will miss the most

when she retires.

“That’s what gives me the lump in my throat -- the people,” Buck

said in a room lined with balloons marked “Happy Retirement.”

When she hangs up her uniform at the end of her four-hour shift

today, the 58-year-old Santa Ana Heights resident who grew up on

Balboa Island will embark on a whole new course. She will enroll in a

two-year program at Orange Coast College to become a speech and

language pathology assistant.

“I wouldn’t be leaving this job if it weren’t for this door

opening up for me,” Buck said. “But this is a really exciting

opportunity to give something back.”

It will still be hard to leave behind her customers, her longtime

co-worker Phil Greiwe and her 35-year career of putting people first.

“A lot of places in the world are changing the way they do

business, but here we still keep things personal. Still go the extra

step,” she said. “I like going the extra step.”

For example, every once in a while, she will come across an

envelope someone typed not realizing the caps lock on the keyboard

was engaged. As a result, instead of numbers on the envelope, there

appear a series of symbols: dollar signs, ampersands, exclamation

points. On those rare occasions, Buck personally walks over to a

typewriter and matches up the symbols with the numbers that

correspond to each symbol.

“I try to decode it because I’m committed to making sure the mail

gets delivered, committed to the people,” she said. “I like that I

can help make sure it gets delivered.”

Buck, who describes herself as “probably the luckiest person

you’ve ever met,” conveys this attitude of joy and gratitude to her

customers.

“She’s always been a breath of fresh air,” resident and Balboa

Beacon publisher Gay Wassall-Kelly said. “When I forget my key for

the P.O. Box, Nancy will push the mail through for me. She’s always a

pleasure to see in there.”

Greiwe, a 31-year postal employee who has worked with Buck for

about seven years, said that hers will be some big shoes to fill.

“She’s a wonderful person to work with,” he said. “I’m going to

miss her tremendously.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.