Originally Posted by
SpeedofLite
Hey Hey, My My, Paperboy Threads Must Never Die.
Yes, I was a paperboy! A proud one, 1968-1970. 63 customer route of the Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer & News.
As a 12-14 year old, that job taught me so much about people, managing money, persisting in the face of adversity, and the value of hard work.
I learned in the first week not to park a heavy bike with a kickstand on a customer's new asphalt driveway on a hot summer day, not to ride across a customer's lawn, and that the customer is always right.
I'll always remember my dad getting up early with me on Sunday mornings in the winter when snow was more than a foot deep and the roads were full of slush.
He'd drive slowly drinking his coffee, and I'd run from house-to-house after grabbing 5 papers at a time from the warm car. It made a 2 hour job in the winter a 1 hour job.
Of course, being a paperboy led to other jobs in high school, college, and beyond, so I think the lift-off into the adult world of responsibility was by being a paperboy.
Thanks for reviving this. It was fun to read old posts from folks who have long since gone from the site.
I had a route in the mid 60s, but it was a weekly (Saturday), not a daily. It was the old, long defunct Toronto Telegram, and I thought at the time they must have felled an entire tree for each paper, because they were huge.
My route was about three miles of trekking in a rural area, and my one speed coaster brake bike carried me the distance during the months that we were not buried in snow. The rest of the year I trudged through on foot.
Good way for an 11/12 year old to build character.