Local postmaster put his stamp on Stamford

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December 30, 2010

By Mark Boshnack Staff Writer The Daily Star Thu Dec 30, 2010, 08:29 AM EST

"I was just going to go peacefully and quietly, but my employees wouldn't let that happen," said recently retired Stamford Postmaster Dennis Moore. "I am glad they didn't," he said.

He served his last day on the job with the Postal Service on Wednesday morning. He talked about the event that afternoon.

Stamford Postal Service clerk Carol Haynes said Moore didn't want people to make a fuss about the retirement, but employees put a sign on the door a couple of days ago.

"I had a lot of fun saying goodbye," Moore, 70, said.

That included getting a lot of trays of cookies from employees and customers. "That helped to make it all special," he said.

"I am still numb," Moore said about retiring. He hadn't yet shaken the feeling of "I will have to get up in the morning," he said.

He started as a letter carrier 48 years ago in Stamford, where he was born and raised and went to school, he said. He left to be a letter carrier at another post office before getting into a series of management positions, including officer-in-charge and postmaster, before taking the top post at Stamford in 1984.

"I was lucky enough to get back here," he said.

He decided to retire now while he can still pursue other interests.

With three of his 14 grandchildren involved with sports in area schools, he will spend his time watching their games before figuring out what he wants to do next, he said.

He started out before five digit ZIP codes became part of the Postal Service in 1963, he said. The most difficult adjustment came in the last decade, getting used to computers, he said.

This was important because "we have to work on productivity and service in order to survive," he said.

Overall, "we do a terrific job for just about everyone," he said. "The best thing we can give is service -- that will keep people coming back to us."

He said he will miss the people he has met over the years -- both the patrons and employees. But since he will still live in Grand Gorge with his wife of 41 years, Joan, he hopes to still see many of them.

He won't miss getting up early in the morning at 5:30 a.m., he said. "When you do that in the dead of winter, it's not much fun."

Several people said they will miss him. Tony Basile, owner of nearby Mama Maria's restaurant, said he has known Moore for at least 20 years.

He is "a very nice guy," who he hoped to see in his restaurant, Basile said. "He went out of his way to help people. He is a very good man."

Christiane Rappleyea has been a regular for the last couple of years, working in Stamford.

"He always made you feel good," saying "have a nice day," she said. He was "a very nice man. We will miss him," she said

"He was wonderful to work for," Haynes said. "He was easygoing and had a nice dry sense of humor," she said.

"He was from the old school, and it will be hard for anyone to fill his shoes," she said.

Officer-in-Charge Joan Greco, who is the Delhi postmaster, started at the Stamford Post Office on Tuesday and is taking over Moore's repsonsibilities until a permanent replacement is named. She said with a hiring freeze in the Postal Service she did not know when that would be.

The East Meredith resident brings 25 years of experience to the position, she said.

Customers shouldn't notice any change in service, she said.

She has been in the office since she began Tuesday, but she will soon be getting to know the patrons better by working at the window and walking with carriers next week.

"I am looking forward to serving the community," she said.