When the Stevenson Post Office moved out of the old wooden building across from the Stevenson Lumber property on Monroe Turnpike in 2014, Pamela Lane became its new clerk. She worked out of a mail truck in the parking lot at 244 Roosevelt Drive for the first three years, before moving into a space at the shopping center next door.
David York and his wife Sue, longtime residents of the Stevenson section of Monroe, had friendly interactions with Lane over the years.
“I think we respect Pam with all the endurance, especially with the truck,” David said. “It was warmed by running it. I would stand there and talk to her at the window. They finally put an awning on it so, if it was raining or snowing, customers wouldn’t get wet. This lady’s almost froze her fingers off.”
“It was fun. I enjoyed it,” a smiling Lane said from behind the counter Monday afternoon.
Monday was Lane’s last day running the Post Office in Stevenson. A tray of cookies was on one table and customers were welcomed to write messages wishing Lane well at another.
Lane, 58, who has had a 37-year-career as a postal worker, was transferred to serve as a clerk at the U.S. Post Office on Middle Street in Bridgeport. She had previously worked in Stamford and Southport.
One customer gave Lane a bouquet of flowers on Monday and longtime customer, Eleanor Amato of Oxford, came into the Post Office to write a farewell message to Lane. On her way out, she looked back at Lane and said, “I love you.”
“She’s a sweetheart,” Amato said of Lane. “She’s a good person. I’m going to miss her. She’s fantastic.”
David York said much of the Stevenson Post Office’s customer base is made up of Oxford residents. He remembers when the U.S. Postal Service considered closing the Stevenson office for good.
“Steve Vavrek, the first selectman at the time, was campaigning for a relocation and Sen. Blumenthal helped,” York said. “Everyone tried to have it relocated.”
Lane was transferred from Southport to become the first clerk when the Stevenson office was temporarily housed in the mobile truck. She and her husband, Eric, now live in Trumbull. The couple has two children and three grandchildren.
“I’ve gotten to know her and her children and grandchildren,” David York said. “My granddaughter wrote a letter.”
The Yorks took their granddaughter, Cassie, to the Post Office during family visits when she was eight-years-old. The girl, who is now 14, enjoyed talking to Lane and sometimes had lunch with her.
In a text to her grandmother, Cassie wrote:
Just heard about Pam leaving! I would just like to say that I’m so grateful that I got to meet such a kind person as a kid. I loved having penne pasta and an ice cream cone from the gas station or hangout behind the desk with her. I hope that she has the best of times at her new job.
“She’s just so kind and thoughtful,” Sue York said of Lane. “She goes out of her way to help people. She cares for people and watches out for them.”
Never met a bad customer
Lane said she is a Christian and the thing she likes most about her job is the people.
Among her memories, Lane recalls a time when a letter came in without an address and she tracked it down. One customer, who was a rock collector, delivered and received 300 pounds of rocks in one year. And a woman she spoke to on the phone told Lane her niece loves stopping at the Post Office, while driving through town, just to talk to her.
“You can talk about everything,” Lane said. “It’s a peaceful place to come and talk.”
Of her time in Stevenson, she said, “I loved it. I’ve never met a bad customer. I never ran into anyone angry. One woman came in with a bad attitude and came back to apologize for her actions, because she said I was so nice and she had a bad day.”
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I was in there a few times (I live off Barn Hill and it is closer than the main branch) and we used to talk about our jewelry! We are both silver fanatics and we discussed where we had bought them. Lovely lady!!!