The Villages Daily Sun

THE VILLAGES — Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays Juan Rodriguez from the swift completion of his appointed rounds.

Or collecting figurines of bears dressed like postmen.

During a span of 36 years, Rodriguez has gathered more than 70 postal service-related items, and he has put them all in a large curio cabinet.

“I’m a part of it,” Rodriguez said. “This is me, right there. I can go back and look at it and enjoy it.”

The pieces bring back memories of his time as a postal carrier in Miami, delivering mail to such places as residential neighborhoods and the Miami International Merchandise Mart.

“It’s like family,” he said. “You see the kids grow up to be adults. The dogs stop chasing you.”

After serving in the U.S. Army, Rodriguez was looking for “a steady job,” so he checked out the local post office and got a job as a letter carrier.

“The pay was nice,” Rodriguez said. “I like being out on the street meeting the people.”

He started off delivering the mail on a bicycle for his first six years, then moved on to a three-wheeled scooter and the right-side-driving vehicle.

The first piece of the collection was probably a figurine of clown Emmett Kelly dressed as a postman.

“It grew from there,” Rodriguez said.

Whenever the Rodriguezes traveled, they made it a point to search the local souvenir shop. They looked everywhere from Bar Harbor, Maine, to the Florida Keys.

“It’s so hard to find the pieces for the years I’ve been doing it,” Rodriguez said.

Some of the items in the cabinet include a mailman figurine with snow on his shoulders and at his feet; a Charlie Brown pewter ornament; a mailbox from the Florida Keys made from tin; a small dark red metal mailbox from Georgia; a pewter post office building; a couple of coffee mugs; and various animals taking on the job of the postman, including bears, dogs, pigs, “you name it.”

One bear came from France via a friend, while a boy postman came from Spain through another friend. A second bear figurine is being chased by a dog.

He has a clear paperweight with a quilted quote — “Mailmen never die; they just lose their zip.”

While visiting the Carolinas, Rodriguez found a mailbox and postman that double as salt and pepper shakers, respectively.

He has gathered several large versions of stamps featuring Humphrey Bogart, Popeye, Big Bird, Babe Ruth, Little Orphan Annie, the painting “American Gothic,” the first moon landing and the space shuttle.

In a medium-sized frame, Rodriguez placed several pins from the Post Office, as well as his badge, No. 1174. He also has a U.S. Mail patch.

On the cabinet’s bottom shelf are a few Yuletide-themed items, including Santa and snowmen as postmen; as well as mailboxes given the holiday treatment.

Even after retiring six years ago, Rodriguez still keeps his eyes open for anything postal.

“If I see any, believe me, (I’ll buy them),” he said.

One day, Rodriguez hopes to donate the collection to the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. He considered donating it in the past, but changed his mind.

“(I thought) maybe I should keep it, in all the time it took (to get the pieces),” Rodriguez said. “I’ll keep it for a few years.”

Michael Fortuna is a reporter with the Daily Sun. He can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9234, or michael.fortuna@thevillagesmedia.com.