Anyone know when paperboys ceased to exist?

[mrsilv04]

The local newspaper was hand- delivered to my house up until last year. Now it is delivered by the USPS, and shows up on the same day.

I was a 'back up' for a carrier for an older boy who lived on the same street as me. I always wanted a paper route of my own, but my Dad said NO due to the fact that it was a seven day a week committment (and he was right).

Therefore, I mowed yards. My sophomore year in high school, I mowed 30+ yards a week. My junior year, I landed my first commercial account (in addition to everything else) and had to take out liability insurance at the age of 17. As much grass as I was cutting, I should have already had it. Good times.

As much as I wanted to play football while in high school, there was simply no way. No time.

 

[hank2]

Did anyone get "The Grit" at home? Was any of you a delivery person for the "Grit".

I never saw "The Grit" sold in S. eastern or S. central Pa. However, every time I went to a northern PA. cabin, we picked up the Sun. Grit. In more remote areas the general stores were intact until recently and that's where you got one. The big Sun. paper for central and northern Pa. was the Harrisburg Patriot. You had to order that a day ahead at the store. A very long-time friend's father worked his entire life for "The Grit" in Williamsport, PA. where it was produced. I can't recall when it went under. Perhaps 1990's sometime?

 

[Allaneddie]

I never saw "The Grit" sold in S. eastern or S. central Pa. However, every time I went to a northern PA. cabin, we picked up the Sun. Grit. In more remote areas the general stores were intact until recently and that's where you got one. The big Sun. paper for central and northern Pa. was the Harrisburg Patriot. You had to order that a day ahead at the store. A very long-time friend's father worked his entire life for "The Grit" in Williamsport, PA. where it was produced. I can't recall when it went under. Perhaps 1990's sometime?

The Grit had a national (mostly rural) circulation (I know because I searched the internet).

We did get it and you are right, I grew up in western PA (Cambria County). Somehow my parents always had a copy at our house. I read it.

Strange enough, my Mom was born in Williamsport.

 

[blkwtr]

Back in the early 1950's my older brother and I sold newspapers on a busy street corner. On the red light we would walk past the cars yelling "paper, paper." We earned 1.33 cents for each paper we sold. We would be out there in heat, rain, sleet or snow for about three hours every evening and sell about 100 papers and make about $1.30. I remember we didn't have proper clothing to protect ourselves from the weather so many nights we would go home wet and cold. In the morning we would go off to school wearing wet shoes.

 

[OVERKILL]

There's still one that delivers flyers around here periodically.

 

[Donald]

I was a paperboy in mid 1960s. 42¢ for weekday & Saturday, 57¢ for Sunday also. Afternoon paper. Got your hands dirty with ink.

I rolled them with rubber band and often delivered using my bicycle.

Sunday paper came out Saturday at 9PM. Hated that in the winter. Cold and a heavy paper.

I had one of those chrome 4 tube coin changers. You put coins in at the top. Push a lever on the bottom to get out a quarter or dime, etc for change. Still have it.

 

[eljefino]

When customers got two weeks behind on payments I decided to stop delivering the papers one time. They called the paper and I got my butt chewed out, told to deliver them and the past copies immediately.

When I started the route my boss said he could get me two weeks credit for deadbeats but any more and I was on my own. Two weeks into the job, I had a guy not pay so I left him a note (with all the discretion an 11 year old could muster) saying pay up or he's getting shut off. He confronted me and said "do it!" For the next four years on the route, I was down 70 cents a week thanks to that missing customer.

The paper had two options for payment-- pay the carrier, or mail a check to the office. From then on any deadbeats would have me calling the circulation department to switch them over. I had that authority, somehow, I'd just pretend they asked me to get it done.

 

[eljefino]

I remember we didn't have proper clothing to protect ourselves from the weather so many nights we would go home wet and cold. In the morning we would go off to school wearing wet shoes.

I delivered in the snow, on my bike, but cold rain was the worst. I couldn't grip the papers with my claw like hands. Regular winter gloves would soak through. I wound up using rubber dishwashing gloves a couple times, like the guys in those arctic crab fishing TV shows.

The papers got dumped at the end of my driveway in a bound bundle. Once or twice my dad hit the bundle with his snowblower, right on the fold, so the papers all had structural holes right through the middle, like paper dolls. We'd go to Walgreens, and maybe Stop & Shop next door, and buy them out of replacements.

I went to a store recently because my track star kid had an article about him and we wanted a hard copy. Three bucks and the store only had one copy for sale. It's not a thing anymore.

 

[Allaneddie]

My Grandfather did and I use to read them when we went there on Sundays.

The Grit:

 

[SeaJay]

I was a paperboy in mid 1960s. 42¢ for weekday & Saturday, 57¢ for Sunday also. Afternoon paper. Got your hands dirty with ink.

My brother started a route around that time. 36 cents for weekday & Saturday. He really had to chase down his customers to get paid, rarely got anything extra. He did make a lot of contacts on his long route which later on turned into many paying lawn cutting jobs.

 

[Pablo]

I also learned I better get better paid for my time in life!!

 

[Pablo]

Never saw The Grit on the left coast

 

[SHOZ]

The Grit:
View attachment 236875

Ha it was probably my Grandmother who wanted them....

 

[Allaneddie]

Ha it was probably my Grandmother who wanted them....

I have to laugh at the picture of the Grit I posted. I didn't do it on purpose but "Polka" is such a Pennsylvania thing that I have to smile.

 

[SHOZ]

I have to laugh at the picture of the Grit I posted. I didn't do it on purpose but "Polka" is such a Pennsylvania thing that I have to smile.

Lawrence Welk was a regular Saturday Night viewing on TV.

 

[SHOZ]

 

[y_p_w]

Reminds me of the game Paperboy from Atari. One got points for getting one right in the box, as well as points for breaking windows of non-subscribers or hitting a burglar trying to break into a subscriber's window. This guy is showing a version from the Atari Lynx handheld unit.

 

[vavavroom]

My last paperboy was a grumpy guy in his 70s about 18 years ago.. He showed up internally combusted rather than pedaling. His aim was poor.

 

[Number_35]

Did anyone get "The Grit" at home? Was any of you a delivery person for the "Grit".

My silver-age comic books regularly contained ads looking for Grit delivery kids. I never saw a copy of Grit though - perhaps it didn't make it across the border.

 

[Number_35]

I delivered the Edmonton Journal for a year in '72/73. Monday through Friday I took a school bus south, picked up my bundles of papers at "the shack" (the pickup depot), walked about a mile to my route, delivered the 48 papers, and then walked a couple of miles home.

Saturday I walked about three miles over to the shack from home.

Collection night was Wednesday. The subscription rate was 60¢/week. I punched the subscriber's card to show they'd paid.

I remember a girl, perhaps 12, handing me three quarters (75¢) and even as I was producing 15¢ in change, her father yelled "And, Rachel! - Make sure he gives you the change!"

I submitted the amount I owed to the supervisor at the shack the next day.

I can't remember how much I cleared, but with gross receipts of < $30/week I can't imagine I made more than $5 to $10/week.

This was all in aid of saving for a trip to Florida to watch a Skylab launch in July 1973.

*******

A local boy delivered the paper here (Winnipeg) as late as 1990 or so, but adult carriers (doing motor routes) took over around that time, perhaps when the paper went over to morning delivery.

We recently dropped our subscription as the rate had crept up to $640/year.