Staff Writer

Residents of Otsego and Delaware counties will soon say good-bye to three longtime postmasters.

Schenevus Postmaster Dorothy Scott Fielder, Sandi Collins, postmaster at the West Oneonta post office, and Davenport Postmaster Richard Wanser will be retiring in the next couple of months.

Affectionately known as "Scott," Fielder officially retires on Easter Sunday after nearly 22 years as postmaster, but she actually left for good in February.

"I took an extended vacation," she said, adding that she plans to devote her newfound free time to her hobbies — stamp collecting, reading, gardening and traveling with her husband, Douglas.

A former high school and college biology teacher, Fielder said she left academia for the post office because she was busy raising a family and needed a part-time job.

"I switched from teaching biology to teaching about stamps," Fielder said, referring to her many years as coordinator of the U.S. Postal Service's Benjamin Franklin Stamp Club.

She also led a youth stamp club in Schenevus from 1982 until 2000.

Schenevus post office clerk Glenna Jeschke said it's been a treat to work with Fielder.

"She's missed already," Jeschke said earlier this week. "She knows everyone."

Collins said she is a bit ambivalent about her retirement, which takes effect on April 30. West Oneonta postmaster since 1986, she has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years.

"I've got some mixed feelings, but I'm glad to retire," Collins said. "I'm planning to spend time with my grandchildren."

Collins said working with her customers was the high point of her job.

"The people here in the village have really become my family," she said. "It's just been a great job. No two days are ever the same."

Collins said she will celebrate her retirement with a cake for co-workers and customers on April 29 at the West Oneonta post office.

Wanser, who retires June 27, began his 30-odd years of service with the U.S. Postal Service in 1969. He started out as a part-time clerk in an office on Long Island before transferring in the mid-1970s to the Oneonta office.

In 1983, Wanser began his nearly 20-year tenure as postmaster of the Davenport post office.

"I don't have any regrets," Wanser said. "Everybody has bad days, of course, but by and large, I really enjoyed that face-to-face (contact) with the customers."

The job, Wanser said, was more than carrying out a constitutional mandate. It involved working with the customer to provide the best service possible.

"The customers are the ones that pay our way," Wanser said. "We should treat them accordingly."

Dawna Ross, a post office clerk who has worked with Wanser for more than a decade, said her boss is popular with everyone.

"You couldn't have a better person to work with," Ross said. "The community loves him and these people are like our extended family here."

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Jill Fahy can be reached at jfahy@thedailystar.com or (607) 441-7221.