Post Newsboys: Still Riding!

Diana Denny — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:00:46 +0000

“Way back in 1934 and ’35 when I was a restless kid of 13 and 14, I had a Saturday Evening Post route,” e-mailed Gordon Thorpe.

“The magazine came out every week, and I would pick up my bundle at the grocery store after school,” Gordon wrote of his newsboy days. “Some unknown, out-of-sight person had dropped these off earlier. I would guess I had 20 to 25 copies in the bundle. There was an equal number of customers waiting for me to hop on my bicycle and pedal perhaps three miles to cover the route. I liked that. Each copy sold for five cents. My profit came out of that.”

“The Nursemaid” by Norman Rockwell

"The Nursemaid"
from October 24, 1936

Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gordon had early memories of the magazine. “I can remember my mother tearing off the covers of The Saturday Evening Post over the years — those illustrated by Norman Rockwell, and saving them. She told me, ‘Gordon, each one of these pictures has a complete story within them and you don’t need to read a single word.’”

Today, Mr. Thorpe resides in North Carolina where he loves to take his bike out on the American Tobacco Trail, so named as a tribute to the area’s agricultural and commercial heritage. Many of the cyclists have grown accustomed to seeing Gordon and enjoy stopping to chat with him. He used to ride the trail with his wife, but sadly, he lost her in September. Determined to stay active, Gordon says, “I get up and go by myself now.” The World War II veteran also swims a mile every morning.

Gordon’s bike is a Trek 4700 hybrid his family presented to him on his 80th birthday. An article on the Rails to Trials Conservancy website describes what his supportive family did for his 90th:

“I had no idea,” Gordon says. “We were out on the trail together, and I say, “Look, they’ve put a new bench in.” So my son says, ‘Why don’t we stop?’ I started reading the little bronze plaque, and that’s when I realized.” Reading the inscription aloud, Thorpe seems genuinely touched by the gesture to build the seat, which took months of careful planning between the family and county workers.

“That’s the part I like best: ‘keep on riding,’” Thorpe says.

“I still subscribe to The Saturday Evening Post,” he says, “and when I am through with each issue I send it to my daughter.”

His delivery days were over within two or three years. “When I reached 15, my interest changed from The Saturday Evening Post to girls.”

Keep on riding, Gordon!

Know a former Post newsboy? We would love to feature them on our website! Email Diana Denny.

Photos provided by Gordon’s son, Jim Thorpe.

Post Newsboys: Still Riding! The Saturday Evening Post

Know a Former Post News Boy?

Diana Denny — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:20:44 +0000

"Post Boy August 1911"

This photo appeared in a 1911 booklet the Post did for newsboys.

The Our Teams magazine, as it was called, contained selling tips and success stories to inspire the boys to sell enough issues to win prizes, like those below:

"Incentives for successful selling of the Post circa 1911"

“Say, do you want one of those $1.25 Official, American League, Cork-Center Baseballs?” asks the May 1911 issue of Our Teams.

“And say, do you want one of those Regulation Finger-Gloves?” Just “make an average increase of thirty copies in your Saturday Eventing Post sales…” Incentives like these encouraged news boys to become top salesmen.

"Look Out Below" By Norman Rockwell

By the 1920s, The Saturday Evening Post was America’s top magazine, with a circulation in the millions. How did it get that way? In the days long before television, let alone the internet, reading was a popular pastime. With the most popular authors of the day, and the finest illustrators, it wasn’t unusual for an issue to run to 150 pages or more. That was a lot of bang for the buck. Or, the nickel, actually—the magazine was five cents. The January 9, 1926 issue (left) boasted fiction by such writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald and a Norman Rockwell cover and … 256 pages!

There was another reason for the success of America’s favorite magazine: a marketing strategy that recruited boys (and girls) to sell the Post one issue and one nickel at a time.

"Post Newsboy" - David Heilbrun

In 1971, Michigan attorney David G. Heilbrun sent a letter to the Post with a picture of himself as a Post News Boy. The cover of the issue young David is holding shows a soldier greeting his sweetheart and is from May 30, 1942.

“For about 2 years, aged 10-12,” David wrote, “I was fortunate to establish a route of about 25 regular customers.” Experience as a Post carrier was said to instill a work ethic and business experience. It must have worked: “I’ve sometimes wondered if this was such a good idea since I’ve felt invigorating being overworked ever since,” Heilbrun noted.

Former Post Boys include TV personalities Hugh Downs and Charles Osgood, department store founder Stanley Marcus, and oilman J. Paul Getty.

If you were a Post News Boy (or Girl), or one of your parents or a grandparent was, send Diana an e-mailwith their story. A photo of them at the time and/or a recent photo would be appreciated. Maybe we’ll feature you on our website!

Meet some former news boys and girls: Remember Post News Boys and Girls and Post Boys and Girls-74 years later

Know a Former Post News Boy? The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post » newsboy