The clearest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness.
~Michel Montaigne
“Come on, Spencer! We have to pick up your brother and sisters,” I told my son enthusiastically, hoping he would get excited and get into our van. At nineteen months, he was at the age when he had just learned the word “No” and the art of selective hearing. I had spent part of the afternoon playing with him in the back yard and discovering our new neighborhood. We had moved into our new home two days prior, and it was nice to take a break from unpacking. With much prompting, I finally got Spencer buckled into his car seat, and we were on our way.
I was new to south New Jersey, and I didn’t have the time yet to explore our new town. I had made a test drive to my children’s school the day before, and this was the first time I would officially be picking them up. I was running a few minutes late due to my son’s antics. To make matters worse, I must have made a wrong turn because nothing looked familiar to me. As each turn led me to more unfamiliar surroundings, I was getting nervous. I was lost, and I was going to be late for my kids’ first day in a new school.
I need to stop and ask someone where the school is, I thought, but there was nobody walking the streets of the small rural town. As I eased to a stop sign, I did a double take. Walking down the street was a tall man dressed in a patriotic outfit of red, white and blue, and carrying a mail bag. I rolled down the window and asked the mail carrier where the school was. He was friendly and gave me easy directions. After I thanked him, he continued on his way as he whistled a cheerful tune.
When I got to the school office to sign out my children, I apologized for being late. I smiled at the secretary and said, “I got lost, but I was lucky enough to get directions from a patriotic mail carrier.” She looked up at me, grinning from ear to ear, and replied, “Ahhh, you met David Bohn, Pemberton Borough’s whistling mailman!” She told me he dressed up each month for different holidays. This month, he was dressed for Columbus Day. She told me the next month he would be walking his mail route as a pilgrim for Thanksgiving. Come December, he would be Santa Claus!
I started to work as a freelance photographer and wrote articles for the township newspaper a few months later. I was encouraged to be on the lookout for human-interest stories. Dave came to mind immediately. Luckily, the next time I saw him, he agreed to be interviewed and photographed.
On the day of the interview, I went to the post office to meet Dave on his lunch break. I went there for the sole purpose of getting a story and a few photos. Never did I dream I would walk out of there amazed. Dave told me he knew every child’s name and birthday on his mail route. For their birthdays, he gifted the children with an origami ring he made from a dollar bill. Residents knew he was approaching by his delightful whistling tunes. Dave started to grow a beard in early fall, so by the time Christmas came, he would have a nice white beard to go with his Santa outfit. I asked why he was referred to as the whistling mailman.
“I originally started whistling so the neighborhood dogs would get used to me. Now all the dogs know me, but I love whistling as I walk,” he said with a laugh.
“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” I asked.
Dave got serious. “I’m a United States Army veteran and served in Vietnam. I served with the 87th Engineer Battalion in Cam Rahn Bay from August 1967 through August 1968,” he said proudly, and his smile returned. After the interview, I took some photos of Dave wearing another red, white, and blue outfit to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
After the story ran, Dave was such an inspiration to others that he was nominated by a local resident for Citizen of the Year in 2004. He was presented with a plaque by the Pemberton Rotary Club. When accepting his award, Dave remained humble. “I just like to make others smile,” he told family and friends who had gathered on his behalf.
Over the next nine years, I occasionally took photos of Dave dressed up on his mail route for several different newspapers. One morning, I got a call from Dave. “I’ll be retiring next month. How would you like to take some photos of my last walk on my route?” I had to admit, it was bittersweet. Dave had been a mail carrier in the same town for forty-three years. Twenty of those years, he dressed up for holidays, gave out birthday rings and, of course, whistled. Now that chapter would be ending.
In December 2012, I caught up with him to take photos as he delivered his last batch of mail. I thought it would be a sad day for Dave but, instead, there he was in his Santa outfit, smiling and happy. “I’m really looking forward to retirement. I have a lot planned,” he said with a grin.
Nowadays, Dave is very active and still making a difference. He built a twenty-foot scoreboard on the side of his barn for the Summer Olympics. “A lot of folks may not have time to keep up with the Olympics. I want to make it easier for them to follow along,” he explained when asked why he did it. Next to the scoreboard were more than 200 small flags representing each country that participated in the Olympics. For Veteran’s Day, Dave painted a map of Vietnam on another side of the barn with the names of relatives and local residents who served. Seventy flags fluttered in the breeze, representing all fifty states, Vietnam territories and military services. Other flags represented POW/MIAs, Vietnam veterans, and the post office, accompanied by a large, nine-and-a-half by five-foot American flag. A hand-painted sign read: Honoring all those who served.
Dave continues to make the community smile. He is such an inspiration to everyone he meets, including my family. We’ve all received one of his dollar-bill origami rings on our birthdays, but the biggest gift of all has been his kindness and friendship.
~Dorann Weber
