GUILDERLAND — After 26 years as postmaster in Guilderland Center, John Desarbo, 59, a McKownville resident, will retire this year.

Desarbo has been in the postal business since 1974. He took the Civil Service exam and was hired for the Guilderland office, working there for three years before he became postmaster in Guilderland Center. The post office serves about 450 people and has two employees.

“Working in Guilderland Center was the height of my career,” said Desarbo. The people he met and worked with made the job enjoyable, he said.

“If it wasn’t for the people, I probably wouldn’t have stayed as long as I did,” Desarbo said, noting that he would like to thank the residents for making the years of his service so pleasant.

The postmaster joked that the post office was a local hangout for retired men, and that he got to meet with them as he worked. “I didn’t even know any of them had wives until the men would die and the wives would come in to pick up their mail,” he said.

Desarbo said he was happy to see that younger people are starting to comprise the majority of postal employees, in comparison to what he said were “mostly retirees” when he first began working.

One such young person, Keith Loehner, 24, will be taking over the postmaster position after Desarbo’s retirement, which will be effective tomorrow. Loehner is currently the officer in charge.

“I had 26 great years,” said Desarbo, but he added he is now looking forward to visiting his son in Florida and working around his house.