JAY — When Daniel Mancine of Jay began his career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1974, stamps had to be licked and record keeping was done by pen and paper.

A lot has changed in 36 years, from the price of stamps to mail-sorting equipment and bar codes.

“Technology is the biggest change,” said Mancine, 60, who retired Wednesday after spending most of his career as postmaster in Wayne, Livermore Falls and Jay.

“I’ve been lucky. I’ve loved this job since I started,” Mancine said. “I’ve been challenged by it. People may think it is repetitive day after day, but no two days are the same.”

He grew up in Jay, where he graduated from high school, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in math from the University of Southern Maine.

“I was working at Sampson’s Supermarket (in Livermore Falls) and they had a bowling team and the VFW had a bowling team. A member of that team suggested I take the civil service exam to become a letter carrier,” he said. He took the exam and a month later, he was working as a part-time carrier delivering mail to in-town Livermore Falls.

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“It was the first job I learned,” he said.

Mancine got his first full-time job in accounting with the Postal Service about 1978 at the Management Sectional Center in Auburn. The center was phased out, and he was offered a choice of jobs. He selected postmaster in Wayne.

“That was a nice small town atmosphere and I enjoyed that town for seven years,“ Mancine said.

He was promoted to postmaster in Livermore Falls, spent 15 years there and transferred to his hometown about eight years ago when the postmaster’s job became available there. The move allowed him to do everything, including handling the counter. “It’s busy,” he said.

But now, he’ll focus his energies on family and home, catching up on projects around the house he hasn’t had time to do, he said.

“That’s going to keep me busy for a while,” he said.

He plans to spend more time with his family including his daughter, Stacie, and son, Jason, and three granddaughters.

“I’ll definitely keep busy,” Mancine said.

dperry@sunjournal.com


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