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Show 4- Feature SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28, 1996 11 Hodges retires from Postal Service: but not from life By Barbara Pyles After working for the Postal Service for more than 15 years, Jack Hodges has retired. Dur-inghemployment, Hodges has worked under two Postmasters: Theo McAllister and Randy Stevens. For Hodges, the Post Office was more than a place he worked, it was also where he shared his positive outlook with others. In fifteen years, I have never had a harsh word with a customer. I have had people who were quite upset when they came to the window, but they were never upset at me. I enjoy people more than anything in the world, he says. Hodges has seen changes in his many years of working as distribution clerk in the Kanab Post Office. Although the utilization of electronic automation has improved postal service, Hodges says the biggest changes are small things. For instance, the mail used to arrive in large sacks that had to be unpacked. Now the mail arrives partially sorted in trays and tubs. This allows the postal worker to take the tubs and trays from one place to another. Hodges added that the volume of mail was much lighter when he started compared with what it is today. Were a unique post office. No other post office in the state has a truck coming from two directions. The trucks arrive and leave at different times. We accept mail twice and ship mail twice. (The trucks come from Provo and Flagstaff). In his more than 15 years at the Kanab Post Office, Hodges cannot remember a time when is The years passed quickly, and retirement loomed on the horizon. At the age of 62, Hodges was ready to retire from the Postal Service, not life. He plans to start a business repairing window screens and doors. Hodges said the business should has left spectators gasping in amazement on the sidewalks and streets of Kanab, he still performs in front of audiences. So, if youre planning a special event with a Western flair, call Jack Hodges. Im available to do shows in a heartbeat, he says. We have a good show, says Hodges. I tell people we're not Roy Rogers or Gene Autrey. We shoot women. That is what authentic means. We also train stunt girls to do falls. We do fist fights and falls... I dont do much of that anymore. Im the good be in operation by the summer of 1997. There are many sides to the colorful Jack Hodges. The retired postal worker is true-blu- e about preserving a tiny part of the old west. He is a member and state representative of the National Association of Old Teams. Hodges and mem- guy. Gun-fight- er bers of his company travel around the country taking part of authenin the tic gunfights. The group has one thing in common: an undying love of the old west. In 1980, about the time Hodges started working for the Kanab Post Office, he was doing gun fights in front of Dennys Wigwam. He would fire off a double barrel shotgun (blanks of course) to draw a crowd. One night we were shooting one another, bodies falling, women screaming. A van pulled up right in the middle of the show. Doors flew open and guys in suits jumped out waving guns. They hollered freeze and we froze. It was the FBI and they were quite upset because we blew their cover. Hodges laughed. Another time a nurse stopped right in the middle of the road and tried to revive a guy. Talk about being authentic. Its been a while since Hodges the mail trucks didnt leave Robberies, hangings and are a normal part of shoot-out- s life for members of his group. But its not always the audience that is left gasping in amaze- ment. For the last 12 years, Hodges and his troop, with guns strapped to their hips, have performed at a nudist colony in southern California. And at times, I would imagine it may be difficult to decide who is having Virgil Barstad, a member of the Kanab Civic Orchestra, inspired the author the most fun. and photographer to write The Fiddle'n Man. Photo by Myrna Cox. About 20 teams show up and there is a good prize. The entire audience is nude, but we're not, he says. There are always two or three people who havent By Myrna Cox worked with us yet. That is their Nary a saddened soul baptism under fire. If they can Nor a child with a burdened load, perform in front of four hundred could not refrain from heartfelt naked people, they can perform joy, when the Fiddlers down the road. anywhere. Hodges added that So come ye one, he never takes anyone under come ye all, and forces or to anyone go. age Traverse there when you can Although Hodges liked his job at the Post Office, he isnt going lay your troubles at his feet, the feet of the Fiddlen man. to have time to miss it. In his hands a magic wand, so tenderly cross the strings, and the billowing hope and strains of lifes song, he so caressingly, brings. As he orchestrates the vision, of the fine tuned life in song, preparing for the final band, amidst a greater throng. Kanab. Not even when a storms blanket of white snow covered the roads. He does remember a time or two when the mail trucks didnt arrive in Kanab until late afternoon. Nevertheless, postal employees worked the mail. Although it was a bit nippy outdoors and very late, the mail got delivered. People should be as generous as they can to those who work at the post office, said Hodges. They have no idea how hard these people work to get the mail delivered. While he worked for the Post Service, Hodges always went the extra mile. For example, after everyone left on Christmas Eve, he lingered. He started calling families who still had packages at the Post Office. Hodges stayed until the customers arrived. He knew excited kids would be anxious to see new cars, dolls and Jack Hodges recently retired from the Post years. Photo by Barbara Pyles.games.' - The Fiddlen Man So come ye one and come ye all, be refreshed from the music sweet. As he prepares your soul in song to kneel at the TIDDLERS feet. IftssjiflraiaTO IfWttsfliR o Do you use Proventil, Alupent, Albuterol Sulfate, Metaproterenol, Mucomist, or other Nebulizer medications? Are you still paying for these supplies? and start Why? Call Express-Me-d LArntSS saving money immediately. 3689 Corporate Drive Columbus, Ohio 43231 Office after working there 15 |