On Friday, June 1 Paul Leonard retired after 25 years as the Oak Bluffs postmaster. He began his career in Vineyard Haven 35 years ago.

Forced out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, John Hirt and his wife sought refuge with family on Martha's Vineyard. Ten years later, Mr. Hirt, the new West Tisbury postmaster, is still calling the Vineyard home.

Chilmark has a new postmaster. But to call Leigh Vanderhoop new may be misleading, as he’s worked for the post office for 27 years.

A small framed list on the wall of the West Tisbury post office lists the names of each of the town’s postmasters. Soon a new name will be added to the lineup — postmaster Paula Sullivan has retired, capping a postal service career of nearly 30 years.

For 134 years the modest cedar-shingled post office of Cuttyhunk has served as a lifeline to the mainland for this isolated community. Now with the U.S. Postal Service facing declining revenues and cutbacks, the Cuttyhunk branch faces the prospect of closure, along with 43 other post offices in Massachusetts identified in a nationwide review.