Ed Brezenski has enjoyed the people he has met throughout this region during his past 36 years as a United Parcel Service driver.
On Friday, Oct. 17, he will make his last deliveries to St. Edward and Albion customers.
“I’ve always enjoyed meeting people, and the people of this area have become kind of like a family to me,” Ed said. “I remember some of them as kids growing up.”
Brezenski grew up on a farm east of Belgrade and was a member of the last graduating class at Belgrade High School in 1967.
He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1970, mostly patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin. After military service, he lived in Redondo Beach, CA, for a time and worked for American Airlines.
Ed returned to Nebraska in 1971 and settled in Columbus, where he worked for Christensen Farms and later for Montgomery Ward and Skelgas.
He took the job with UPS in March of 1972 and has been on a route ever since. He started with deliveries to David City and towns west of there. Later, he had a route serving Fullerton, Belgrade, Cedar Rapids and Spalding.
Ed has been the primary delivery driver for St. Edward and Albion for the past 20 years.
“The job always has something different, and there are always new people to meet,” he said. “The only sad part is when you get to know people and find out they’ve passed on.”
Ed and his wife, Thrina, have been married 33 years, and they have four children and eight grandchildren to enjoy in retirement. He also plans to go hunting and fishing more often after retirement.
A new permanent driver for the Albion and St. Edward areas will likely be determined by January of next year, Ed said.
