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Newspaper boy
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dan55
8 posts
Mar 22, 2015
3:24 AM
Was anybody else a Dayton Daily Newspaper boy. I was was in the mid to late sixties. The newspaper sponsored a contest every year and the winner was given an all-expenses paid trip to a foreign country. You had to become a "Master Honer Newspaper boy" to enter the contest.
My two brothers and I held the title of the longest paper route to stay in one family. I believe it was 12 years.
Mark1984
235 posts
Mar 22, 2015
6:01 AM
I did it for a couple years back in the early 80s. Didn't have a contest like that though. They don't do it now for obvious reasons. But this was back when you went out also did the collections from your customers. I would go out on Friday evenings and get started. I was always slathered in ones, fives and lots of change. Since the Sunday paper was delivered early in the morning. My Dad would get up with me. Take the car and go pick them up. Because of the size, I wasn't getting all those papers in the saddle bags. He would do one side of the street. I would do the other. We would get done it done rather quickly. It was a learning experience.
jack1971
99 posts
Mar 22, 2015
6:44 AM
Hawks did it for awhile in north Dayton.

I used to sub sometimes for my friends in Huber Heights.
driver62
553 posts
Mar 22, 2015
7:47 AM
I did it for a couple of years in Eaton back in the 50's
FreedomWriter
149 posts
Mar 22, 2015
4:36 PM
I started delivering the KO times in 73 and subbed for the Journal Herald, then delivered them myself around 74-75 time frame. Started the Dayton Daily News around that same time. It was easy as the Journal was in the morning and DDN was in the evening. Ko times was only Wed & Sat.. Did all that until I got a job at 16-17 years of age. My DDN route had close to 200 daily and over 500 on Sunday. Used my bike and pulled a wagon in the summmer and used a sled in the winter. During the blizzard I couldnt deliver for 3 days but my customers each got all three of those papers when I finally was able to get around. I combined alot of routes back then and paid for them with the profit I made on the routes I bought. Good character builder. Its a shame that the kids of today most likely will never know what it felt to make that kind of money. This was back when the DDN only cost $.15 daily and $.50 on Sunday. My paper bill was between $200.00 to $300.00 every week. Not bad for an 11year old huh? Been working ever since..
dan55
9 posts
Mar 23, 2015
6:15 AM
In the beginning with the DDN I had to ride my bike about 4 miles to get my papers and then ride back to my neighborhood to deliver them. Sunday morning in the winter was kind of hard. We then were able to have the papers delivered right to our house. I collected on Thursdays and had to pay my bill on Fridays. I seem to remember that the weekday rate was 67 cents and the Sunday was 50 cents. Every week I would go through the money I collected and separate the silver mercury dimes and wheat pennies which I still have today.
FreedomWriter
164 posts
Mar 24, 2015
2:29 PM
Yeah its hard to think that you used to get a whole weeks paper for $1.25 which is what it was back when I collected it. We were allowed to start collecting on Wed evening but most paid between Thursday and Sunday. Used to have a card that you signed your initals in each week as they paid. I remember walking around with really weighted down pockets something that could put you in harms way today..


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