Next window please! Gridley's postmaster Linda Sutherland is officially retiring. Pictured from left are Chrissy Johnson, Linda Sutherland and Bri Valdivia.

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – A friendly face that has been behind the counter will be missing the next time you go into the Gridley Post Office – Linda Sutherland is officially shipping off to retirement.

The soon-to-be former local postmaster got her start working at the Live Oak Post Office at the young age of 16. Sutherland fondly recalls working in a non-career position there for 6 years before it was cut. She shares with the Gridley Herald that she was devastated.

Hoping to return, Sutherland was placed on a roster. About six months in, Sutherland says she got a call to join the United States Postal Service and has worked for it since.

“I remember breaking into tears when I got my uniform,” reminisces Sutherland.

Her starting position was as a city carrier in Gridley, handling all routes except for one rural area route.

Linda Sutherland sits at her desk as she prepares to leave for retirement.

A self-described outdoors person, Sutherland said she loved being a carrier and growing the relationships she built with her mail customers.

 “I liked just being able to get out, be in the neighborhood – talk to people,” said Sutherland. “You get really close to them after a while,” she continued, relating that her customers become “like family.”

Seeking to advance her career, Sutherland would take a position at the Marysville Post Office that offered more hours. Later in her career she worked at the Oroville Post Office, before becoming a supervisor and postmaster in Brownsville.

After familiarizing herself with much of the territory in our area, Sutherland said that she finally landed at Gridley as the postmaster in 2019.

Her position handles many duties, but mostly, she makes sure that all the parts of the machine are working and stay in motion.

“I’m a working postmaster. I do clerk work, and I carry mail sometimes, if needed,” said Sutherland.

Retiring postmaster Linda Sutherland stands where she received her first official post office uniform upon being hired at Gridley.

She shared that she has enjoyed the busy pace and heavy schedules of the post office, most importantly the family-like environment that exists between herself and her coworkers.

Of the public, Sutherland says goodbye will be hard.

“You know, they’ve been so good to me, and I love that people come in and still mail things like letters- it’s kind of a dying thing,” said Sutherland, referencing emails replacing hand-written notes.

Despite that, Sutherland looks forward to her retirement after 33 years with the United States Post Office, which officially beings Nov. 30.  Her last day of work at the Gridley Post Office was Friday, Nov. 5.

Before leaving, Sutherland's coworkers surprised her with flowers and gifts. She plans to spend her retirement making memories with her grandchildren and tending to her garden in her down time.