ON Saturday, for the first time in more than four decades, Janice Woodberry wasn’t greeting customers at Werrimull’s post office.
Ms Woodberry, affectionately known as the “postmistress”, handed over the reins as licensee on Friday and said while it felt “bittersweet”, she was “ready to head into retirement”.
“I’ve seen some very big changes in the industry over the last 42 years,” she said.
“It used to be a lot of letters and mail. Now there’s not much actual paper mail, the parcel system has well and truly taken off.
“Everything was done manually and now it’s all computerised, so that makes a big difference.”
Ms Woodberry said she the post office played an important role in the community.
“It’s amazing the amount of people that have come in and said, ‘Thank you for being there when I needed someone to talk to’, which I didn’t even realise,” she said.
“It’s been a great life, so simple and so easy — the perfect lifestyle.
“I’ll definitely miss the customers coming in and out and chatting, but I am really ready to retire, with very fond memories.
“Retirement, being able to do what I want when I want, being able to go and visit family in South Australia and Gippsland, I’m very much looking forward to that.”
