ANDOVER — On one of the busiest days of the year, a local delivery driver unloaded his truck filled with last-minute gifts and packages one last time destined for happy customers across downtown Andover, capping off a nearly 40-year career.
Andover native Scott Kelly, 57, spent the last 38 years as a United Parcel Service driver, with 35 of them on the same route taking him to businesses and different neighborhoods in downtown Andover. His last official day delivering was Christmas Eve.
When he picked up his mother for Christmas the next day, she told him how proud she was of him and his dedication to the same company for 38 years. Kelly said he got a little teary.
“This job has given me everything I have in my life,” Kelly said.
From Memorial Hall Library to Phillips Academy and to surrounding streets like Elm and Chestnut streets, Kelly daily greeted everyone with a smile and positive attitude, getting to know his customers as friends and sharing his life with them.
Andover residents and business owners would ask him about his family or his love of golf and Kelly would talk about sports, largely about the New England Patriots, and crack jokes. He watched as three generations of families grew over those decades with kids he remembers when they were little now having children of their own.
“I’m old enough that I can call them by their first names, but I still always call them by their proper names,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I was brought up the right way.”
Kelly started at UPS when he was 19. Three years into his career, he ended up on the downtown route, and it’s one he held on to until his retirement. Routes went out to a biannual bid by seniority.
“I just kept getting it,” Kelly said. “And then being from Andover, I knew so many people and have always felt comfortable here.”
While he now resides in Haverhill, Kelly grew up on the west side of Andover near Andover Country Club and West Elementary School.
“But it wasn’t an easy route,” Kelly added.
On an average day, Kelly got up to 23,000 steps in after he found five “good parking spots” downtown to walk three or four blocks for each delivery.
He became a reliable and friendly fixture downtown. Kelly even was presented with two state citations by state Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, in 2022 for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing his vital service to the community.
Kelly recalled conversations and happy memories with the people receiving their packages. People noticed when he was on vacation.
The friendly interactions made the job for Kelly and it is something he said he will miss in retirement. He did things the “old-school” way, valuing the social aspect and personal touch of face-to-face conversations when making deliveries, something he said he feels is lost among younger drivers nowadays looking to drive on to the next stop.
He looked forward to talking to people along the way and seeing downtown so lively.
Even if he was having a bad day, Kelly said he never let the customers know. Everyone saw Kelly with a smile.
“I like the action, and as time went on, everything was on my route,” he said.
His doctor’s office, bank and where he got his mortgage were part of his route. He even met his girlfriend along it.
Kelly has watched as downtown Andover, and the delivery industry, changed since he started. He’s seen the job change with more and more packages delivered each day, how new technologies affect service and how the job gets completed – both good and bad.
He’s seen the trend of bigger retail businesses moving out and more restaurants moving in. He had about 10 customers stay the same since he first took the route, such as The Andover Shop and Royal Jewelers.
The downtown vibe kept Kelly wanting it to stay on his route, he said, with a positivity that could be felt throughout the community.
“People are always trying to do better and it’s been very positive working downtown,” Kelly said. “I like being positive and I like other people being like that too. I didn’t want to deliver in an area where people are just trying to make it through the day.”
Rain, ice and cold weather won’t be things he misses though.
“I tell people when the job’s hard enough on its own, but then throw weather and traffic into it,” Kelly said. “It’s 1,000 times harder.”
Kelly said he plans to make one last run of his route, without the uniform, going store to store to show his gratitude to his longtime customers and friends.
“I told everyone, ‘You had the better part of 35 years to tell me whatever you wanted to tell me,’” he said with a laugh. “Now, I’m on their time. Everybody has been terrific to me over the years and they’re all wonderful people.”