The paper boy for some reason rattles the mail box at 4 A.M. when he delivers the paper. Of course he or she is not a boy or a girl, but a grown person trying to supplement their day jobs. Perhaps they just want me to know that if anything happens to them, they got this far. Before I closed my eyes again, my mind wandered back in time as all Seniors tend to do. During the war and before, the rural areas of the province were ruled by the Free Press. It was very powerful and unabashedly Liberal. The other paper which competed in the Winnipeg market was the Tribune, leanings were to the Conservative side. None of this concerned me or was remotely understood. It was 1944 and I was in Grade 2.

Sidney Greenberg had the agency for the Star weekly, Liberty magazine and the Tribune. His bosses in Winnipeg wanted more sales, so he recruited my brother Robert who was in Grade 4. Our territory was Gimli south of centre plus South Beach. We dutifully convinced 15 relatives and friends to switch papers. Remember this was the days before TV, and news and views were all in the papers.

 

We would meet the train at 7:10 pm, the C.P.R. was never late. My furthest customer was Anderson's, about a mile and a half away. The paper cost .25c. The Tribune got .13c. So our weekly take was 15 x.12c = $1.80. Harry Greenberg charged .18c to go to the movies. He changed the marquee three times a week. A "Wynola" at Central Bakery cost .07c.

 

My brother went on to other enterprises, and I stayed a Tribune carrier which was the best paper I'd ever read until Grade 10. Of course in the summer the paper route swelled to 100 with the summer residents of South Beach.

The paper route taught me economics, budgeting, manners, promptness and awareness of the community. My customers would literally be waiting for their evening paper. I am now 77 and can honestly say I have never been late for anything. I firmly believe if the population of today was grounded in math by actually managing their own funds, there would surely be fewer maxed out credit cards. If only the poor teachers could have been able to pound Chemistry into my head.

Father always insisted we read what we sell. Good advice. When I became a Sales Rep I never sold anything until I had researched it thoroughly. There were many benefits to having a paper route besides the camaraderie of the other paper boys. Our travels took us all over town so we were able to supplement our income by picking up beer bottles. Of course knowing the people of South Beach was a salesmen paradise for our thriving weekend fish business.
 

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March 2014