If you've ever stopped by the Red River Post Office to mail a postcard to the folks back home, you may have handed the card to the friendly guy behind the counter who always had a cheerful word for everyone, even total strangers.

Joe Carrier (pronounced Care-ee-yea) held the position of Postmaster since August of 1985. On March 29 of this year, he retired from the job, a great guy in a long line of colorful people who've held the position since 1895.

Joseph Maurice François Carrier was born February 17, 1935, in Sanford, Maine, a French-Canadian community. His father was also born in Maine and his mother in Quebec, Canada. Everyone spoke French and Joe learned English after he stared school.

When Joe joined the Air Force after high school, his French brought him the role of interpreter for the military in Washington D.C., Vietnam and Cape Canaveral. He took his basic training in New York, then spent four years at England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana. It was there that he met Norma Sartori, and, following their marriage, he was sent to Patrick Air Force Base, working at Cape Canaveral where he watched Astronaut Alan Shepherd do the sub-orbital flight in 1961.

Following the birth of their son, Pierre, the Carrier family was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque for three years, before spending four years of Pentagon duty with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He returned to Albuquerque and, following a stint in Vietnam for which he was awarded the Bronze Star, stayed in the Duke City until his retirement in November of 1976.

The Carriers remained in Albuquerque until Joe became Red River postmaster in 1985, following the retirement of Bob and Esther Prunty.

Today, Joe and Norma live in Albuquerque after 44 years of marriage and spend more time with Pierre, his wife, Maryjo, and the grandkids, Nicole, Marie and Sean Pierre.

(Editor's note: This article appears courtesy of columnist Alyce Lindberg Densow who originally wrote the article for the weekly Red River Miner.)