Skip to content

Postmaster Retires

Leona Baird has retired from her position at the Greenwood post office after 25 years of serving local residents—the last 10 as postmaster.
65229greenwoodLeonaBaird
Leona Baird has retired from her position at the Greenwood post office after 25 years of serving local residents—the last 10 as postmaster.

You have probably heard some rumbling in the news about restructuring at Canada Post. We at the Times may have identified the cause of it all.

Leona Baird, postmaster at the Greenwood Post Office, is retiring after 25 years and two months of service to the organization. She began working under then-postmaster Carol LeSergent in 1988 and took over from her 10 years ago.

Leona said she moved to Greenwood in 1958 when her dad began working for the Granby Mining Corporation as a ball mill operator. Before landing the post office job Leona worked at the Greenwood Auto Court (better known to old timers as “Minniffies”) and Greenwood Pharmacy (where Community Futures is located today).

The Greenwood Post Office will celebrate its 100th birthday next year. The building is still owned by Canada Post. According to local history buff Al Donnelly, the Greenwood Post Office and Customs building was first opened for business on Friday, May 28, 1915 on the site of the former Pioneer Hotel, Greenwood’s first hotel. The federal government bought the lot from hotel owner John William Nelson in August 1910.__Mr. Nelson immediately dismantled his hotel, but it took the government nearly five years to build the post office._

Leona says she will miss all her customers, but coworker Jean Higashi says that the former postmaster has plenty of puzzles and books to keep her occupied.

When asked what was the best improvement made by the post office during her time with the corporation, she insists it definitely wasn’t the computers—more