OAK RIDGE, TN — Arkie McKinney started his career as a part-time flexible clerk with the Post Office Department in November 1968 – as it was then called – and has since been serving postal customers in Oak Ridge.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, at 8:30 a.m., McKinney will be recognized in front of his peers and family for his 50 years of service by Oak Ridge Postmaster Clay Hendren at the Main Post Office, 301 S. Tulane Ave.

“It’s not often we celebrate an employee who has served the Postal Service for 50 years,” said Hendren.
“We are taking a moment to honor a man who has given a large portion of his life – his hard work and dedication – to this organization. We want to congratulate and thank him for sharing those years with us at the Postal Service.”

As the longest serving carrier in Oak Ridge – and currently in the state of Tennessee – McKinney has worked out of the same Post Office since he began his postal career and delivered mail on the same walking route in the original Oak Ridge neighborhood since 1973.

“A lot has changed over the course of the past 50 years,” according to McKinney. “Stamps were 6-cents and there was no Internet. All people got in the mail were First-Class letters and an occasional magazine. There was no such thing as bulk mail and there was no advertising mail.”

Unlike today where McKinney’s mail is pre-sorted for delivery when he arrives to work, back then he used to spend a couple of hours each day casing his mail before heading out to the street. He would make his deliveries using a Cushman Mailster – a small three-wheeled fiberglass vehicle used for mail deliver in the 1950s and 60s. “We called them pregnant guppies,” he said. “If you turned a corner too sharply, it would fall over on its side. But the nice part was you just got out and sit it back up on its wheels and went on making your deliveries.” Cushmans were eventually replaced by Jeeps in the 1970s.

McKinney has watched kids on his route grow up and then watched their children, too. It’s not usual for people to approach the familiar face in the neighborhood. “Once I was taking my break in Cedar Hill Park when a man approached me and asked if I remembered him. He said I came to his kindergarten class and spoke about the Post Office. Then about that time a toddler came running up who happened to be his granddaughter.

Despite the rain, heat and snow, he still gets a thrill out of delivering mail. “I like everything about my job, especially my customers. And the walking has kept me in good health,” said McKinney, who turned 70 in September.

He added: “I’ve been bitten by dogs numerous times in the past, but I’m not afraid of them. You learn how to handle each type of dog. Some you can give a hard look to and they will leave you alone. But when dogs give you a hard look, that’s when it’s time to get out of there.”

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