Delivering Newspapers- past and present [Split from Weather]

[Codes]

I delivered papers from grade 3-10 in Kelowna. It allowed me to get to know a lot of people in the hood, many of which became customers for my lawn mowing business that I kept until leaving for university. I also scored a sweet deal delivering flyers at $0.25/ea for the management company responsible for the subdivision. $50 for a couple of hours of work was pretty nice for a kid, and significantly cheaper than mailing them to each household.

All in all, the newspapers, flyers and lawn mowing kept me financially secure as a kid. In grade 10, I got a job at Blockbuster, and finally relinquished the paper route.

I think the most interesting thing about the paper route was getting to deliver "samples". Shampoo, dish detergent, Rice Krispie squares, etc. One of the more interesting experiences was delivering samples for some brand of feminine hygiene product. I was still younger at that time, and I got some ribbing along the way.

[missdpuck]

I delivered the Sun Sentinel while in college.

Of course we didn't get snow but the summer was a nightmare.

Besides being unbearably hot, it was the rainy season.

The warehouse was too small for everyone to fit in, so I remember a couple of us would go fold at a gas station. We got soaked anyway.

I don't think I'd run around in the middle of the night like that now.

But there was one lady who waited outside with coffee and a muffin for me every morning. Her name was Mrs Guarini and a few years later I became her post lady.

Years later I substituted for a Palm Beach Post carrier. The route was out west in the Ag Reserve and the northern Everglades, so thee was nothing out there then.

66 miles of driving for 70 papers. As frightening as it could be out there, I loved that route.

I got to see a migrant worker tied to a tree, and a bunch of guys set a car on fire. Wheeee.

But I loved being out there with the nocturnal critters


I later worked for a paper doing route checks. My job was to make sure free papers were delivered instead of thrown in the dumpster lol
.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Lol nice move by photon to make this its own thread.

[transplant99]

I delivered the old Albertan circa 76 or so (which later morphed into the Sun.) Had about 45-50 houses on my route IIRC which would take me about 90 minutes to complete. It was fine when weather was decent and i could ride my bike, but the end came after a solid month of -15 or colder winter weather. Waking up at 5 AM to have everything done by 7 before venturing off to school for the day was simply not worth it. Also agree with theose who say the ones that didnt pay regularly were a pain on the ass....and some simply had no intention of it as i looked back after quitting.

They got their's in the end though.

[Vulcan]

I used to deliver the Vancouver Province up the side of a mountain (Johnson St.) in the mornings. Not many people lived up there than, I had 17 or so customers but I got a $10 mileage bonus because of it's remoteness. I'd mostly push my bike up the hill with my three dogs and ride down. Built up strong legs doing that for a few years. One morning I decided to take my sister's horse Rocky (half gilding). He wasn't anymore pleased to be up in the morning as I was and he attacked me (ears down, teeth bared) and than spun kicking me in the stomach, throwing me about 10' or 15'. I was close enough that I was more pushed than kicked, so I survived fine but it was the last time I tried to use him on my paper route although we became pretty good buddies and I rode him often later. Well maybe not buddies but I learned how to fool him by shaking a can filled with pebbles so he'd think I had oats for him, so I could grab him.

Now the area is all built up and the road is paved.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8...ed=0CAoQ_AUoAg

[keratosis]

I delivered the Albertan.
God I'm old.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I used to deliver the Vancouver Province up the side of a mountain (Johnson St.) in the mornings. Not many people lived up there than, I had 17 or so customers but I got a $10 mileage bonus because of it's remoteness. I'd mostly push my bike up the hill with my three dogs and ride down. Built up strong legs doing that for a few years. One morning I decided to take my sister's horse Rocky (half gilding). He wasn't anymore pleased to be up in the morning as I was and he attacked me (ears down, teeth bared) and than spun kicking me in the stomach, throwing me about 10' or 15'. I was close enough that I was more pushed than kicked, so I survived fine but it was the last time I tried to use him on my paper route although we became pretty good buddies and I rode him often later. Well maybe not buddies but I learned how to fool him by shaking a can filled with pebbles so he'd think I had oats for him, so I could grab him.

Now the area is all built up and the road is paved.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8...ed=0CAoQ_AUoAg

Did you wear an onion on your belt?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Did you wear an onion on your belt?

Make like a bird and flock off.

[Dion]

I salute everyone who had a paper route. I never had one myself but reading what has been posted has given me a great appreciation for what you all did.

[RedMileDJ]

I delivered flyers for Netmar while in elementary school. It sucked.

Fun fact: I hated delivering the Sears catalogues, so I would dump them and go and play Street Fighter for a couple hours to make my parents think I was out delivering.

[Codes]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I delivered flyers for Netmar while in elementary school. It sucked.

Fun fact: I hated delivering the Sears catalogues, so I would dump them and go and play Street Fighter for a couple hours to make my parents think I was out delivering.

Ahh god, those were heavy. I had a route of ~200 houses. It was a subdivision, so the houses were pretty close together, but starting out was tough. I had to make a few trips.

[CaptainCrunch]

Came to the thread for a story about blasting a naughty bored housewife.

Left dissapointed.

[Dan02]

aren't most paperboys like 12???

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Ok current and former delivery people, a question. How do I stop the delivery of the thursday spam pack from the Calgary Herald? I'm not above electrifying my mail box at this point.

[ken0042]

Call Flyer Force- they are the ones contracted to deliver the Thursday flyers.

I know- because I have called them before to find out why my Thursday flyers stopped coming.

[GreenLantern]

I delivered news papers for a spring/summer to save up enough money to buy myself a PS1. It was a glorious investment that gave me hours of entertainment.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Dan02

aren't most paperboys like 12???

Bonus points for the paperboy imo

[Kiran403]

I delivered the Star Phoenix in Saskatoon between the ages of 13-15. It wasn't too bad...summertime was actually kind of enjoyable in the mornings but some of those winters were brutal. I remember my second winter doing it had 6 straight weeks with lows between -25 to -35 before windchill. That is definitely a brisk start to the morning. Surprisingly my collections were usually always pretty good. I never really had too many people trying to duck making their payments.
I also delivered flyers from 9 yrs old to 13 yrs old.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Came to the thread for a story about blasting a naughty bored housewife.

Left dissapointed.

I did see one lady on my route vacuuming in the buff. That was a nice treat for 14 year old Habby.

I had a huge Edmonton Journal route in Ft McMurray. We delivered after school. People delivering the local rag (Ft McMurray Today) had it easy as it was the size of a flyer. Journals weighed a ton.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by Kiran403

I delivered the Star Phoenix in Saskatoon between the ages of 13-15. It wasn't too bad...summertime was actually kind of enjoyable in the mornings but some of those winters were brutal. I remember my second winter doing it had 6 straight weeks with lows between -25 to -35 before windchill. That is definitely a brisk start to the morning. Surprisingly my collections were usually always pretty good. I never really had too many people trying to duck making their payments.
I also delivered flyers from 9 yrs old to 13 yrs old.

StarKleenex alumni represent! I was able to avoid the winter months, you are a brave soldier.