#1 2011-04-04 12:21:52

http://wareham-ma.villagesoup.com/news/ … ucks/76558

As the old saying goes, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds. Ernie Precourt would know. For 38 years the Wareham mail carrier braved the elements to deliver town’s mail on foot.

“I loved my job,” Precourt said. “Two hours in the office, six hours on the street. ... I certainly couldn’t complain.”

Precourt, who celebrates his 100th birthday on April 5, worked for the United States Postal Service in Wareham before trucks were used to carry mail.

His route took him through downtown Wareham, where he would walk several miles each day delivering letters to homes and businesses.

“I crabbed somedays, but I met a lot of great people,” he recalled. “At one point, I knew everyone in town.”

A resident of High Street for more than 75 years, Precourt said Wareham’s downtown hasn’t changed much over the years. He said much of the commercial development has occurred in other parts of town.

Precourt became a postman in in 1928 after quitting his job at the Gateman Bus Company and passing the Post Office entrance examination.

“I still remember my score, I got an 83,” he said, beaming. “I was in the top five" of the people who took the test at the same time he did.

Precourt spent much of his life in Wareham. He moved to town from Middleborough when he was 14 years old.

“[Wareham] was a good place for kids to grow-up. ... The best part is we had a lot of freedom. We explored the woods and went swimming in Blackmore Pond,” he said. “I think I got the best of it."

In the 1920s and 1930s, Wareham was a bustling town, Precourt said. He has memories of streetcars carrying commuters and curious tourists into town hourly. Precourt also recalled taking his wife out dancing in local hot spots.

He married his wife, Eleanor, in 1936. The couple raised four children in their High Street home, which Precourt still owns. Since December, he has been at Sippican Nursing Home in Marion following the death of his wife.

In his youth, Precourt enjoyed caring for his two horses and attending church.

“My grandmother was always saying to go to church ... and I always have,” he said.

Precourt retired from the Postal Service at age 65 and became a daily communicant at St. Patrick’s Church on High Street.

“He is an icon here in the parish and quite a remarkable man,” said Father John Sullivan of St. Patrick’s Church.

Father Sullivan will be preaching a 100th birthday sermon for Precourt during a special mass at the nursing home on April 5.

What are Precourt’s thought’s on how he got to the ripe age of 100?

“I don’t know how I got so lucky," he said. "It’s in God’s hands.”

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#2 2011-04-04 14:54:13

I'm still alive because of Ernie Precourt. He is a remarkable man.

Here's Ernie and where he lived with his Grandmother in South Wareham.

http://buzzardsbay.net/ernie/

https://warehamwater.cruelery.com/img/Ernie.Precourt.-.Wareham.MA.-.2002-10-20-Sun-10-53-24.jpg
Ernie Precourt - Lincoln Hill, Wareham, MA - 2002-10-20 Sun 10:53:24am
https://warehamwater.cruelery.com/img/Ernie.Precourt.-.Wareham.MA.2006-10-04-Wed-11-03-22-am.jpg
Ernie Precourt - High Street - 2006-10-04 Wed 11:03:22am



Auto-edited on 2020-08-11 to update URLs

Last edited by billw (2011-05-24 16:28:40)

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#3 2011-04-04 15:32:51

Bill ~ who's living in each of these homes, now?  I have some fond memories of him in his uniform, always quiet, but always gave me a smile - sometimes with a hello!  A wonderful man.  Why aren't there more like him around?  What a different world it would be.  Bill, I know you will be seeing him on his birthday, so if you don't mind, please tell him I said hello and Happy Birthday Mr. Precourt.  (I would never have dared to call him Ernie, even now.)

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#4 2011-04-04 15:55:21

justme wrote:

Bill ~ who's living in each of these homes, now?

On Conant Hill? I dunno. Ernie's grandmother ran a boarding house there for workers of the horseshoe factory. Small as it is now, the house is considerably larger than in Ernie's time. No running water, electric or phone. Two holer out back,  though.

The house on High Street was much the same when they bought it for next to nothing believing they paid too much. This is Wareham, remember?

Ernie still has a valid drivers license. Except for one ding in 1926, he's never had a wreck of any description.

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#5 2011-04-04 17:49:31

billw wrote:

I'm still alive because of Ernie Precourt.

Care to elaborate??

..great pics

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#6 2011-04-04 18:19:07

Dave, maybe because Mr. Precourt was a very caring, understanding person.  When he cared for you, it was with all his heart.

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#7 2011-04-04 22:07:25

I'm sure he is (I don't know him). I was just hoping Bill might share some of his experience, and maybe I'd "know" Mr. Precourt a little better (through Bill). He's led an interesting existence (Both Bill, and I'm sure Mr. Precourt).

But, 100 years, holy crap (good for him)!! I looked it up earlier, in 1911 (the year he was born) the Mexican Revolution was "In the news".."super-conductivity" was first discovered! History's "awesome"..personal histories too..

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#8 2011-04-04 23:36:54

When I was younger living in the "littlw" house on lincoln hill I remember Sandy his palamino horse would eat the screen off the bathroom window you would pull the shower curtain open and get the scare of your life. I always remember him walking main st & high st.

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#9 2011-04-04 23:39:26

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/news … z1IcHMTFX8

Ernest “Ernie” Precourt- For your outstanding contributions to the spirit of Christmas during your 33 years as Postman in the town of Wareham.

"You cheerfully delivered thousands of Christmas and holiday packages, bringing season’s greetings to every household on your mail route in the neighborhoods you served.

Upon retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, you continued to contribute to the sprit of Christmas by giving your time unselfishly to deliver dozens of holiday baskets to families in the community."

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#10 2011-04-05 00:08:14

LizMcD wrote:

When I was younger living in the "littlw" house on lincoln hill I remember Sandy his palamino horse would eat the screen off the bathroom window you would pull the shower curtain open and get the scare of your life. I always remember him walking main st & high st.

That horse had weird appetites and a cast iron stomach. She licked the vinyl off the roof of Helen Lincoln's Cadillac. Ernie described that ancient barn this afternoon as the one place in the world where he was most at peace.

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#11 2011-04-05 00:22:33

DDPTRO wrote:

billw wrote:

I'm still alive because of Ernie Precourt.

Care to elaborate??

Nope. I started to tell that story soon after I moved back here and my listener already knew most of the details; not why they meant anything. Fine by me. Let me put it this way. None of us survive for long alone.

Please visit Ernie at Sippican if you get a chance. He hates the place and aches to return home but loves company.

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#12 2011-04-05 01:30:19

A friend, is a friend, is a friend, isn't he Bill......

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