By ROBERT FATURECHI Special to the Daily Press
For the past four decades, Richard Iding has taken to the streets, striding from one block to the next, packing Santa Monica mailboxes with letters, postcards and bills.
He’s been the neighborhood mailman for 44 years, but on Friday Iding hung up his mailbag for good.
Though the longtime Santa Monica resident has spent years delivering mail “rain, sleet, hail or snow,” the 77-year-old has decided to finally take a break.
And take in some sun. “I want to go to Hawaii, and I’ve got plenty of little things to go to, the fairs to go to, the museums to see,” Iding said. “I’ll maybe go to Europe.”
Iding arrived in Santa Monica in 1956, 10 years after he began his decade-long tenure in the Navy, where he worked in finances on the mighty Baltimore, a ship he describes as large and beautiful.
The Milwaukee native watched the city of Santa Monica take shape, from a small factory town to a bustling and affluent beachside community.
“Everything has changed — a lot more people, a lot more vehicles,” Iding said. “They want the small-town feeling, but they don’t have it anymore.”
Though the father of one is glad he’s finally getting a chance to relax with his wife, who also is retired, he says he’ll miss the everyday exchanges he enjoyed with the residents he served.
“It was a good job. Things have changed, but it was nice,” Iding said. “You get to know the people you serve, and you have a very good relation with almost all of them. I miss them, and it was always a pleasure serving them.”
A day after his retirement bash, the Daily Press caught up with the longtime mailman to talk about the past and his plans for the future.
How has Santa Monica changed in the last 40 years?
“There are about 40 or 50 percent more people. There are more big businesses. Small businesses are going out. Things change with the times; we have so many more people, and the land is becoming so much more valuable. Not too many people can afford it anymore for small businesses.
“It wasn’t as crowded, you had more houses all over instead of big apartment dwellings. Before you had very good relationships with everyone whose stores or bakeries you went to. You got to know them, they got to know you and your families, and that’s more or less a thing of the past.
“It’s got a lot of traffic now, but that’s a thing that goes with life.”
How has mail carrying in Santa Monica changed over the course of the last few decades?
“Things have changed because you are getting more automated mail in now. You are getting more mail in that is already routed for house-to-house delivery, which you never had before.”
What’d you do before you started work at the post office?
“I was in the military, in the Navy for 10 years. The last service I had I was aboard the Baltimore, and I (worked in the finance department) from ’46 to ’56. The military is not bad. I was aboard small destroyers mainly. My last duty was aboard the Baltimore, a large, beautiful ship. It must have been five times bigger than a destroyer.”’
Why’d you leave the military? “I was working 14 to 15 hours a day behind a desk, and we were short on help and we had a very good team, but the pay and service was not that good. (After I left the military) I came to Santa Monica and worked at Douglas for a couple years in the missile section.”
Talk about your days as a newbie mail carrier.
“Ten, 12 hours a day, making a dollar and 10 cents an hour. If you worked on Christmas or New Year’s that was straight pay. Jobs were a little tough to come by years ago, so people wanted a good solid job, and the demand was there at the post office.”
As you aged, was it tough making the daily rounds as a mail carrier?
“I have problems with my one knee now, but the walking is maybe the best thing a person can have. I still walk, but I don’t walk anymore like I used to. But it’s not that bad. You meet your same people everyday, little things happen everyday that are nice.”
What do you like about Santa Monica?
“Santa Monica is not a bad city. We got used to everybody, we got used to the stores. I had a good relationship with the people I served. I would meet them on the street, and everything was always nice.”
Why’d you decide to retire? “I was old enough. I’m ready for retirement. I’m older, you get a little bit tired afterwards. When you get older you can’t push so much anymore. It’s time to relax a little bit.”
Will you miss the day-to-day hustle at the post office?
“I had a good relationship with almost everybody in the office. I will go back and I will see them, and I’ll have to bring some food when I see them again.”
What are your post-retirement plans? “I’ve got a lot to do around the house, and then also I’ve a lot of time to go through all my old stuff and get rid of a lot of stuff. (My wife and I) both have bus passes, and transportation is good for older people so we can use the bus system.”
Any travel plans? “Right now not too far, we’ll stick around the county. We’ll be going to Hawaii eventually.”
Will you miss the work? “I won’t miss it too much now, but I will miss naturally the people I serve.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.