Delivered the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle for three horrendous years in the early 60s. Used to get up around 6:00am and do half my route in one direction, come back and refill my rear baskets and do the other half of the route in the other direction. It was a 26" five speed bike, Huffy I think. With chrome baskets it must have weighed well over 35lbs and then the weight of the papers. I was under 100 lbs and 5'3. I have no earthly idea how I did that...except youth means a lot. The worst days were Sunday because the papers were three times the size and Thanksgiving papers bigger and heavier still. Also, the salt on the roads would muck up the chain and shifters and we would have to take the bike to the bike shop to get it all cleaned out and re-adjusted. Boy, was that a hassle.

This was back when Rochester, NY had LOTS of lake effect snow and pushing through all that as a small kid was incredibly tough. Glad I did it, but hated almost every moment of it. Once a year my father would take pity on me and take me in the car and once one of my customers felt bad for me and threw my bike in the back of his pick-up and took me home. We were a very blue collar family, you signed up for it--you do it. Not sure it's exactly the way I would parent today, but it was a different time. And, there was no "throwing" All papers were taken up to the house and either put on the porch or put between the screen door.

PS: On Friday or Saturday during the day I would have to go house to house to "collect". There was a younger women on Rogers Drive who had a white '58 Impala convertible with red leather interior. I always looked forward to seeing them both. Whenever I see a '58 Impala today.....I smile.