A typical trip to the Newcastle Post Office might include the smiling face of Christopher Irvin, as he greets you, genuinely happy to see you, and calling you by name.
That won’t be the case for Irvin after February 16. The almost 25-year employee is retiring from the U.S. Postal Service and will be the focus of a reception from 3-5 p.m. February 17 at the Community Room in Newcastle Library.
Chris is leaving behind the workday world to pursue some of his likes, pleasures and hobbies, which include music and travel. “I want to thank the people of Newcastle for making my career easy and fun,” he said.
He added that the Newcastle Post Office has been filled with blessings, which he said includes his boss, Newcastle Postmaster Bryan Garrett.
“We have a unique situation here that probably doesn’t exist in a lot of offices,” Chris said. “We are more than co-workers — we are personal friends. We aren’t just strangers who work together. We are very cohesive.
“It’s more than just coming to work.
You really have a relationship with the people you work with. They have been my saving grace over the years, and have influenced how I work with the people coming in to the post office.
“It’s really unique in Newcastle, and I have had people who have been professional friends for decades. I wouldn’t have traded this location for anything. It was perfect just the way it was.”
Chris was a graduate at Tushka High School in 1979.
Before working for the federal government, he worked various jobs in the private sector including typesetting and word processing for the oil and gas industry, specifically in title opinions.
In 1995, Chris began working for the Department of the Interior. As an employee for the Bureau of Reclamation, Chris worked in right-of-way acquisition, dealing with legal descriptions on the land where owners were compensated for their property. He also did some surveying and driving on site.
Chris was involved with the building of McGee Creek Lake “from the ground up,” he said, getting to see the flood zone before it was full of water, and then witnessing the dam being built.
He transferred with Reclamation for a time to El Paso, Texas, where he performed silt surveys, drafting, and legal description work for rightof- way.
Chris said his retirement papers show 25 years of service altogether to the federal government. Chris started as a letter carrier with the postal service in Purcell on December 4, 1999, carrying mail on all four city routes. Just before leaving Purcell, Chris changed from being a carrier to retail.
In the Fall of 2021, a Newcastle employee wanted to move to Purcell and Chris wanted to move to Newcastle, since he lived nearby in Blanchard. The switch took place, and Chris spent the remainder of his time with the Postal Service as a sales and service associate.
Leading up to announcing his retirement, Chris said he was nervous, but now he’s starting to feel better since the actual date is coming.
“I’m seeing new horizons and possibilities for travel that were not there before,” he said.
Chris, an avid piano player with a preference for classical music, said he also wants to further pursue playing. During the COVID 19 pandemic, he began playing the cello. He plans to further his string playing, as well.
While he likes to perform classical music, Chris, who said he is a child of the 1960s, may also take time to listen to his favorite music from the 1970s and 80s.
Singing is also something he has enjoyed over the years, having sung a couple of seasons with the Master Chorale, including the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Braums in German and Latin. The Master Chorale has been described as the epitome of choral music, full of the most talented vocalists — some of the best of the best.
Chris will be missed at the Newcastle Post Office, but he’ll now have time to pursue his passions. “It’s literally a new chapter. This has been a long time coming,” he said.
The public is invited to congratulate Chris by attending the February 17 reception at the Community Room, 705 N.W. 10th Street in Newcastle.
