A former Joliet man followed in his father’s career footsteps and delivered mail for almost 42 years.

Mike Maloney, now of Diamond, retired from the U.S. Postal Service in November after 41 years and eight months of service, he said.

And Maloney’s father, Jim Maloney, retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 1987 after 34 years.

The USPS is the second-largest employer in the U.S., with about 500,000 jobs in 2024.

But families who make their careers in mail delivery may become scarce since the number of post office jobs is expected to decline by 5% each year through 2034, likely due to mail-sorting technology, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Technology dampened Jim Maloney’s enjoyment of the job in his later years because he missed “the human touch.” Jim said he views a post office as a place that “brings smiles to everybody’s faces.”

“And it was the human thing that made me work so much and make a lot of people happy,” he said.

A career with possibilities

Mike Maloney said he was only 23 when he went to work at the postal service’s Joliet location, where he “delivered in almost every part of Joliet” over the years.

He’d previously worked the mailroom between the press room and the loading dock of the former Herald-News building on Caterpillar Drive in Joliet, he said.

But the Herald-News work was only part time, so Mike talked to his father about taking the civil service test.

“Back in the day, you had to take a civil service test for each office where you wanted your name to go on the hiring list,” Mike said. “So I took at least three tests. Obviously, one was for Joliet, and I think the other one was for Lockport – and either New Lenox or Romeoville; I can’t remember.”

Jim Maloney said he encouraged Mike to take the civil service test because he knew firsthand the career possibilities available to his son.

“I started out unloading semis at 5 a.m. for $1.56 in 1952,” Jim said. “I progressed to selling stamps and taking packages at the front counter. Then, I was promoted to supervisor and manager of mail processing, and finally, postmaster in Aurora. I thought that was quite an accomplishment ... but that went hand in hand with a lot of good people working for me; they made me look good.”

Furthermore, working at the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t require any formal educational credential or previous work experience in a related profession because training is on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even before Mike took the civil service test, he had to note on the application if he preferred the role of clerk or a carrier.

Mike said he chose carrier since that meant he could work largely unsupervised and not be scheduled for midnight shifts.

Joliet was the only location that called him back, which Mike said suited him because at the time “it was only a five-minute drive to work.”

For the first 20 years, Mike delivered mail on foot. Sometimes he substituted for regular carriers when they went on vacation.

Jim did that, too, on rural routes in the summer.

“It would be so fulfilling to be on your own, out in the country, delivering mail to the farmers on Laraway and Spencer roads – out in that area," Jim said. “It was one of the most joyous jobs I ever had is the best way to put it.”

Mike worked a driving route for the remainder of his career, which shielded him from the elements and ensured that he didn’t “have to trudge through snow.”

“Obviously, I was getting older and appreciated it more,” Mike said. “In the wintertime, every once in a while you’d get stuck when people didn’t shovel enough snow near their boxes.”

Dog bites mail carrier – twice

Mike said that only the Joliet post office called him for an interview – and some people never get called – so the occasional high turnover rates surprised him.

“Some people come in with this thought on their minds: ‘Oh, this is going to be a really easy job,’” Mike said. “Then reality hits them the first few days they’re there. Some people work only one day or two and then quit. Some people might work a little bit longer. And then you get people dedicated to stick out the work and do the best they can and end up working quite a number of years.”

And, yes, dog bites are often part of the job.

In 2025, Postal Service employees experienced more than 6,000 dog attacks, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Mike wasn’t one of those employees in 2025, but he has been bitten twice.

The first bite happened when he was subbing for the regular carrier in the Cherry Hill subdivision near New Lenox.

“These people had a dog they kept in the house most of the time,” Mike said. “One time it got out, and it came at me. And I brought out my pepper spray, but it did not slow the dog down or anything like that. I tried using my satchel as a shield, but the dog really fast bit me in the thigh. I ended up getting a couple of stitches.”

A much smaller dog bit Mike the second time near Larkin and Stryker avenues. As he delivered to a mailbox, a little dog that was on a leash around the corner of the garage “came yapping out at me,” he said.

“Before I knew it, I got a bite on my lower leg,” Mike said. “Fortunately, I didn’t need stitches. I just had to clean it up a bit.”

Mike recalled a third time when he was delivering a package to a porch and a dog started barking at him through the window.

“As he leaned up against that window, he knocked the screen out and came at me,” Mike said. “He didn’t bite; I was able to keep my satchel between him and me. And the owner came out and got the dog. She said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,’ and took the dog back inside.”

Sheryl Maloney, Mike’s wife, said her husband of 38 years was committed to his job, even during health challenges.

“The man got up every morning and went to work anyway,” Sheryl said. “He’s one of the hardest working men I’ve ever known.”

Does Mike miss it? He’s still getting used to the new routine. He said if he had to do it again, he’d retire sooner.

But that’s all.

“It’s like any other job; it’s got good things and bad things,” Mike said. “You have to be able to deal with customers, and you have to deal with the elements. And dogs, of course.”