BENTLEY, Alta. – A new door opened for grain grower Denis Haarstad at noon on July 30 when he wrapped up his last day delivering mail on a 150-kilometre route west of Bentley, Alta., and north of Sylvan Lake.
Working three days a week, regardless of weather, strife or statutory holidays, Haarstad, 69, has missed only one day in the 35 years since he first picked up his contract with Canada Post.
“You could set your clock by him,” said retired farmer Stan Anderson, whose family is among about 20 original customers Haarstad has served since starting his route.
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Anderson said there was always someone in the passenger seat, usually a close friend or family member, to put the mail in the box while Haarstad drove the route.
Bad weather and vehicle failures never seemed to be a problem, said Anderson. Haarstad was capable of doing roadside repairs when necessary and always had access to another vehicle if the one he was driving couldn’t be nursed back to life.
“I have a pretty good record for not being sick or anything,” said Haarstad.
“There’s been some rough going, but I usually made it through.”
Starting with a Ford half-ton truck, Haarstad wore out five vehicles since picking up the mail contact to supplement the income from his farm.
“I’m driving a ’91 Suburban now, with about 300,000 clicks on it.”
He said farming and mail delivery worked well together, with sorting the mail and running the route mail taking about six hours in the morning.
“I was usually done the mail route by noon and I could get at farming,” said Haarstad.
The route itself has changed little since Haarstad first started, although the roads have improved and individual mailboxes have been replaced by community boxes placed at strategic points along the way.
“It hasn’t really changed a lot. There’s a lot more people and a lot more flyers,” said Haarstad.
Along with the steady paycheques, the mail route got him off the farm on a regular basis and gave him an opportunity to socialize, which was worth as much as the money it was bringing in, he said.
One thing he missed throughout those years was the opportunity to take a vacation.
While Haarstad and his wife, Laura, have taken advantage of the four-day Easter weekends to visit friends in Montana, that’s the longest time he has been able to take off since 1975.
Sitting in his kitchen after delivering his last letter ever, Haarstad said he and Laura are trying to decide how to spend the first real vacation they’ve ever had.