Today
we celebrate the hiring of the first U.S. paperboy, on this date in
1833.
His
name was Barney Flaherty, and he was hired by the publisher of the
New York Sun. He was just ten years old.
The
“paperboy” was a fixture of suburban lifestyles and boyhood for
years. The paperboy would ride around town on his bike with a heavy
bag crossed over his body, tossing newspapers onto driveways, being
chased by dogs, and waving a cheery hello to the townspeople. It was
one of the few jobs that a kid (usually a boy) could hold, and so it
was very important to young people.
Those
days are pretty much gone. At least in Southern California, we rarely
see a teenager on a bike with a bagful of newspapers. Instead,
newspaper carriers tend to be adults driving cars at the crack of
dawn. Also, far fewer people subscribe to newspapers than in the
past; for most news and entertainment, the internet is faster and
much more informative.
Another
kind of newsboy went extinct earlier: the kid hawking newspapers on
city street corners with the cry, “Extra, extra! Read all about
it!”
Jobs
for kids?
Are
there any jobs left for kids? Sure, some people will still pay
pre-teens and teenagers to babysit, mow lawns or do other yard work,
walk dogs or petsit, wash cars or clean windows. I still see kids
selling lemonade. And some kids are creative enough to earn money a
hundred other ways. One kid I know decorates T-shirts with air-brush
or puffy paint, and another decorates T-shirts with stenciled
designs. A kid I know not only walks dogs and pet sits, but she also
does obedience training for dogs and their owners. One of the most
exciting small businesses I've heard of recently is Caine's Arcade: a
9-year-old boy built an elaborate cardboard arcade, with some very
surprising results.
Here
are some tips for starting a business.
Also
on this date:
latest jobs
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