Johnnie McGehee, left, who recently retired from the Lampasas Post Office, shares a laugh with Lampasan Morris Ellis. Upon entering the Lampasas Post Office, one expects to find stamps, post office boxes, mailing supplies and Johnnie McGehee.

But as of earlier this month, one of those isn’t available any more.

McGehee’s recent retirement ended a career that spanned three decades, making him synonymous with the local post office.

When folks went into the building, McGehee could be found at the counter waiting on customers, inquiring about their spouses, kids and grandkids because he’s a member of the Lampasas community too, and the people in it are important to him. They are his friends and neighbors.

McGehee, a Lampasas native, was born at Rollins Brook Community Hospital and graduated from Lampasas High School in 1973.

After a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, he began his tenure at the post office in 1980 as a parttime employee. He sorted and carried mail and worked at the window -- doing anything that was needed.

T.J. Casbeer, the Lampasas postmaster appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, offered McGehee a full-time position when an opening came up.

“I made clerk within three years,” he said. “They had good benefits, a 40-hour work week and Saturdays off. I was content to stay in Lampasas and raise my family here. I felt like I was the luckiest guy in the world.”

And on the day McGehee turned his badge and keys in, he felt lost.

“I miss it,” he said. “Linda (his wife of 26 years) wanted me to retire to help her with our rental property business. Up until then she had been handling it on her own. I didn’t realize there was so much to it.”

McGehee wasn’t planning to retire until his 55th birthday next June. But the U.S. government is cutting its workforce and made him a monetary offer to retire that was too good to refuse.

With several years in Civil Service, the military and the Soil Conservation Service, McGehee hit the 35-year mark as a government employee.

Now, McGehee said in addition to helping his wife he plans to spend time on leisurely pursuits. “I plan to golf and take up fishing again as well as spending time with my wife, three kids and nine grandchildren.”

McGehee said the post office has changed a lot through the years, transitioning from all manual equipment to computerized work stations.

But Lampasas also has changed, he said. “When I first started, the post office [the former facility on East Second Street] had about 1,000 boxes. Now there are over 2,000, and it’s not always easy to put a name with a face.”

And since 9/11, security has increased. McGehee recalls an instance when a simple Christmas offering to the post office almost caused repercussions.

“A local pastor put a wreath on the door, and since no one knew where it came from, they were going to call the Hazardous Materials team to be sure it wasn’t dangerous,” said the retired postal official. “The pastor happened to show up just in time and acknowledged he put the wreath on the door.”

McGehee also recalls immediately following the anthrax scares on the heels of 9/11 when Americans were still jittery that a prankster spread a white powder in the post office’s lobby. The HAZMAT team was called, and they determined it wasn’t hazardous. The party responsible never was discovered, he said.

What’s the strangest thing McGehee ever sent through the mail for a customer? “I had a guy who shipped a machine gun. He had a license, and it was all legal. It was an old World War II machine gun, and he was a collector.”

McGehee said he will miss the customers he greeted each day. “In all the years I worked there, I never had a disagreement with anyone. I had some holler at me every once in awhile, but I never let it faze me because I knew they weren’t mad at me, I was just there. I just stayed calm and helped resolve the situation.

“I enjoyed working with the people here,” he said. “Lampasas has such great people. I have talked to a lot of people over the years who have moved here because they know how friendly the community is.”

McGehee has served under five postmasters: Casbeer, Fred Hodge, Wayne Crye, Lynda Hatch and Craig Foster, the current postmaster.

He had a chance earlier in his career to move up through the ranks and make more money, but McGehee said he liked his job and the perks of working his 40 hours and going home at the end of the day to be with his family. “I don’t have any regrets about my time there. It was great.”

When McGehee started at the facility, there were three 40-hour clerks. And at his retirement, he was the lone full-time clerk in Lampasas. Because of workforce cuts, he is unsure whether officials intend to fill his former slot.

“I never dreamed I would end up doing this for 30 years. When I first started, I thought 55 was a long way off. Look how quickly it got here.”