Larry Stalder was great postmaster

Custer postmaster Larry Stalder retired last week after 30 years here in Custer and 40 years total in the U.S. Postal Service. He ran an efficient operation in that our mailed newspapers were always delivered on time locally in just about any type of weather. Any delivery problems reported to us outside of this area happened in other post offices that were not as efficiently run as this one.
Trust us. That’s a big deal as our out-of-the-area readers deserve to have their mail, all of it, first or second class, delivered in a timely manner. Newspapers like ours are mailed at a special second-class rate and do not always receive the same kind of attention as does first-class mail. 
Whenever a distant subscriber communicated to us that they were not receiving their newspaper in a timely manner, Larry checked into it for us, trying to trace its path through the postal service system to see what and where the problem was. Electronic transmission of our newspaper has helped solve a lot of these delivery problems, but many people still like to hold the newspaper in their hands to read it.
Larry is a Wildcat high school sports fan in addition to offering great service in his job as postmaster. You could always find him helping out behind the scorer’s table at home basketball games in the armory. In 2016 at a Custer Area Chamber of Commerce Spring Fling event at Carver’s Restaurant at Mount Rushmore, Larry was recognized with a well-deserved Extra Mile customer service award. We aren’t the only ones who appreciate and recognize the great service provided by our local post office.
Larry would also be the first to point to the great staff he has working for him, from rural mail carriers to city deliveries and behind-the-counter service; it is all top-notch and deserving of our appreciation. Monday through Saturday mail delivery is something we all often take for granted, never really stopping to acknowledge the people behind the scenes of this great service.
We didn’t hear of Larry’s retirement until it was almost too late to get in the newspaper last week, so it came as much of a surprise to us as it was to you. Larry is not one to toot his own horn, so we will toot it for him.
Well done, Larry. Thanks for taking care of our business for the past 20 of the 30 years you have been in Custer, and for taking care of everybody else’s business for the 40 years you worked in the U.S. Postal Service. We’re glad you are staying in town. And, yes, we know you will enjoy those three grandkids living here, too. 
That’s an extra benefit to retirement. 
 

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