Long time Cheney postal worker set to retire

CHENEY – Steady effort and growth have helped Vicki Pagel get to where she is with the local post office, and she is set to soon retire after being with the Cheney office since 1997.

The long-time postal worker said she was born in Spokane, and primarily lived in the surrounding area although she lived in Olympia and wasn't too fond of that area.

Pagel said she started as a janitor in the small post office in Odessa in 1995 and kept putting in all the extra work she could while employed at the little office.

Pagel said she lived in Odessa for 11 years, and her family didn't have a lot of resources growing up, so she never really considered college. She said she wanted to jump right into the workforce.

She said while she was still working that job, she was also encouraged to become a substitute rural driver for the post office by Dorothy Frederick from Odessa.

Ron Frederick, Dorothy's husband had also convinced Pagel to take the test to become a bus driver for Odessa, and she did this all while holding on to her position with the postal service for a couple of years.

She said her husband Harold Pagel is now a retired postmaster, and he has been her biggest supporter and strongest advocate along the way.

In 1997 however, she was offered a chance to participate in some training to become an office clerk for the post office and jumped for the opportunity. Pagel said she finished that training and transferred to Cheney to take a position as a clerk which she said she has been happy to do ever since.

She said she had to start out on the bottom rung of the ladder, and that she has "been truly blessed to serve the community of Cheney" for as long as she has.

Pagel said she has happily served Cheney from behind the postal desk for nearly 27 years, and has developed some great friendships along the way. She said she stayed with it for so long because "the job is great, and the co-workers are like family."

Being in an environment in which people work together to solve problems, help each other out, and encourage each other has been a major factor in her happiness within her employment she said.

Even through the pandemic, Pagel said her co-workers were always looking to go the extra mile to help people resolve issues and keep things running as smoothly as possible. She said it has been tough, but everyone is in this together and has been creative when solving problems.

Pagel doesn't have any absolute plans for retirement, but said her family owns a home in Yuma, Arizona and she just hopes to be able to relax and slow things down for a bit.

Matthew can be reached at [email protected]