Smiling Mailman Lights Up the
Hallways
By Teresa Shultz
He is a familiar sight to anyone at
Penn Sinte Harrisburg. He is the man
with the mail cart and the smile.
Jack Benfer, 67, said he loves his job
as Penn State Harrisburg's mailman.
"It's a great place to work," he said.
"I have fun!"
Benfer has been working as the well
known mail deliverer for five years. And
he certainly has practical experience: he
retired after 31-years of service as a letter
carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.
After retirement, he volunteered at the
Dauphin County Agency on Aging as a
tour guide showing senior citizen's
groups Harrisburg's points of interest.
Robert Hamill, manager of Personnel
and Business Services, contacted the
agency in search of a replacement for the
vacancy, left by Benfer's predecessor.
Benfer took the job and said he "will
remain for as long as I am physically
capable."
Wayne Mills, who is in charge of the
mail service and supplies and to whom
Benfer reports, said Benfer was a great
addition to the crew.
"He always tries to make the
students' day. He is always there and
helpful and willing to put in that extra
hour," said Mills.
Benfer's mail cart is proof of that.
He spent one Christmas break a few
years ago fixing up what began as an old
oak-finished cart.
He said he used the extra time he had
after performing his duties to work on
the cart.
He said he wanted to make sure he
worked his full time.
"That cart is a piece of me," Benfer
said.
Indeed, it seems to personify his
attitude -- bright, cheery and lively.
It is covered in lights of various sizes
-- picked by Benfer especially for the
cart.
"I started with three [lights], but now
I have seven," Benfer said proudly.
The lights include two headlights
which Pre actu .'ly two battery-opc rated
closet lights, a licPd strobe, a rear strobe,
and t- "blink-cis,'
"I saw them out somewhere and I just
knew they belonged," he said of the
small blinking lights.
He also has a lighted aluminum Penn
State license plate which he said took
him two weeks to figure how to rig to a
9-volt battery.
The newest addition is his lighted
sunvisor which he said his son got at a
night golf tournament.
He told his son he needed it as soon
as he saw it.
"It is an accessory to the cart and I
only wear it when I'm pushing the cart,"
Benfer said with a smile.
Benfer's caring and zest for life extend
to all aspects of his life.
Benfer, who was in the Army during
World War II and the Korean War,
believes life is too short and should be
enjoyed.
He said he changed his philosophy
about 15 years ago when both parents
died within six months of each other.
"There's not enough time in a day to
do everything," the enthusiastic Benfer
said.
In addition to his part-time job as
Penn State Harrisburg's mailman, he
enjoys many activities including
photography, woodworking, golf, and
competitive rifle shooting.
He also likes reading Louis L'Amour
westerns and working in his yard.
Benfer said he enjoys taking day trips
and travelling with his wife Ruth, with
whom he has five children and 14
grandchildren.
A recent excursion included a
Caribbean cruise in May.
This coming May they plan to visit
Orlando, Florida and Disneyland.
Benfer also has an extended family:
three dogs including a yellow labrador, a
golden retriever, and a mixed shetter.
"I just love dogs," said Benfer.
This love got him into trouble when
he worked as a letter carrier in lower
Paxtang.
He liked to feed the dogs on his
route; he said he spent about $2O a
week on dog biscuits.
Each day he would go through four
boxes of biscuits--one box of Milkbones
for the larger dogs and three boxes of
small biscuits for the smaller dogs, he
explained
Penn State Harrisburg always receives the
mail complete with a smile when Jack
Benfer is on the job.
"I would be on one side of the street
and the dogs on the other side would
start barking," Benfer said.
He said he would be sure to slip a
biscuit through the mail slot for any
dogs inside and he would walk around to
the back for the dogs tied in a backyard
to deliver their "mail."
His activity, which he considered a
goodwill gesture to the people on his
route, was not so appreciated by the
Postal Service.
He even had the use of a mail jeep
suspended to deter him from carrying the
boxes of bones.
The Postal Service thought Benfer's
loving act could be dangerous for an
empty-handed substitute mail carrier.
"I was the only letter carrier in the
area on a foot route," he laughed.
But it did not matter. He continued
to feed his dog-friends by stashing boxes
of biscuits along with his mailbag.
The Campaign for Penn State
Harrisburg will seek pledges from the
college's seniors in a bid to increase
alumni awareness of college needs,
according to Karen McHenry Gluntz,
director of Development and University
Relations.
Starting in January, seniors at PSH
will be asked to make pledges that can
be paid off over a five-year period after
graduation.
The student may donate money to
target a need in a specific department or
program, if the student wishes.
Gluntz said that current students
have benefitted from the generosity of
many alumni and friends of the college.
By asking students to think about
pledging, they will be given the
opportunity to become philanthropists,
passing that same generosity on to the
next group of students.
Student pledges will be added to the
pool of contributions for the Campaign
for Penn State, which includes donations
from many area corporations,
businesses, PSH alumni, and friends of
the college.
Gluntz pointed out that Penn State
has been raising public funds sincel9B4,
when the university Board of Trustees
endorsed the Campaign for Penn State.
The original state-wide goal of $2OO
million was raised to $3OO million last
May.
Tom Glazewski
Gluntz said that University President
Bryce Jordan is confident that the goal
will be reached by June 30, 1990.
The university has raised over $215
million toward that goal.
The state covers only 22 percent of
the University's operating budget.
The remaining 78 percent comes
from tuition, fees, and contributions.
Contributions Top
$2.4 Million
By David A. Blymire
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Campaign for
PSH Seeks
Senior Pledges
By David A. Blymire
The campaign for Penn State
Harrisburg has netted 87 percent of its
$2 million goal so far, according to
Karen McHenry Gluntz, director of
Development and University Relations
at Penn State Harrisburg.
The campaign, begun in 1984, has
raised $1.7 million, which includes both
pledges and actual raised monies, Gluntz
said.
The $2 million is geared to meet
specific needs that have been listed in the
Penn State Harrisburg needs statement
that prospective donors receive when
contacted by the college.
All the monies raised by Penn State
Harrisburg stay at the college.
The statement lists the need for
professorships, MET lab renovations,
student aid, funding for the provost's
lecture series, student and faculty
research programs, academic program
enhancements which include the
purchase of new equipment, a
communications lab, and the
development and maintenance of an
American studies archive.
Penn State Harrisburg has also
received restricted monies and gifts-in
kind of materials that didn't specifically
target anything in the needs statement,
pushing the total contributions received
to $2.4 million.
Approximately 50 area companies are
currently reviewing campaign proposals
that total over $600,000, Gluntz said,
and they probably will be making
decisions within the next several
months.
The campaign's deadline is June 30,
1990.