Cleared paths help mail carriers get through the snow

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Despite the weather conditions Friday morning, mail carriers out of Charles A. Hayes Post Office in South Shore were on the job - including Ahmad Anderson.

"It's a snow day, no work, no school...so they get to sleep in, but we're out here," said Anderson.

Anderson has worked at the Post Office for 24 years and said that he simply can't deliver mail when stairs or sidewalks are covered in snow.

He said the difficulty makes him grateful for clear stretches of walkway.

"The sidewalks seem pretty clear, the concerned neighbors have the sidewalks cleared," Anderson said. "That means I pull up that extra effort myself. I know they are out here looking out for me."

After all, Chicago residents are required clear snows from their sidewalks.

"You get a ticket but we don't get out of our garages," said Phyllis O'Bannon Dixon. "So we have to do it."

Dixon's grandkids were off from school Friday, but they still got a lesson - on how to shovel snow.

"It's kinda fun and kinda hard at the same time," said Sydney Dixon. "Because it's really hard, because it can be really heavy if you pick up a lot."

"It's being erased, but we are making progress more and more," said Tyler Dixon.