Field postmaster Heidi Vezina is pictured here with her popular summer “Fairies” display, made with objects from around her home, as well as her most recent winter display. 
Vezina is pictured here with her popular summer “Fairies” display, made with objects from around her home, as well as her most recent winter display.
Joyce Beauchamp
Special to the Tribune
A visit to the post office in Field is a visual treat thanks to the creative force of postmaster Heidi Vezina. For the amusement of post office patrons, Vezina regularly prepares themed, seasonal displays.
Vézina has been postmaster at the Field Post Office since 2019. Immediately upon arriving, she was aware that the countertops were of a 1970’s vintage. They were boring, colourless and awkward, she describes. The display case was narrow, with a simple glass covering. There was nothing on display. No fancy coins. No pretty stamps.
At her previous postmaster position in Temagami, the countertops were large and were made of gleaming oak. Even the glass of the deep display case was trimmed in oak. They were a sight to behold, and she began decorating inside the display case.
Upon her new posting in Field, Heidi decided, “I can make a sight to behold here, too.” She decided to build not only one display, but several displays over the course of a year: one for Father’s Day, one for Valentine’s Day, one for spring and one for fall, and so on.
In the summer of 2024, her beautiful green-toned fairy display was a big hit. What an unexpected surprise for someone waiting in line on post office business! “It’s something for customers to look at while waiting,” explains Vezina. “They read the short poems, look at the trinkets and inspect the plants. It makes them smile,” she adds.
A smile is better than a frown at this post office. “Some people don’t have much patience for waiting in line,” she acknowledges. “They stand there, watching several parcels being measured, and they become irritable. I would rather give them something interesting to look at.”
Some customers who know Vezina and her displays make donations – a small plant, an interesting flower pot, a trinket they think could be used for a display. Since she is on a first-name basis with just about everybody in Field, she even takes loans.
Another service she likes to offer customers is a place to sit while waiting. “People are calmer when sitting,” she says. The post office comes with only one sturdy government-issue chair. Recently a customer brought in another chair. “It was an interesting chair, sturdy enough to be serviceable but also historic and elegant,” says Vezina. Customers sat in it regularly until one day a customer wanted to buy it. She contacted the chair’s donor, who named an asking price. Now she is down one interesting chair and welcomes another “interesting chair” donation. “Little things can make a big difference to people,” muses Heidi the postmaster.
