A line of approximately 50 people snaked out of the reception room at the Holiday Inn on Sweitzer Lane June 26. But the queue was not for a wedding reception or birthday party; it was to say goodbye to Barron Brooks.
Brooks, 54, of Upper Marlboro, a United Parcel Service package delivery man who has delivered to area locations including West Laurel for 30 years, was retiring and bidding his customers farewell with a party he threw and funded in their honor.
But the honor seemed to belong entirely to the attendees’ as many of them signed a plastic tablecloth with good-luck wishes. One resident invited him to come over ‘‘any time” for homemade dessert, while another thanked him for having become like family to her.
‘‘Quite frankly, these were some of the best customers I’ve had,” Brooks said at the party, clad in his brown UPS summer uniform of a short-sleeved Oxford shirt and shorts. ‘‘I’ve had the pleasure of forming some of the best relationships with them. To me they’re like family.”
The party drew such a large crowd that less than an hour after it began a collapsible wall had to be removed to accommodate the guests.
‘‘This is a big deal for this community,” said West Laurel resident Lucy Ertter between bites of hors d’oeuvres. ‘‘He knows everybody in this neighborhood. You rattle off an address, he can tell you who lives there. He is just truly a wonderful human being.”
Ertter’s daughter, Teddy Ertter, 18, said she had known Brooks since she was a toddler.
‘‘When I was little and he would see me in the neighborhood he’d always tease me, ‘How’s your frog?’” she said with a laugh. ‘‘He knew I had a turtle.”
Last year, the West Laurel Civic Association awarded Brooks its Good Neighbor Award for his caring demeanor and good service.
‘‘I’m very emotional right now,” said Les Austin, delivery manager for the Laurel UPS center and Brooks’ supervisor. ‘‘I’ve worked with him over 20 years. He’s one-in-a-million.”
Many partygoers brought Brooks, who would say only that he is retiring to ‘‘pursue other aspirations,” small gifts and hugged him when they got to the front of the long line to bid him goodbye.
‘‘You can see by the tremendous turnout what a special person he is,” said West Laurel resident Bryan Johnson as he waited in line to speak to Brooks, who often brought treats for the Johnsons’ puppy.
‘‘His caring of people is what’s special about him,” said West Laurel resident Bill Ferguson. ‘‘He treats every one of his customers like his own family, like each individual is his only customer.”
E-mail Anath Hartmann atahartmann@gazette.net.
