Delivery with a smile

Working for post office was just the right job for Karger
She delivered mail for the last time on a cold Saturday afternoon. She said goodbyes to coworkers, nearly all among her good friends. After 25-plus years on the job, Kelly Karger isn’t a fan of saying goodbye.
Karger made her last delivery Saturday afternoon. Now she and her husband Brian are off to begin the next chapter in their lives. She wanted to part with a smile on her face, not tears. A smile and friendly conversation are what Karger is known for by so many local residents and visitors to the New Prague Post Office. She treats her coworkers, the people she spent days with for over two decades, like family.
“I gave all my coworkers a hug. I’m not good with goodbyes. This isn’t ‘goodbye,’ it’s ‘I’ll see you later’,” she said. “You work with these people every day. Sure, I’ll miss them, but we’ll be back.”
Exactly what that next chapter entails is to be determined. She’ll spend time with her two daughters and the grandchildren. She might travel a bit. A trip to Australia has long been on her bucket list. She’d like to visit Alaska and New York, too. Either way, Karger is ready to retire.
“I’ll figure it out when I get there,” she said.
She’s walked thousands of miles delivering mail over the years and worked thousands of hours as a clerk at the front window. She’s moving up north and plans to stop back in New Prague for occasional visits.
She grew up west of New Prague in St. Thomas, the daughter of Mary and Donald Halloran. After graduating from high school in 1982. She signed up for the U.S. Army Reserve during her senior year and reported for training shortly after graduating from high school. She worked for a...
To see more on this story pick up the January 18, 2024 print edition of The New Prague Times.