Retired Athens postmaster Tom Scott says these days he can, “go to bed when I want to, get up when I want to, take a lot of breaks, and drink a lot of coffee.”

Scott, who was postmaster from 1977 to 1995, had a total of 32 years with the postal service. He now divides his time between gardening and volunteering with the local Housing Authority.

Scott says he’s never wanted to live anywhere but Athens. The only time he’s lived away was a stint in the Army from 1963-65.

“I said when I got back to Athens I would never leave,” he said.

Scott spent 18 months stationed in Honolulu, and if a guy has to be away from home, he could do a lot worse than Hawaii.

“I was with the 25th Infantry Division,” he said. “Eventually, they were deployed to Vietnam, but that was after I got out.”

So arriving back in Athens in 1965, it didn’t take Scott long to land a job with the post office. He said he never wanted to leave there either.

“What I liked most was working with the public, meeting people, helping them out,” he said.

Scott scoffs at the term “going postal” in describing violent behavior, at least as far as the people he worked with over the years.

“We had a good group,” he said. “They were great to work with and really made my job easier.”

But as much as Scott loved his job, he was looking forward to retirement. He and his wife Faye and two other couples took a 21-day tour of Europe. The couple were anticipating more trips when, in 1997, Faye had a recurrence of breast cancer. She had first been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985.

“They say if it doesn’t come back after five years, it’s cured. But hers came back.

She died in 1999.

Scott divides his gardening and volunteering time with his two sons. Perry Scott works for Army Defense Intelligence on Redstone Arsenal and is unmarried. Matthew Scott is the principal of Creekside Elementary School. He and his wife Ashley have a boy, Spencer, 4, and a girl, Sydney, 9 months.

Another interest of Scott’s is history, more specifically the history of county post offices. He did some archival research and found the names of early post offices, some of which closed decades ago, and the postmasters and postmistresses that served them. The names he found tell the history of the communities.

• Veto 1920-1955: John W. Taylor, Wesley Taylor, George Wesley Taylor, Miss Martha Taylor, Robert Coffman, Robert Thomas Coffman, and Mrs. Mamie Bryant. Mail moved to Elkmont on Aug. 31, 1955;

• Thach 1925-1933: Edward P. Karn. Mail moved to Elkmont Dec. 30, 1933.

• Mooresville postmasters 1908-1964: Benajah A. Bibb, Alice B. Bibb, and Mary W. Pepper.

• Tanner 1928-1971: Ada G. Taylor and Miss Nela A. Carter.

• Coxey 1921-1937: Ida D. Easter. Mail moved to Athens September 1937.

• Harris 1921-1935: Roy L. Laughmiller. Mail moved to Tanner May 1935.

• Lester 1938-1970: Mrs. Margaret Jackson.

• Belle Mina 1907-1940: Sidney J. Nethery and Miss Marjorie Bailey.

• Capshaw 1928-1963: Grace V. Smith, James B. Cole, Miss Helen Balch, Mrs. Helen S. Sanderson (later Clem), Isabelle S. Smith.

• Elkmont 1928-1960: Robert B. Evans, Joseph T. Evans, John H. Black, Joseph T. Evans, Winston S. Morris, Mrs. Mamie Bryant, Mabron L. Compton.

• Athens 1929-1964: Culver M. Hillis, Charles W. Sarver, Joe B. Sarver, David Luther Yarbrough, Mrs. Evelyn P. Witt, W. Baylis Hightower, Leonard W. Moyers.