Days Past:

 Young people nowadays have a wealth of information at their fingertips. They have video games that are so realistic that it is difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. What they lack is the experience of having a newspaper route. When I was 12 years old I bought a route in my neighborhood and had 125 customers. I held the route for 5 years and it prepared me for my life after school and military. I received the certificate below which was only a few that were ever awarded. 

The certificate states: "Recognizing that the experiences of a boy while serving on a newspaper route are of great value to him in preparation for work he may enter upon later and that in such capacity a spirit of service and the qualities of self-reliance, self-control, dependability and initiative are developed in a marked degree, it is our pleasure to award this to:"  

I rarely had a complaint and made sure the newspaper was delivered dry and readable. This was the days before the plastic sleeves so I walked all 125 customers door to door and put the paper where it couldn't be damaged. Then I would have to ReWalk the route on Saturdays to collect for the paper and every two weeks I would have to carry the money downtown to the newspaper office. 

Having a newspaper route as a young boy taught me as the certificate stated but most of all it gave me a good work ethic. The military taught me the rest. I was out in all kinds of weather delivering newspapers. Rain, snow, heat carrying several canvas bags of folded up newspapers. Having a newspaper route taught me how to manage money, keep accurate accounts while preforming a service and dealing with all kinds of people. 

It is sad that newspaper boys have largely disappeared as it provides a young boy the essentials that is needed for a successful life. Now people  drive down the street throwing newspapers from car windows. In all my years of carrying papers I never threw one on a roof, and if I had one complaint a year that was unusual. Most paper carriers had complaint slips waiting for them where they picked up their papers. I had several blocks to go to just pick up my papers, then I had to fold them, bag them and deliver them. 

I truly feel sorry for young people today to not be able to experience that early training experience. What I learned as a newspaper boy helped me succeed in the business world as an adult.