RSS Edition - The Connection Newspapers

Serving Tysons for 40 Years

Mailman Marvin Long remembers the area when none of this existed.
By Nikki Cheshire Monday, January 24, 2011

Even though only a few decades have passed since its development, its hard to imagine Tysons Corner as anything different than the industrial jungle it is today. But one man doesnt have to imagine he remembers. Marvin Long, a mailman for the United States Postal Service, has been delivering mail to the Tysons area for about 40 years. I got this job right out of Oakton High School, said Long, explaining that he was part of a program at the school that allowed students to go to school for half a day and then go to a job for half a day to gain work experience. My teacher asked me where I wanted to work, and off a whim I said Why not the Postal Service? He got me an interview and I just stayed with it, he said. I just loved it so much. Back then, said Long, he had to be sworn in with the Bible to work at the postal service. When he first started, his route in Tysons consisted of just four stops on Leesburg Pike and a few on Gosnell, which dead-ended after a short while. None of this existed, said Long, gesturing out the window to the clustered chain stores, office buildings and car dealerships. I saw everything get built. It used to just be property, Long said, describing Tysons beginnings. There was a house and a little two-pump Exxon on one side and farmland on the other. Now, he said, that Exxon grew as Tysons did, becoming large enough to accommodate the heavy traffic flow. When I first started out, I never thought thered be a Metro! Its unbelievable whats been accomplished. In the beginning, Long had a walking route in Vienna. It was great! I got to meet lots of people. He remembered that, though he encountered many dogs while delivering mail, he was only bitten once. Ive been followed by German Shepherds, but the only bite I got was from a Chihuahua, he said, laughing. Didnt expect that one! Throughout his years of service, Long says hes seen kids grow up to have kids and that they still come up to say hi. Its very fulfilling. Describing himself as a people-person, Long has made many close friends while he worked, and is still visited by people who arent on his route anymore. After driving over 1 million miles for the postal service, one of Longs favorite places to deliver mail is a senior housing community on the short stretch of Tyspring Street. Theyre my heart and soul, Long said, explaining that helping them is very important to him as he knows they cant always get to the post office easily. If they take them off my route, Im really gonna retire, Long said with a laugh. It really has been an adventure.

Nikki Cheshire/The Connection Marvin Long in front of a painting depicting the construction of Tysons: as a mailman for 40 years he remembers the beginnings of the area development.

Photo contributed Mailman Marvin Long at one of holiday parties in the Tysons area he was invited to attend.