CHIMACUM – In 1986, Irene Gould, a clerk at the Sequim Post Office, completed her postmaster training. Offered a job in either Chimacum or Quilcene, she chose Chimacum because she liked the cute little house that served as the post office and thought it would be easier to run.
“I thought, ‘I won’t have to work as hard,'” she said.
Gould retired Thursday after 31 years in the United States Postal Service, a career that spanned the years from the days of hand-sorting to automation.
She spent 21 years in Chimacum, where along with handling the mail, she collected an assortment of stories about the challenges and joys that came with the job.
“I’m thinking of writing a book,” she said.
The Chimacum post office has been in its “new” building since 1989, but when Gould took the job, her domain consisted of a rental house on the corner of state Highway 19 and Chimacum Road, where the Chevron station now stands.
Owned by Earl Woodley, the entire structure was only 420 square feet, Gould recalled, with a bathroom so small, you had to wedge yourself into it, one arm draped over the sink, to get the door closed.
When she complained, she was told she should be grateful to have a bathroom at all.
“The postmaster before me had no facilities,” Gould said.
“She lived across the street and had to go home to use the bathroom.
“The bathroom was a positive addition.”
