Mattoon mailman completes 38-year career

MATTOON, Ill. (WCIA) — Christmas Eve is a special time for many people, but for one mailman in Mattoon, he has a reason to look back on this day with joy.

Tuesday was the last route of his almost 40-year career — and he got a surprise from an old friend.

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Bob Swearingen is a staple for Mattoon’s mail delivery service.

“I have a lot of fans,” Swearingen said.

Bob has been working for the USPS for 38 years in Mattoon. He’s done almost ten different routes and made a ton of relationships along the way. But there is one that stands out.

Michelle Wilson was in elementary school when she first met Swearingen. She was walking her dog, Dodger, and he offered the pooch some water.

“And Michelle looked at me with so much love and then it was on. She just walked with me every day,” Swearingen said.

Wilson would walk around an hour each day with Swearingen on his route around her neighborhood.

“Bob is such a joyful person. He’s someone that makes you happy just being around him. So, I would look forward to getting home from school and walking with him,” Wilson said.

The Central Illinois native would also support Michelle and her friends in other things like buying lemonade from their stand. But after a few years, things changed.

“When I got into middle school, I was busy with sports after school and his route changed. So, we lost touch for several years,” Wilson said.

Until 2022 when Michelle saw him on one of his daily routes. She pulled over and they got to reunite.

Tuesday was Swearingen’s last route ever. He’s retiring, so Wilson brought her whole family out to deliver a surprise.

“And they just welcomed me as much as anybody that I’ve been related to. I mean, we are family,” Swearingen said.

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