Pottsville's Megan Brennan, first woman postmaster general, credits family

Oct. 22—MINERSVILLE — You can take the girl out of the coal region, it's sometimes said, but you can't take the coal region out of the girl.

That there's truth in the old adage was apparent Thursday night when Megan J. Brennan, a Pottsville native, spoke in the Mountaineer Fire Company No. 1 in Minersville.

Brennan, the first and so far only woman to hold the title of Postmaster General of the United States, led an independent agency with 630,000 employees who deliver mail to 163 million households and businesses six days a week.

But when she began her hour-long talk at the invitation of the Minersville Historical Society, Brennan called the fire company the "hosie."

"I can tell you I was in a lot of hosies in my time, and this certainly won't be my last," she said to the delight of the 50 or so people in the audience. "My father and brother Kevin were members of the Good Intent Fire Company in Pottsville, so we had a lot of family events at the hosie."

Brennan, who headed the Postal Service from November 2014 to February 2020, was the 74th postmaster general of an agency that began in 1775 — the year before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

At the insistence of her father, postal worker Jeremiah "Jerry" Brennan, she took the employment test and started as a letter carrier in Lancaster fresh out of Immaculata College in Chester County.

She rose through the ranks, including a stint at the Gus Yatron Post Office in Reading, to vice president and chief operations officer before being named postmaster general. She worked for the Postal Service for 34 years.

The audience erupted in applause at the mention that Brennan was the first woman postmaster general and, she predicted, not the last.

"I came from the work floor," she said. "It sent a message that the Postal Service grows its leaders."

Coal region values

Brennan, who lives near Pittsburgh, was among seven children who grew up in a house on West Norwegian Street.

"When I think back on my career and my upbringing, what resonates is the importance of family, friends and faith," she said.

Her work ethic was weaned early on when, as a kid, she delivered the Sunday Philadelphia Bulletin in her neighborhood.

"My parents worked, my siblings worked," she said. "And what I also recall about growing up in the coal region is, not only appreciating the value of work, but also loyalty to a company, whether it's the postal service, the county courthouse, PennDOT or Guers dairy."

Throughout her career, she carried her father's advice: "Know the mail, know the people."

There was, apparently, a substantial sibling rivalry in the Brennan household of three boys and four girls.

"My siblings were my fiercest competitors," she said, "and forever teammates."

Teamwork was a lesson learned at Nativity BVM High School, where she was a standout in girls' basketball and softball.

She was on the Nativity team that won the PIAA Class A state championship in 1978. She scored more than 1,000 points in her basketball career.

She was named Top Female Athlete and Most Outstanding Female Athlete, and is in the Allen-Rogowicz Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Sports leaves a mark on those who play it, she suggested.

"When I'm in meetings," Brennan said, "I can usually pick out the women who played sports."

An inspiring life

During a Q&A period, Brennan shared a tender moment about her father on the day she was sworn as postmaster general.

Sitting at his daughter's desk in Washington, Jerry Brennan leaned back and said, "Now, this is how it should have been."

An avid reader and a history buff, Brennan asked the audience if they could name the two presidents who were postmasters.

Right off, someone shouted, correctly, "Abraham Lincoln." The other one, she said, was Harry S. Truman.

It was inescapable that a Pottsville woman who headed the country's largest retail network — 34,000 offices and $70 billion annual revenues — would be seen as a role model.

Dr. Irvil Kear, Minersville Historical Society president, asked Brennan if she thought of herself as a role model for women.

"When I was in college, there were only three things that women could look forward to," teaching, nursing and secretarial, said Kear, the first woman to chair the Schuylkill County Development Corp.

"Yes, especially young women," Brennan replied. "I have four nieces, and they have more opportunities than I had, which is as it should be."

Sherrill Brennan, a good friend but not a relative, regaled Brennan as an inspiration to women.

"A small-town girl, working really hard and making it all the way to the top," she said, "is an amazing role model for all of us."

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007