Newspaper Carrier Day is celebrated every fall, “…honoring carriers all over the world as they deliver the paper diligently in all kinds of weather conditions.” The delivery of papers has changed over the years from a time when the job was primarily performed by young children to the present time when it is mostly adults who deliver the paper from their cars.

Newspaper boys have been around almost since the first news-papers. In the early 1900s they were much in the news because various groups were concerned about their living and working conditions. It’s hard to imagine now how young some were.

The book “Historic Photos of Richmond” by John and Emily Salmon (Turner, 2008) shows two newsboys in downtown Richmond identified as Richard Green, age 5, and a lad of 6 named Willie, news-papers in hand. Many were not in school, and a 1905 Times-Dispatch editorial described them as “learning nothing but mischief, contracting bad habits, and growing up to manhood prepared for no other life than one of common drudgery.”

One organization that was formed to help the boys was the Juvenile Protection Agency, affiliated with the Associated Charities at 14th and Franklin Streets. Its main concern was “the welfare of the boys who earn their living on the streets.” One report listed over 100 boys attending a Christmas dinner there. In addition to a gymnasium, they also had a swimming pool which was open to “the youths of poorer classes.” There they “splashed and swam in the cooling waters of the tank, screeching and yelling as only trained newsies can.” In 1906 the News Leader took 500 boys to the circus to see the lions and ride the elephants.

One oddity in the newsboys’ story came in 1901. Although apparently not a common practice, in some northern cities girls began taking to the streets with newspapers. The Times-Dispatch reported that when two girls, papers in hand, showed up on Main Street in downtown Richmond, they outsold every boy on the street:

“The little maidens were not modest in presenting their wares and solicited public patronage. They elbowed the boys and outboyed the boys in their pleading sometimes, but they sold their papers and chivalrous men told them to keep the change.”

The number of paperboys has declined over the years, partially due to the disappearance of afternoon papers. In addition, there are new employment laws and increased concern about the safety of un-escorted children. But the work of the newspaper carrier still goes on.

Ray Schreiner is a volunteer at the Valentine Richmond History Center and the Virginia Historical Society, and is an avid reader of old newspapers.

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