Mailman celebrates 70 years of service to USPS

A lot has changed in the last 70 years, but Oklahoma’s Johnnie Bell’s profession has not.

According to KOCO-TV, Bell celebrated 70 years of service to the United States Postal Service last week. The outlet reported he was 23 when he started working for USPS.

“Thanks so much for this recognition. This is just something I do because I enjoy doing it,” he told KOCO.

He is believed to be the longest-serving mailman in the US.

“For a guy that’s been here 70 years, he knows this job inside out. It’s clockwork for him,” Willie Taffe told KOCO.

The size of USPS has grown during his tenure. In 1952, 355,143 worked for the post office. In 2021, that number was over 516,000.

When he started, the price of a stamp was 3 cents. Now, it’s 60 cents.

Last week’s celebration was not the first time he has been honored. In 2015, at the age of 86, he earned the Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver Award from the National Safety Council.

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