(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights United State Postal Service’s Clifton Kelly.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born May 10, 1943, in Columbia.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I attended John J. Jefferson High School.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I am the maintenance man at the post office. I sweep and clean the floor, empty the garbage and handle all of the cleaning.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: I had a friend who was working here, and she quit and asked me if I wanted to work. I said yes. I’ve been working here for three years.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: I enjoy doing my job and taking pride in it. I enjoy talking to the people when I get a chance to.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: The most challenging part is keeping everything clean.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?
A: The most important lesson I’ve learned is treating people how I want to be treated. It gives me a good feeling when I do things. When I see people, I talk to them and try to be kind.
Q: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a basketball coach because I love the game. I played it all my life and just wanted to be a coach.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My first job was working in a packing house in Chicago.
Q: Who are the people who have been most influential in your life?
A: I would say my mother, Estella, and my sister, Anna May. My mother was the type of lady that whenever something went wrong, we would always sit down and talk about it. My sister treated me like her son because I was the only boy and she didn’t have any boys.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Zola Kelly. She retired from working at Pioneer.
Q: Do you have children?
A: I have two children. Anthony Abram is 61, and Kimberly Kelly is 46.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: My favorite meal is turnip mustard greens, cornbread and a sweet potato.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I would go back to Chicago. I stayed there for a while. I liked the city and that there was a lot of different places you could go.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I used to like to play golf. I like to play spades, and I like to go to the casino.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I enjoy being here because most of the people are so nice, and it’s different than being in the city. I like the South the best.
Q: Where do you go to church?
A: I go to True Vine Baptist Church. That’s where I grew up at.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: I would have lunch with my wife because I enjoy eating with her and talking with her.
Q: What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
A: I like to play basketball because I know I shouldn’t play. Every now and then I get out and shoot the ball. I don’t do any running, just shoot.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: When my mother passed and my sister passed, that really shook me and took a part of me.
Q: What is one thing you want to do that you’ve never tried?
A: I would like to go to Las Vegas. I want to go look around the city and go to the casino. I just like the city.
Q: Using one word for each, what are your top three defining characteristics?
A: Trustworthy, neighborly and faithful.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I just want to be remembered as a good person.
—Joshua Campbell
