Beloved 'Mailman Mike' making his last rounds in Riverwest: 'He delivers this sense of community'

Michael Boothe is not your typical mailman.

You can tell that from the yard signs lamenting his retirement after 30 years with the United States Postal Service on lawns in the Riverwest neighborhood.

Or the blue and white banner strung across the street in the 1100 block of East Burleigh Street, thanking “Mailman Mike,” as Boothe is affectionately known, for his service.

After all, Boothe is so much a part of the neighborhood, he officiated two weddings of residents on his route.

Riverwest resident Corey Zetts can attest firsthand to Boothe’s infectious personality, especially his big broad warm smile.

When she moved into her Dousman Street house some 16 years ago, Boothe welcomed her to the neighborhood, gave her some change-of-address forms and told her some of the neighbors she should get to know on her block.

He is that person, she said, who takes the extra time and care to ask neighbors to hold packages if someone is away on vacation or inquire about a neighbor’s well-being if the mail was piling up.

“He just doesn't just deliver the mail. He delivers this sense of community,” Zetts said. "You feel like he's always looking out for you, looking out for the whole neighborhood."

His replacement, she added, has some big shoes to fill.

Boothe, 56, is hanging up his mailbag after walking the same blocks on his Riverwest route for 20 of his last 30 years with the Postal Service.

A public farewell will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Riverwest Farmers Market, 2700 block of N. Pierce Street. The event doubles as a public presentation of the City of Milwaukee proclamation Boothe received at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

The farmer’s market gives people a chance who couldn’t attend the council meeting to say goodbye and wish Boothe well, said Ruth Weill of the Riverworks Development Corporation, which puts on the market.

“I met Mailman Mike close to 20 years ago," Weill said. "He instantly brought joy, smiles, friendliness and thoroughness as a mail carrier. And my dogs loved him.”

Riverwest resident Alex Dye’s relationship with Boothe goes beyond mail carrier and postal customer. Dye got to know Boothe more when both their moms received physical therapy together.

“I think Mike is an extraordinary guy just as a human being," Dye said, "whether he is a mail carrier or anything else he chooses to do in the next phase of his life.”

Tuesday, Ald. Jonathan Brostoff presented Boothe with a proclamation on the floor of the Common Council. He called Boothe a shining star who’s had an enormous impact on the community.

Brostoff read letter after letter during the council meeting of stories from residents about Boothe’s impact. The letters spoke of how Boothe comforted a family after their house was burglarized. Another recalled Boothe’s quick action to alert the fire department when he saw smoke rising from a home on his route.

“He put the service in public servant,” Brostoff said. “He is the epitome of what you want in a leader. The amount of good he’s done for the world is immeasurable.”

Brostoff lauded Boothe for those seeds of goodness he planted in neighborhood youth.

“He always had these little words of wisdom. Treat your mom right. Be a good person. Make the world a better place. Help someone who needs help. He always had little tidbits of knowledge,” Brostoff said.

While Boothe is appreciative of the well wishes, he says he's just an ordinary guy doing his job.

“I really don’t think I deserve all of this. You got a lot of good teachers, bus drivers and crossing guards … deserve it more than me,” he said.

But it's more about leaving a positive impact on the kids growing up in the community. He said a lot of kids are dealing with adult issues. A kind word goes a long way, instead of talking about how they behave.

“You have to live like the children are watching us and when they think you are cool, they are going to emulate you,” he said “It’s very important that you show the right example because they are smart. They are going to soak it up.”

Boothe's sense of kindness was instilled by his parents. His dad, he said, had a third-grade education while his mom went as far as junior high. But he said they were smarter than he could ever be.

Boothe said they carried themselves with grace and had such wisdom about being respectful and having common courtesy. They were important lessons growing up the youngest of 13 siblings in a family that didn’t have much.

“You had to be rich in something,” Boothe said. “Some people want to be famous. I don't want to be famous. I just want to help the kids who see me see the light ... to know they are somebody -- everybody's somebody.”

Some of Boothe’s family attended the Common Council presentation. Sister Rhonda Thomas couldn’t be more proud of her brother. She called him the family pillar because he looked after their aging parents. But to hear of his compassion for others is not surprising. That's what their parents taught.

“Integrity,” Thomas said. “Always strive to be the person we can be.”

Being a postal worker wasn’t in Boothe’s plans when he left the Army. But after a bad car accident in 1992, the post office was a job with good health benefits.

When he started in 1993, Boothe said there were few people who looked like him working there. There were challenges, he said.

“I'm the youngest of 13 so life is full of those, you know, so you just adapt and overcome,” he said.

Being a mailman now, he said, isn't easy since some are being robbed and even killed on the job. Now seemed like a good time to retire. Besides, Boothe said he wanted to see the world more.

The travel bug bit him while serving in the Army for three years stationed in Germany. In retirement, he hopes to visit China and Colombia.

First, he's traveling to Palermo, Italy with the owners of Riverwest deli Scardina Specialties. Boothe said he's glad to be going with friends he met on the job.

“I had a great career," he said. "I can't complain. Life is pretty much what you make of it."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's beloved Mailman Mike making his last rounds in Riverwest