The Newspaper Boy
Mon, September 6, 2021 
What did Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Wayne, and Martin Luther King all have in common?
They were all former paper boys.
Long before the newspaper industry went into decline, the newspaper delivery boy disappeared, and that is a shame.
Not only from a nostalgic perspective, but a newspaper route gave a kid a certain amount of independence, and above all it taught the importance of taking responsibility.
Once a youngster had taken on the job, a commitment had been made and there were an awful lot of individuals relying on this young bicycle courier for their daily paper.
There were many reasons the newspaper boy disappeared. Fear by parents for the youngster’s safety, changing child labor laws, school classes starting earlier, etc., etc.
There was hardly a Hollywood movie made up until the 1970s, set in suburban America, that didn’t include a scene where a newspaper boy is riding his bike, and throwing newspapers somewhere in the approximation of the front porch.
Strange thing is, I occasionally see a newspaper boy depicted in a TV commercial, are there still any out there; has anyone seen a real one lately?
It occurred to me that a lot of readers that visit here are ex-newspaper boys or girls, and maybe for some that’s how interest in cycling began.
I thought it would be interesting to hear some of your experiences, and to know how long ago that was. Kind of like a survey to find when and why the newspaper boy went into decline.
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Reader Comments (11)
Delivered the Press Enterprise in San Jacinto California for 5 years. 1975 thru 1980, my Senior year. All with perfect service. Started on a BMX style bike,then myfirst Sears FreeSpirit 10 speed,and finished using a Honda Express moped for the heavier Sunday edition.
Delivered the El Paso Times for 3 years in the 60's. I was a road cyclist on a Peugeot PX10 at the same time but used a car to deliver papers. It was a morning paper and I didn't want to ride my expensive (for me) bike in the dark. Used the bike to collect payment and perform customer service in the afternoons
I started delivering a small paper in 1970 when I was 12. I rode my bike and threw the paper at the house. It was fun but paid almost nothing. Then I got a better paying route with the Edmonton Journal when the local kid got fired - for doing deliveries from his bike! I was required to walk up to each doorway and gently place the paper on the step. It was a drag man, and collecting the money was worse. I didn't last long either.
I delivered the afternoon (Lincoln Journal) and Sunday morning (Journal-Star) newspapers in Lincoln, Nebraska for about 3 years in the mid-80s (my junior high years). It was a great experience, but I failed to learn from it. Specifically: I failed to learn that work could be fulfilling and not just a job. I wrote about this on my own blog several years ago
I delivered papers as often on foot as by bike; I don't know whether it affected my love of bikes but I did acquire, at a young age, the habit of learning my neighborhood and local landscape at a very fine-grained level (i.e. at walking/biking speed), something I still love.
I delivered the Sacramento Union for a couple or three years around 1969-70-71 and also subbed on my friend's S.F. Chronical route when he was sick or on vacation, both morning papars. Lots of pedalling around in the dark before school, but I was rolling in the dough for a kid back then. The biggest banes of my existence as a paper boy were the dogs that ruled the streets before the sun came up and the empty milk bottles left on the front porch for the milkman to pick up. I broke a fair amount of those on long throws from the street. Learned how to work on my bike to keep it running as it was of course critical to my job. These days, I can't even get a newspaper delivered to my house anymore. Its a shame.
One side effect of this (paper routes and kids being mobile on bikes) is their view of the world. The amount of distance that you think of as local and you feel for the relationship of places changes.
One outcome of this looking at today's young people. Their personal world is very small and they don't see the need to be able to drive (whether they own a car or not) and explore. They only want to go places that have been popularized by others.
My wife delivered the Grand Forks Herald (on foot) while I was going to school in the early 1990s. Newspaper deliveries seem to be done by adults driving cars these days, although I have seen someone wearing a traditional canvas bag and riding a bike delivering in my neighborhood.
Thanks for writing this Dave. I was a bicycle courier for the Arizona Republic for several years as a boy. It got my interested in bikes, and changed my life. I wrote an essay about it on my blog here: http://www.thebeautifulbicycle.com/2021/09/courier-for-the-republic/
A few lessons delivering the Escondido ‘Times Advocate’ on my Huffy 10-speed, around 14 years old:
Economics: When I found a $20 bill in the gutter while canvasing for new customers, the man driving me around told me to give it to him so he could return it to the person that dropped it.
Physics: While throwing papers, I had to reach back (the canvas bag slung over a strap-iron rack) from both sides so the bike remained balanced.
This tied in with Riding Form: I developed a fluid pedaling style because if I swayed side to side the swinging bag would hit the back wheel, shooting newspapers out the sides.
Situational Awareness: I was bit by a small dog when I turned my back on him.
Perception: On dark, early Sunday morning deliveries, I would see birds flying across my path. I could never tell if they really were there.
And finally, The Future: I was passed on a small hill by a man with such style that I told myself I would ride hills like that someday.
The thing is, he never knew how profoundly he affected me.
My main memory of newspaper delivery was a large boxer dog attaching its jaws to my upper leg ripping my pants and putting a few holes in my skin. Builds character I guess. Another was a friend whose parents thought delivering papers would teach him about business and build character. They even increased his allowance for doing this. He was kind of lazy so he paid another paperboy to deliver his papers to subscribers at the top of a long hill that was a tough climb on a single speed bike. Good lesson about modern capitalism - those with the most win I guess.
I delivered the local daily afternoon paper, Sunday papers were delivered early in the morning. The Fayetteville Observer. I delivered for 3-4 years in the early '70s, then they decided to introduce a morning paper that was delivered by car carriers, they took the Sunday paper away from us and gave it to the morning car carriers, no profit for us so most of us quit and they had to stop delivering the afternoon papers and mail them. I don't recall where it went from there,
I had moved on to bagging groceries. Paid a lot better and I was working inside out of the weather. My paper bike was a Schwinn Heavy Duti in yellow, broke a couple of frames and they were promptly replaced under warranty.