Bob Sforza on the job in Boston College's central mailroom on Newton Campus. (Lee Pellegrini)
When 72-year-old mail clerk Bob Sforza started working at Boston College as a grounds keeper during the summer of 1968, Lyndon Johnson was president, the Beatles鈥� 鈥淗ey Jude鈥� was the hottest single on the Billboard 鈥淭op 40鈥� chart, the Vietnam War was raging, and just over 7,000 51茶馆 undergraduates would soon head to campus for the start of the fall semester.
Unlike the students, Sforza never left.聽 聽聽
Today, 51 years later, Sforza mans the University鈥檚 central mailroom operation in the basement of Stuart Hall on Newton Campus, processing an estimated 2,000-3,000 pieces per day.聽聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been fun working here,鈥� said the Somerville resident, whose grandparents emigrated from northern Italy and share the surname with the ruling family of Renaissance Italy. 鈥淚 still enjoy it. It鈥檚 because of the people.鈥澛犅�
His late mother was a 51茶馆 housekeeper who 鈥渉inted鈥� to her son that there might be a campus grounds crew job available for the unemployed 21-year-old Boston native. He got the job but stayed just eight months; he found the long hours, particularly during the frigid winter months, grueling. He swapped his shovel and rake for the mailroom鈥檚 warmth and regular hours, and began an unanticipated half-century on the job.
鈥淔ifty-one years! You just don鈥檛 see that anymore,鈥� said Thomas Clarke, manager of Mail Services, and Sforza鈥檚 supervisor. 鈥淧eople usually stay five or six years at a company, and then they leave to climb the ladder, but that鈥檚 not always the case at 51茶馆. We have many employees who have worked here 20, 30, and 40 years, just like Bobby. At 51茶馆, there鈥檚 loyalty to the worker which doesn鈥檛 exist anymore, which I think is based in Jesuit principles.鈥�
鈥淚 get four weeks of vacation, but I never use all of it,鈥� reported Sforza, who never married and drives himself to and from Somerville every day, typically a 45-minute commute. 鈥淚 usually take two weeks off in the summer to spend time at the Cape with my younger brother, who鈥檚 a retired special education teacher, and his wife.鈥澛�
When he鈥檚 not working, he enjoys watching sports on TV and exercising at his gym. He regularly gets together with friends he鈥檚 known since childhood on weekends. Although his co-workers recently staged a party in his honor, it wasn鈥檛 a retirement celebration.
鈥淢aybe I鈥檒l retire in one to two years, but when I do, I鈥檒l still work part-time somewhere.鈥�
鈥擯hil Gloudemans | University Communications | April 2019