What makes Joel a Trailblazer?
“After 43 years as a mail carrier and about 15yrs also working a paper route, Joel lost his wife and retired. But instead of turning inward with grief, he went back to school and took the NOLS class.”
In December of 2022, Joel's daughter nominated him as a Trailblazer during Oboz's Soleful Time of Year campaign. Earlier that year, he lost his wife who he had known since elementary school.
In his daughter's words, here's what made him a Trailblazer: “After 43 years as a mail carrier and about 15yrs also working a paper route, Joel lost his wife and retired. But instead of turning inward with grief, he went back to school and took the NOLS class.”
Within six weeks of his wife's passing, Joel retired from the US Postal Service, after working 41 years there. He describes being "fortunate" while at the postal service, as he was outside most of his days. That's where he also discovered Oboz's Bridger collection, "which (he) wore gratefully (my) last couple of years carrying mail."
Since retiring, he has taken a NOLS course in wilderness first aid, re-enrolled at the University of Minnesota, joined a gym, and plans to spend time volunteering at a Wildcat Sanctuary, where I will once again be grateful for my Bridger boots.
Says Joel, "I'm currently on the lookout for the next challenge and opportunity to embrace life."
