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Staff file photo by Joe Phelan from the Kennebec Journal
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Single-family homes. Condos. Businesses.
Bills, packages, and fliers.
His day begins at 7:30 a.m., when he sorts the mail -- they call it casing -- so it's in the right order. He hits the road 90 minutes later, driving his small U.S. Postal Service delivery truck to the area north of Sand Hill where he makes his living.
He loves his job.
"I'm outside," he said. "They pay me to walk. I have the best route in Augusta."
The 37-year-old who lives in South China rolls the sleeves of his postal service shirt, is fit, thin and tan. His head is shaved. He has a brown mustache and goatee, and brown eyes.
He started his career with the postal service eight years ago, after serving seven years in the Army. He was working at Capitol Computers when a customer suggested that he take the test to become a carrier.
Is the test hard?
"I'm a good test taker, so I would say no," he said.
Krause's route is called "park and loop," which means he drives his truck for short distances, parks, and walks up to mail slots or boxes with his bag tied around his waist. He's been bitten by a dog only once, when he reached his hand into a breezeway to drop off a package, not realizing there was an animal on the other side.
"It bit me and then started to bark," he said, noting that it was a minor injury.
The starting salary for mail carrier is $18 an hour, according to the letter carriers' union Web site. Everyone starts off as part-time flexible, Krause said.
For him, it's the ideal job.
"They are all easy days," he said as he cut through lawns with dog poop and wet grass. "Some are just easier than others."
-- Susan Cover
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