In 1961, the Marvellettes recorded a song called “Please Mr. Postman” that would go on to become the first Motown hit to ever reach #1 on the Billboard Top 40. Twenty-five years later, the way we communicate with our loved ones, friends, family and even our financiers, has changed dramatically due to the Internet and cell phones, but the song “Please Mr. Postman” remains popular because even still, we all identify with that feeling of expectation and excitement when the postman or woman delivers the letter, card, package or tax return we’ve been waiting for.

Michael Davis was part of that expectation and excitement during his 18-year career as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service in the District. However, for a profession that is rooted in constancy and reliability, it can involve many changes for the letter carriers, who, Davis says, usually don’t stay on the same neighborhood route longer than five years. This is why it’s especially remarkable that up until last month, Michael Davis was a letter carrier for the Mount Pleasant neighborhood for 18 years.

“I worked through the Mount Pleasant riots, through the Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant shotgun shooter; I worked through the diversity of Mount Pleasant when it was diversified….and now it’s gentrified,” says Davis, reflecting on the neighborhood’s changes without any bitterness in his voice.

“I saw a lot of my customers’ kids grow up and become adults and go off to college and then have kids of their own,” he remembers.

Davis, a native Washingtonian now residing in the Brookland/Woodridge area, says that throughout his years as a letter carrier to Mount Pleasant and parts of Columbia Heights, he delivered various routes and thus got to know the majority of neighborhood residents. As he describes, his role became one of community member and friend.

“In my spare time, or in my off day, I would do banking for some of my senior citizens, or if they needed me to purchase stamps for them, I would do so.” (Though not at a discount, jokes Davis.) And they in turn would do countless nice things for Davis, he says fondly, remembering Miss Penry of Irving Street who would have a sandwich or a cold drink waiting for him each day. “She became like family,” says Davis. Though Miss Penry has since passed away, Davis says that he remains very close with her son.

The business owners along Mount Pleasant Street were also great friends who showed their kindness again and again, says Davis. “The restaurants would always offer me something to eat,” he says with a smile, and he recalls businesses would offer complimentary dental services and tax help as a show of their appreciation. Mount Pleasant Pharmacy, one of the oldest businesses in the neighborhood, would even have balloons and cake waiting for him on his birthday every year, he says.

Davis says that his role in the community evolved into something truly unique. “Some people’s day is not complete unless they see the letter carrier,” says Davis, explaining that many people open up to letter carriers as a confidante and friend. “They have so much to get off their chest and mind, whether they are having a good day or a bad day.”

He says though some people may think it’s a very easy job, its quite a bit of responsibility and a lot to remember. “It’s like you have a person’s whole life with you,” says Davis, referring to all the important information sent via post. But the responsibility doesn’t end with mail; it includes the personal responsibility that comes with being a community member who has many different levels of relationships to a neighborhood and to residents, he adds.

Davis remembers one day when he was walking along and saw a longtime customer looking lost and bewildered. Davis asked the gentleman if he was OK. “I had known him for many years, but he didn’t recognize me at all,” recalls Davis, adding that he immediately knew something was wrong. Davis put everything else on hold, took the gentleman by the arm and guided him to his home where he explained to the gentleman’s wife what had happened. It turned out that the gentleman had been exhibiting warning signs of Alzheimer’s, and his wife was very grateful that Davis had found him. It was an emotional experience much beyond what one might think a letter carrier may encounter.

Davis, a thoughtful and humorous man, also lightheartedly describes the time that he was chased by a German Shepherd. When he ran away, he fell and sprained his ankle, putting him out of work for six weeks. Davis jokes that even worse than the injury was the fact that his friends teased him for weeks, saying he had been chased by a poodle, not a German Shepherd.

So why did Davis leave his route? “It’s called Father Time,” he says, smiling. “I was starting to get a little bit too old for the route.” However, he emphasizes how difficult it was to make the choice. “It was a very hard decision to make, and I really miss everyone,” says Davis, adding that the route had grown strenuous for him also due to the area’s increasing growth between multi-unit houses and many new condominiums, both which contribute to increases in mail volume.

On Davis’ last day, Mount Pleasant residents organized a block party in his honor on 17th Street and Kilbourne Place with delicious food, a band and speeches from residents sharing their fond memories of Davis. “It was very emotional for everyone,” he says, describing how neighborhood children gave him homemade gifts. Davis says how everyone told him how much they were going to miss him and joked that he should run for president.

When he’s not working, Davis, a husband and father of two, says he enjoys spending time with his immediate and extended family, bbq’ing and working on art. About his new route near Foggy Bottom, Davis says that he likes it, and it is less strenuous, but he really misses everyone from his old neighborhood, especially the children who would always get so excited about the mail.