Any old newspaper carriers out there?

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Comments

  • jimbo1421
    jimbo1421 Posts: 772
    My first job was delivering the Newark Evening News. Rain or shine the truck would deliver two bundles of papers … in a puddle a block away. I wouldn't deliver soggy ones, so my parents would get a wet one and I would have to buy replacements to fill out my route. I remember "buying" the route from an older boy who was quitting. I knew it was kind of scammy to pay and against company rules, but I wanted a route in my neighborhood, not miles away. I think what I paid for was a referral. Still, it was a good job for me and I kept it for three years.

    Later I became a library page, re-shelving books at the public library. My supervisor would often chide me for reading the books in the stacks instead of organizing them, but that was OK. I mean, how could a librarian get mad at a kid for reading books? To this day I still love newspapers and books.
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  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    When I was ten to thirteen I delivered The Beloit Daily News. Between 55-65 papers on any given day. After I walked home from school the stack of papers would be setting on my curb. Had to fold them and rubber and them first. I either walked(winter) with canvas double sided bag over shoulders or rode the single speed 26” wheel Schwinn that I inherited from the kid I got the route from. It had a huge basket on the front. I could walk down the sidewalks and throw the paper like a frisbee and have it land on the porch most every time. People sucked when it came to collections. $5.00 and they would say come back some other time I have no money today. Never made any money. Went to the gas station after collecting and bought candy.
    My dog PDQ used to go with me sometimes and run besides me and never ran off. One time we were going across the one busy street for two houses and PDQ ran right under a Semi trucks rear trailer and came out the other side in a fast roll. What a close call. My fault of course.
    Great memories.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    My wife was one, hated it. Especially the Sunday paper. Then you had to collect the coin too, put up with people avoiding you, dogs, weather.

    Now, you get a dude in a beat up Camry, broken muffler, tossing them out the window onto the driveway at 4 am.....for about 200-240 bucks a week, 7 days. That's roughly 2 hours worth of work, no days off for 7 days.

    Subtract wear and tear on the car, gas....what do you really make. Not to mention lack of sleep. Newspapers in print form is going away, quickly.
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,862
    I delivered the Toronto Sun. It's what helped me buy my first compact Toshiba system complete with dual cassette, eq and tt on the top. Boy did I love that and I was so proud that I had bought it. I do remember going to collect money and I had to provide these little yellow tabs to say they had paid. I shuffled mine around in a grannie shopping cart. The good ole days.
  • pglbook
    pglbook Posts: 2,163
    I had a paper route for 5 years - from grade 8 all the way until I finished high school. I started when I was 12. I was actually too young to work according to the rules at the time but they needed someone to take over the route asap (the former carrier suddenly quit the route) so the local boss did a little age "adjustment" on my work papers. I delivered Long Island's Newsday newspaper to approx. 35 houses in my neighborhood. After only 2 years of saving money from the route, I was able to afford my first real audio system: Polk Monitor 5 speakers, Toshiba receiver, Dual tt. That paper route started me on my audio journey!
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    I delivered the paper for 5 years starting when I was eleven. I would say that getting up on Sundays at 4:30 am and having to stuff the sales flyers in the papers outside when it was 20 below, or having to push that yellow cart through a foot of snow was one of the things I hated most as a kid. If I forgot a house or someone took someones paper (apartment building) they would call my house and the old man would make me walk the mile to the store to buy a paper and then deliver it. I got bitten by dogs, and threatened by people when I attempted to collect money. Absolute worse part of job was collecting money - really, you can't pay the $2.40 you owe for the paper? I guess I could have quit, but the old man thought having a paper route was a necessary step to leading a successful life. Not sure I agree as many people I know are successful and they didn't have to suffer as a youth!
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Hey what didn’t kill ya built character! :smile:
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