On an average day, 300 to 400 customers use the post office in Baker University Center, so post office clerk Charlie Tholin is usually busy.
But after 11 years of working at the campus post office, Tholin knows how to keep himself from going postal.
I try to go as fast as I can
he said. Usually if I have a bad day it's cause I've made it a bad day.
Although it can be tiring, Tholin said he loves working at Baker.
[The postal service] has a lot of offices but basically I work [at the student center] 'cause I love you guys he said. I don't know everyone's names
but I know faces.
Tholin, who has been a clerk for 22 years, started off in the old Baker Center and moved to the new center in January 2007.
Originally from Kingston, N.Y., Tholin worked as an electrician and did construction. He was unemployed for two and a half years before he moved to Coolville and took the test to work at the post office.
The test involved memorizing addresses and matching them to a route, Tholin said. After he passed the test, he began working as a clerk at the main Athens Post Office, 5 W. Stimson Ave.
I've never had the desire to (deliver mail)
he said.-
there's inclement weather and dogs.
In the summer, Tholin works part time at the main post office and part time at Baker but spends all his time at Baker during the school year, said Bob Kiser, postmaster of the Athens main post office.
I really couldn't think of anyone else who would do a better job of dealing with students and staff. He goes above and beyond
Kiser said.
Besides selling stamps and giving people their packages, Tholin said he spends a lot of time helping students.
Students are becoming more mail-challenged
he said. I used to never have anyone ask
'Is this more than 13 ounces?' until this year
and now I get that almost every day.
Any mail over 13 ounces can't go in the mail box and must be sent through the post office, Tholin said. But he has an easy way for students to figure out when to take a trip to Baker.
If it feels like a beer
drop it here
