From birds and bees, to trying to fit mail in undersized mailboxes and braving icy conditions, Stephen Kistler has experienced it all as a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier for 33 years.

On Jan. 3, the Schnecksville Post Office sent him off in style with a retirement party and well wishes for an enjoyable retirement.

"We're going to relax this winter, me and my wife [Kathie]," Kistler said. "She'll probably go get another job because that's the way she's made.

"She needs to be doing something. "I on the other hand, can relax. I'm good at it."

Kistler began his tenure at the Schnecks-ville Post Office in November 1979, fresh out of college and looking for more work to complement his part-time landscaping gig.

The Schnecksville native, who now resides in Kutztown, decided to apply for a part-time position with the office when his mother, Luella, encouraged him to apply as she was working there as a clerk.

Kistler got the job and advanced until he became a full-time carrier.

He has seen many changes during his time delivering the mail.

"When I started there were two routes, and now there's five," Kistler said. "So, Schnecksville has grown considerably from 1979."

In addition to the changing landscape, Kistler has had to adjust to the increase of machinery added to the process.

"When I first started, every piece of letter got sorted by hand," he explained. "Now I'd say 85 percent of it is sorted by machine."

Over the years, Kistler was responsible for routes that took him throughout several townships, including Lowhill, North Whitehall and even parts of Heidelberg to name a few.

"I enjoyed that I was able to be my own boss once I got out on the road and I got to see people that I knew from childhood," Kistler said.

He also experienced the challenges unique to a carrier, such as learning how to deal with dogs, how to turn around a mail truck in a snow-filled cul-de-sac and being wary of flustered birds.

"I had a bird come out," Kistler said. "Right under the mailbox there was an opening, and the bird made a nest there.

"Well, I pull up [to the mailbox and] the bird flies right across my face into my other window.

"So I'm trying to scramble and open the window…[but] I'll find other ways to have excitement now."

The long-tenured employee also experienced some bumps and bruises during his service, and one major injury.

"[I] had a couple of injuries along the way," he said. "I fell on the mail route once and fractured my neck. That was … interesting."

For Kistler, his time off due to his neck injury in 2000-01 was one of the few times that he was not at his job, faithfully sorting and delivering the mail on his route.

"Steve really didn't need a lot of supervision to work," Postmaster LeAnn Hoch said. "He knew his job. He went out every day and delivered all of the mail.

"It's definitely a lot easier when you have employees that are trained and really know their jobs."

Kistler was presented with a certificate of commemoration for his service and also a plaque for making the One Million Mile Club, which is presented to employees "for attaining 1,000,000 miles and/or 30 years of safe driving without a preventable incident," according to the inscription on the plaque.

"It's just such a milestone," Hoch said. "We couldn't let it go by without recognizing him for all the years of service and all his great work that he's done.

"He's always courteous, he's dependable, he's accurate in his deliveries, [and] he cares about his customers. If there was ever a problem that they had with the route, he always made sure that he addressed it and we took care of it together.

"He's just a great asset and we're really going to miss him."

For Kistler, retirement means running his last route, but for the longtime mail carrier, it is a mixture of feelings.

"I'm sure in a few weeks I will miss the routine … but I don't see that happening now," Kistler said, as he smiled and turned back to his station to sort the mail one last time.