Beloved Castine postmaster–and the king of passports–reflects on career as retirement nears

Doug Terry estimates he’s processed 25,000 passport applications, and some customers drive hours for his expertise. Now he’s stepping down at year end.

Castine postmaster Doug Terry shows off the artistry and thoughtfulness that postal clerk Hannah Smith applies to hand-stamping packages for kids. Both say that "going above and beyond" for the post office's nearly 600 customers is part of the service they provide daily. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

By Tricia Thomas

CASTINE—Inside the historic post office on Main Street in Castine, postal clerk Hannah Smith doesn’t hesitate when asked how she feels about her boss’ impending retirement.

“It’s terrible,” she said, frowning. We’ll miss him.”

Smith’s eyes well up with tears.

“That’s the first time I’ve been asked that question,” she said, her voice quavering.

“I’m glad I’m doing this now, before the [retirement] party,” she jokes, quickly wiping her tears.

Smith isn’t the only one who is saddened to hear that postmaster Doug Terry is retiring at the end of this year, leaving the post he’s held since 2014. Customers, who both Smith and Terry characterize as “family,” have been stopping in to express their sadness over Terry’s decision. They’re also effusive in their thanks, and are planning a party in his honor for mid-December. Terry’s official retirement is slated for Dec. 31.

“I was trying to go out on the ‘down-low,’ but they found out and they convinced me to have a party. I’ve told a lot of people that I shouldn’t have a party for doing my job, but they talked me into it,” Terry said.

Terry, 63, first joined the U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency within the federal government, about 17 years ago. He had been working 12-hour shifts, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., at the National Semiconductor plant in South Portland. The last three hours of his shifts, coupled with long drives home, were tough, Terry said.

Terry saw an advertisement for a rural mail carrier position in Mount Vernon, Maine, not far from where he was living, and applied. He got the job and, for a while, kept his position in South Portland, doing both jobs without much sleep.

“I did the RCA [rural carrier associate] position for a few years, and then I realized that I couldn’t continue doing the other job in South Portland because I was dozing off and always tired,” he said.

Terry took a position as a city carrier in Bar Harbor in 2008, where he was responsible for one of three routes.

“I liked it. I was quick with delivery and I had good managers,” he said of his early years as a carrier. “That helped me make my next decision to be a postmaster.”

Over the next year, Terry amassed postmaster experience by volunteering to work as an officer-in-charge at post offices in Hull’s Cove, Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor. He landed his first stint as postmaster, in Hull’s Cove, in 2009. Two years later, he became postmaster in Bar Harbor. The office was busy, he said, with staffing issues and the need to fill shifts taking up most of his time.

Terry yearned for a quieter post. When the job in Castine became available, he quickly applied. Since he took the job in Castine in 2014, Terry said that he hasn’t looked back.

“It’s the best choice I ever made,” he said. “It’s quiet. The people are great here, and I have great employees and much less stress.”

Terry credits his customers for his love of the job and his penchant for hands-on customer service.

“It’s very family-oriented here in Castine. They welcomed me and, in doing so, I went way above the call of duty,” he said. “There are a lot of elderly people here, and Hannah and I will take their packages out to their vehicles. We’ve also gone to people’s homes to deliver their mail if they couldn’t get out. We’ve done a lot that maybe we weren’t supposed to do, but it’s about serving the people and the reward we get from that.”

Terry and his staff also have forged a regional reputation from their tiny office for processing passport applications more efficiently than larger counterparts in Ellsworth or Bangor.

“The word-of-mouth has gotten around that we are so good with passports. People come from hours away,” he said. “Hannah and I can knock a passport out in under 10 minutes. That’s picture, form, fees and everything. We’re so efficient.”

“We started off doing maybe 20 every three months. Now we’re averaging 20 a week,” Terry said. “This year, we think we’re going to surpass [a cumulative total of] 25,000 passports. Maybe more than that. Until I contact the passport agency, I won’t know the exact number, but we do a lot. Some days, we do nothing but passports all day.”

Doug Terry will retire as postmaster in Castine on December 31 after 14 years on the job. He and clerk Hannah Smith say interacting with the office's nearly 600 customers, whom they call "family" is their favorite part of the job. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

Terry and Smith process new passport applications and renewals by appointment, and also handle walk-ins while balancing their other postal duties.

Terry saw the number of passports increase sharply after the Covid-19 pandemic waned, when people started traveling again.

“I see people starting to travel more, especially to Canada. A lot of people like to go to Canada, and we have a lot of people here in Castine who live abroad,” he said.

The recent government shutdown didn’t slow down the process, Terry said. Instead, processors at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with whom he works, went “above and beyond” to fulfill new applications and renewals despite the shutdown, he said.

“If anything, [the shutdown] sped things up. Usually, we tell people four to six weeks. But, even though they weren’t getting paid, the turnaround time was three to four weeks,” Terry said. “I applaud them. They’re a great bunch of  the people down there in Portsmouth.”

Terry said he’s seen some changes over the past 11 years in Castine. The rise of online shopping and direct-to-home fulfillment have reduced the number of packages shipped from the post office, even during the holidays.

“I’ve seen it declining for the past two or two and a half years. We used to have three cages of mail going out during Christmas. Now we’re lucky to get a half of a cage,” he said. “Christmas cards are always the same. People still send Christmas cards, but the packages have decreased.”

The responsibilities of the job also are more streamlined, he said.

“As a postmaster, my job is kind of phasing out, to where more and more responsibilities are being handled by the clerks. When I was postmaster in Bar Harbor, I had control of pretty much everything. Now, pretty much the only thing I do is scheduling. Everything else is done, per union, by [clerks like] Hannah. Hannah now does most of my job,” he said, smiling at her. “They’re doing more, not to phase out the job, but to make things more efficient I guess you could say. But, I’m ‘old-school,’ so it’s hard to see the change.”

Smith, 31, has worked for the postal service for the past six years. She started in Blue Hill during the pandemic working a split shift of mornings and nights while holding down a daytime job as well.

“It was an interesting way to start,” she said.

Coming to Castine provided “normal hours” and, under Terry, a chance to learn all aspects of the job, she said.

“He’s just wonderful. A team player. Treats everyone as his equal, which I think is really important for management,” she said. 

Gender—and age—don’t seem to matter to Terry, Smith added.

“A lot of people didn’t expect to see someone so young on the front line. There’s nothing he doesn’t teach me or places he doesn’t send me,” she said.

Smith said she’s interested in applying for the postmaster position. Under union rules, other postmasters will have first crack at the job.

“But if, for some reason, they don’t apply or it doesn’t go that way, then I can apply,” she said.

Still, she’s not eager to see Terry leave.

“Maybe he’ll change his mind,” she said.

Terry said he feels Smith is ready to take his place.

“She’s got everything. She’s ready for the next step. She’s got everything, to the tee, that my boss looks for in a postmaster,” Terry said of his clerk.

While Terry said that he’s looking forward to having more time for golfing, hiking and travel, he admits the prospect of retirement is a bit daunting.

“It’s scary, because I’ve been working since the age of 13. I’ve never not worked in my life,” he said. “In the summer months, I’m a golfer and I like to hike, so those keep me busy. In the winter months, I’ve got to find things to do.”

A recent hip injury that will eventually need attention made him realize that time is precious.

“That really opened my eyes. I thought, ‘Wow, I may not be able to play golf in three years.’ So, I decided to make the call and retire at the end of the year,” he said.

Terry said he’ll miss his customers, which total nearly 600, and plans to stop back to the town and the post office for occasional visits.

When asked about his favorite part of the job, Terry laughs when Smith quickly interjects: “Me.”

“Yes,” he agreed, smiling.

“And, the interactions with the customers. We joke a little bit here and there. It’s like a family. It’s good to see them, and they leave with a smile, at least most of the time,” Terry added. “Like I said–best choice I ever made.”