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Two-thirds of
Will Cullum's route consists of door-to-door, on-the-porch delivery - a mode requiring him to walk four miles a day. This seems to fit Will just fine. Most days he also walks another mile and a half round trip to and from work. Go back to the start of his career at age 21 and extend the numbers to include all of Cullum's 31 years as a letter carrier and you get a ballpark estimate of over 29,000 miles of walking.
But apparently walking is not a problem for Cullum. When asked what he likes to do with his time off, he lists backpacking and hiking in the mountains at the top of his list. This year he wants to climb Long's Peak.
Cullum is based out of the Littleton Main Post Office. The route he has been on the past nine years takes him through a quiet neighborhood south of
W. Briarwood Ave and east of S. Prince Street.
He likes his customers and has gotten to be friends with quite a few of them, going bowling and fishing with them.
On a typical workday, carriers spend the majority of their workday outside. Cullum says, "Being outside, my workday goes by fast. In Colorado we get over 300 days of sunshine and I love being outdoors. That part of the job can't be beat." While many of us are thinking of what a long winter this has been, Will takes it all in stride.
"This winter has had its share of snow and cold, but nothing I would call brutal. Someplace like Minnesota might be a different story." He says he enjoys carrying in all four of Colorado's distinctly different seasons.
Like many carriers, Cullum regularly encounters lost drivers. Some will spot him and immediately ask for directions. He cheerfully lends assistance, and is amused by the ones who pass him up two, three, even four times before soliciting his help.
Dogs are a fact of life on a carrier route. Cullum says he is fortunate to have only been bitten three times, never seriously. One time a little feisty dog got him on the hand.
Another time a well trained guard dog attached himself to Cullum's clothed arm, applying just enough pressure to hold him immobile until his owner ordered release. No blood. His third encounter happened as he was getting out of his vehicle. Before he knew it he heard a strange sound and looked down to see an old dog barking with apparently worn out or removed vocal cords. Undaunted, the dog attacked, biting Will on the leg. It turns out Fido was also toothless. Will still laughs about it. "What a strange feeling that was."
Marsha Chatel, Manager of Littleton Main Post Office says about Cullum: "It is truly a delight to have such a dedicated postal carrier working here who cares about his job, his customers and his fellow workers."