Stratford Letter Carrier Celebrates 50 Years Of Service

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford letter carrier is celebrating 50 years of service with the U.S. Postal Service.

Daniel Dufresne, who was born and raised in Stratford, has spent his life delivering for his community. He started as a part-time flexible employee in 1977, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

“Mail processing was different back then,” Dufresne said in a news release. “We did not have machines sorting the mail and we had to do it by hand.”

He is now hitting the 50-year mark as a letter carrier – 30 years of which have been on the same route.

“My favorite part of the job is being outside,” he said. “My route is a fully driving route now. I no longer walk for my route. I serve a 55-plus community. Getting the route that I have now was the best thing that happened in my career. That was great for me.”

Besides delivering mail, Dufresne keeps active by riding his bike every day and has a carbon fiber bike.

“I try to keep it under 10 miles now. I used to do up to 25 miles,” he said. “I like riding my bike.”

Dufresne said he has no plans to slow down. He loves the job and said his employees at Stratford are longtime friends of his.

A 50-year celebration of his accomplishment will take place at the Stratford Post Office in early September.