Houck honored for decades of service

Tom Houck has worked in the service of the people and government of the United States for two-and-a-half decades. Last week, the Sisters Post Office employee was presented with a Service Award Pin marking 25 years of service.

Only five years of that tenure was with the post office; he spent 20 years as a telecommunications specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard. His service took him to 43 of the 50 states, from the Oregon coast to a weather cutter off the rugged coast of Maine.

Through it all, Houck retained a particular fondness for Central Oregon. He bought property in Sisters in 1986.

"I love the country here," he said. "When I was stationed out here on the coast, I'd come to Central Oregon on weekends to get away from the rain."

Technology forced Houck to change careers. The paradigm for telecommunications in the Coast Guard shifted, and the service opted not to retrain a long-time service member who would only have a few more years in harness. So, Houck looked into other options and chose the postal service. Getting a post in Sisters was a long shot.

"That was my first choice," he said. "It's only by God's grace that it came to pass. I never thought I'd get that."

But get it he did, and he's been making sure folks in Sisters get their mail ever since.

"I enjoy the job," he said. "I'm kind of an introvert; I do more work in the back - that's kind of my niche."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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