Patrick Riley
An Old Paperboy Remembers!
I had a "double" (twice the usual number of subscribers) El Paso Times paper route. I think Dan's recalling AM/PM backwards as the El Paso Times was a morning paper. I was paid, if I remember correctly, 1¢ per paper delivered and was charged back 50¢ for a "kick" (non-delivery complaint). I also had to purchase my own supplies, rubber bands, out of my own pocket. Other paperboys used string rather than rubber bands on their papers as it was much less expensive than rubber bands, which cost a penny for ~15 or 20 of them. I was never able to master tying my papers with string very quickly, so I kept using the more expensive rubber bands.
Again, if I recall, the El Paso Times was printed seven days a week versus the six times the Roswell Daily Record was printed, making a paper route a very full-time job!
The papers reached Roswell from El Paso by a daily delivery truck that transported lots of other things, including the latest movie reels, from one theatre to another. I would get my papers at ~4:30am and take them to a somewhat warm and lighted all-night laundromat to roll and rubber band them. If the weather was bad or the truck was delayed, I'd be late to school as the papers had to be delivered (remember the 50¢ per "kick").
Collecting, as Dan mentions, was a hassle, sometimes requiring several trips to some subscriber's houses. You weren't paid extra for this ... just part of the job. I usually had to do that after school or on weekends as you wouldn't be very popular knocking on a subscriber's door at 6:00am.
While it seems like we're always tipping everyone for everything these days, I only recall getting one small tip the entire time I delivered papers.
It's good our newspapers are primarily accessed online these days (I know I'm crazy, but I subscribe to five ... Albuquerque Journal, Colorado Springs Gazette, New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal). I wonder how many of today's youth would want a job as a paperboy?

I eventually gave up my paper route for a Spudnut (a donut made from potato flour) route ... much better. A bag of six Spudnuts sold for 30¢, and I got to keep a nickel of this ... plus no "kicks"!
Do any of you remember Spudnuts?
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