Lein delivered good service from the post office

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By ROD STETZER rod.stetzer@lee.net
Friday, February 29, 2008 10:21 PM CST

It was the only time working 38 years as a postal carrier that Rod Lein was bitten by a dog.

It happened on Long Island, where Lein worked for a decade before moving to Chippewa Falls in April 1979.

He remembers walking to a house when something grabbed his hand. A dog had jumped out of a partially open window of a passing car and proceeded to take a chomp out of Lien.

He flung his hand forward to get the animal off of him. “And the dog flew into the house,” Lein said.

The dog quickly recovered, and jumped back through the car’s open window. The car then sped off.

“It was funny,” he said, although he wasn’t laughing when he discovered his hand was dripping blood from the dog bite.

Nothing like that ever happened to him in Chippewa Falls. “The dogs on my route like me. In fact, it’s a joke that they’re my girlfriends,” Lein said.

Today the dogs along the route from Olive Street to Bridgewater Street to Highway 53 will have to find a new boyfriend. Lein, 57, retired Thursday.

He is leaving behind a lasting impression on his post office colleagues.

“He’s awesome,” Chippewa Falls Postmaster Diane Riley said. “He’s just a positive influence on the Chippewa Falls Post Office.”

Riley said Lein is well respected by his co-workers and by management, and received compliments from customers on his route.

Lein also received the Million Mile Award from the National Safety Council for his accident-free driving.

Deb Christopherson has worked with Lein for over 1 1/2 years.

“He’s wonderful, He will do anything. He comes in and says, “Whatever it takes, boss,” said Christopherson, who is the supervisor of customer services for the post office.

Lein is thoughtful and knows the names of his postal customers, including the residents of an apartment building at the end of his route on Bridgewater Avenue.

“They love seeing Rod,” Christopherson said.

Lein and his wife, Robin, live in Chippewa Falls. Their son, Reed, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and their daughter, Amy, is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Lein didn’t intend to spend most of his adult life working for the post office. The native of Flushing, N.Y. was a manager of a department store stock room in New York in 1969 when a co-worker said he was taking an employment test with the post office.

“I went down with this guy and took the test,” Lein said. He passed and was offered a job. He went back to his department store boss to see if she would match the benefits the post office offered.

“She said, ‘No, go.’ So I did,” he said.

Eventually, both Lein and his wife wanted to get out of New York. “We made a trip out here and just fell in love,” he said of Wisconsin. “The people were so friendly.”

He wrote to several post offices in the state to see if any jobs were available. The only response he got was from then- Chippewa Falls Postmaster Bud Young, who told him the Chippewa Falls post office would need him in seven years.

“A year later, I came home and there was a letter from Bud saying, “I need you right away.’” Lein said.

Lein said he loved working for Young. He was the type of guy who would tell you if you made a mistake, but then he would back you up 100 percent, Lein said.

Through his 28 years in Chippewa Falls, Lein has seen the city grow. But while there are more houses and more people, the city’s residents have remained the same.

“They are kind of laid-back, regular people,” Lein said.

“I like people. That’s the best part of my day.”

Deciding to retire has been difficult, but it’s been supported by Lein’s wife, Robin. Lein admits the job has been tough on him physically, and it’s time to go.

All of which is good news for one family member in particular.

“Electric Bell” is a four-year-old English Pointer that’s been invited to compete as one of 14 dogs in a field competition in Rhode Island in March.

Lein also plans on taking his dog to competitions in Minnesota and Wisconsin so that she has a chance to win a championship for English Pointers in the Upper Midwest.

His canine “girlfriends” on the West Hill of Chippewa Falls will be jealous.

Reach Rod Stetzer at rod.stetzer@lee.net.