INDIANAPOLIS, IN — When Northwood Station Sales & Service Associate Stan Coburn started with the U.S. Postal Service in January 1968, a car cost about $3,500. A similar car in 2018 costs about $25,500. Big changes in 50 years.

Fort Wayne Postmaster Kathryn Harris considers 50 years of service a big deal, and so does Mayor Tom Henry who proclaimed Feb. 6, 2018 as Stan Coburn Day in the city of Fort Wayne. The celebration begins at 9 a.m. at the Northwood Station, 6041 Stellhorn Drive, Fort Wayne.  

“Stan just epitomizes all that’s great about the Postal Service, and I thought that he should be recognized for his dedication and commitment.

Coburn has seen many changes in his life since he joined the Postal Service in 1968, described as “the year that changed America forever.”

Within a few months of joining the Postal Service, he was drafted and chose to serve with the U.S. Marine Corps. He was sent to Vietnam where he worked in the field as a machine gunner, part of a helicopter unit. “We were always very busy,” he said.

After a year in Vietnam, he came home and was able to take voluntary retirement from the Marine Corps. “I stepped off the plane, and within two days I was back at the Post Office. It was like I had never left,” he said.

“I was very glad to have a job to return to because I had a wife and baby to support,” Coburn said.

Over the years, he has worked at every Post Office and on every shift in the Fort Wayne area.

He has seen many changes in the Postal Service. “When I started everything was manual, no one could imagine machines sorting the mail, but I am happy to have the technology nowadays, because I don’t think we would be able to handle the workload,” he said.

Coburn is not ready for retirement yet. “I do enjoy the work, and I feel healthy and young,” he said. I think I’ll work another five years.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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