This photo was in 1942 leaning against the wall outside St. Bernard’s School, with my faithful Enterprise paper bag at my feet. Our teachers were all members of the Sisters of Mercy, their convent is in the background. There was no driveway then on that side of the school and no driveway to the back parking lot from Church Street. That area behind the school was a playground and there was a big old abandoned house at the edge of the playground, closer to Church Street where we spent many hours rambling around inside. (Provided photo)

This column was prompted by a story in the May 16 Enterprise concerning a new state law that paper boys and girls must be at least age 14.

The Associated Press story by Michael Hill reports that New York’s child labor laws allowed kids as young as 11 to legally partake in the “time-honored tradition of a paper route.”

“Flipping papers into suburban hedges, bicycling through snow squalls, dodging dogs and getting stiffed for tips became a rite of passage for generations of youths.”

Well, it was a different scene here in our small village — no flipping papers into front yards, no delivering by bicycle, not much worry about dogs and we didn’t expect a tip.

I began as an Enterprise paper boy in 1942 — there were 20 paper boys or more to cover all the routes. The 35 customers on my first route went along Woodruff Street to Bloomingdale Avenue then down Bloomingdale Avenue to Pine Street and all of Pine Street, Stevenson Lane and East Pine. Naturally, some routes were better than others, meaning some had more papers in a shorter distance. Every paper boy had to have a substitute to take one’s place if you had a sick day, which I never had.

Eventually, I got the best route when it opened up — one end of Main Street to the other with the most papers and shortest route. It seemed like every home in Saranac Lake had the Enterprise delivered. Think of French Hill, Park Avenue, Helen Hill, Lake Street, Petrova Avenue section, Riverside Drive, the Duprey Street area — all covered by paper boys.

The Syracuse Post-Standard then had a full-time bureau chief stationed here covering the Tri-Lakes. Don LaBarge had a paper route for the Post-Standard and I was surprised seeing him for the first time on his route because his paper bag was bright orange with the newspaper name in big, black letters. We became friends, and years later I would see him occasionally in Tupper Lake.

Starting back then, John Ridenour owned the paper and his wife and daughters, Alice and Eleanor worked there. I was employed at the Enterprise for 23 (1951-74) years starting when Fred Kury was the publisher, then Dean Carey, Jim Loeb and Roger Tubby and then Bill Doolittle.

Now, I have written a weekly column for 23 years, making it 82 years I have worked for the Enterprise, which includes my days as a paper boy beginning in 1942.

The newspaper was placed in the mailbox and inside the door of every house and many times in the winter it was tough going. The sidewalks were not usually plowed, except in the business area where shopkeepers were expected to keep the sidewalks clear.

The paper cost three cents, so we collected 18 cents on Saturday and then were required to return to the Enterprise office and pay our bill. We were thrilled if the customer gave us 20 cents, but many did not. Some people were not at home on Saturday to collect from so we would not have enough money to pay our bill and would catch up during the week. We loved having Enterprise subscribers on our route because we got paid but did not have to collect.

It could get pretty rowdy down in the circulation room in the winter months when the paper was late coming out and we would end up delivering in the dark.

All the kids I worked with loved having the routes, always having change in our pockets. Reis Pharmacy (see other ads from that era) was right on my way home to 5 Pine St. and I stopped often to get a big 15-cent milkshake. The paper routes were great for us at that young age.

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A letter about the Gladd column

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Karen McLaughlin, Hugh’s daughter and Bill’s niece sent me this nice note regarding the May 10 column about the Gladd family.

“Your picture of Gene and Little Joe brought back a moment in time with Little Joe. It happened after moving back to Saranac Lake when I was working at Aubuchon Hardware.

“A customer came in and asked for ‘A coke and 3 cherries’. My response was, ‘I beg your pardon, I am not understanding’. Little Joe introduced himself and told me that is what I always asked for when my Dad set me at the bar when he went in the back to chat with Little Joe.

“Also remember when Little Joe and Dot Sargent were first dating they would drive over here to Tupper Lake for dinner, to keep it secret for a while.

“Enjoyed our visit at ‘Well Dressed Foods’ and always enjoy your columns since many are back in my day.”