The recent move of the Westport Post Office from the Post Road to Playhouse Square jarred many Westporters.
But we adapted. We’re survivors.
Much more traumatic will be the loss of Lee Bennett.
This Friday marks the last day here for the popular, ever-positive, always-helpful desk clerk. Next week she transfers to Bridgeport, much closer to her home in Stratford.
She’s served — and served with a smile — Westport for 26 years. She began her working life as an elementary school special education teacher in Stratford, but took the US Postal Service test, passed — and never regretted it.
Lee Bennett proudly displays her memory book.
“I love it! I love my job!” she said earlier this week. “The people — they’re my friends. Every day I get to express my feelings toward them.”
Lee expresses those feelings in a variety of languages. German, Swedish, Spanish, Danish — she’s learned how to say “hello” in all of them. “It makes them smile,” she explains. “And that makes me smile.”
Though she will miss working in Westport (“we rise to the challenge” is all she’ll say about the cramped Playhouse Square facility), she will not forget the many customers who love her.
They won’t let her forget them. For a couple of weeks, they’ve been signing a memory book for Lee.
The pages are filled with sentiments like “Thank you!” “Good luck!” And, of course, “Keep smiling!”
She points to several messages, written in Spanish and other languages.
“It’s not how many friends you can count — it’s how many you can count on,” she said.
For 26 years, Westporters have counted on Lee Bennett.
As our interview ended she opened her drawer, and gave me a candy.
“I do that for all my friends!” she said.
With a smile.
(The Bayview Post Office is at 115 Boston St., Bridgeport. Click here for information — and directions, so you can visit Lee there.)
