As Santa climbs aboard his sleigh on Christmas Eve to bring joy to people around the world, a Ladysmith postal carrier also will be making the rounds.
Candy Patrick has worked 35 years total for the U.S. Postal Service, starting in 1985 as a rural carrier in the southeastern Wisconsin community of Palmyra. She transferred to Ladysmith in 2000, when she became a city carrier.
Her last full day delivering mail will be Wednesday, Dec. 23, with a half-day scheduled for Christmas Eve.
Jim and Candy Patrick moved to Rusk County 20 years ago as her husband was looking for a hunting cabin closer to where he had family and starting a new construction business. When the couple moved, Ladysmith had a city carrier route open, and she accepted it.