I heard from over 50 readers regarding the June 18 article about news carriers, including from three papergirls. Here are a few of their stories.
Papergirls
Debra (DeCoito) Sanbei said she was a papergirl for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in 1971 while in the eighth grade. “My route was at a place called Paukaa, just north of Hilo, past the Wailuku River ‘singing bridge.’
“I must have walked at least three miles every day — except Saturday — through all kinds of weather and run-ins with dogs that were not friendly,” Sanbei says, “from Japanese and Filipino camps to the last house before the winding road leading to the Honolii River Bridge.
“I disliked making collections. Some folks were kind and gladly paid on request while a few others were like, ‘Can you come back tomorrow?’ Of course, what could I say? ‘No, you gotta pay now!’ I wish.
“With the money I saved, I traveled to Oahu during the summer of 1973 to stay with my sister and bought my very first 10-speed bike from Sears!
“It was indeed a great opportunity that taught me responsibility and care. I still remember most of those nice families who lived in those homes.
“Fast-forward 20 years, my kids visit those very same homes at Halloween!”
Obama
Judy Glassmaker told me, “I was an adult female Honolulu Advertiser carrier in the early 1970s. My boyfriend at the time was a district manager. I would ride with him in the early morning and finally decided I should deliver myself and make some extra money.
“One of the places I delivered to was the Punahou Circle Apartments. Each month, we needed to collect for the month’s paper. I remember very clearly a customer by the last name of Dunhill. It was always the husband that would answer and pay me.
“One time I asked if they were related to the famous Dunhill pen company. He said no, the name is Dunham, not Dunhill. I looked closely at the last name and said, ‘I’m sorry. It does say Dunham. My mistake.’
“Years later I realized I had been delivering the paper to our very own President Barack Obama’s grandparents! I don’t remember ever seeing him around the apartment complex, though.”
Glassmaker says she now reads the paper every day instead of delivering it!
Sun Press
Jacque Vaughn said, “Delivering the Sun Press in Pearl Ridge Estates, above the old Kam Drive In movie theater, was my very first job in the 1980s.”
She rolled every single newspaper, rubber-banded and delivered them.
“It took hours, as I did it on foot. Then once a month I would knock on each door and collect.
“Oftentimes I would get extra money because some kindly grandma would look at me in my ponytails and feel sorry for me. I think I must have been around 11 or 12 years old.
“It taught me the value of hard work, salesmanship, and to overcome my excruciating shyness as a child. Most of all, it taught me a love for the neighborhood and community news, which has been an integral part of my 25-year career in public relations.”
Distracted by Tammy Yuen
Miles Murakoshi said, “I was a Star-Bulletin paperboy from 1979 to 1984 in Halawa Heights next to Camp H.M. Smith.
“My district manager was Dexter Moon, who would drop off the bundle of papers around 1 or 2 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and 4 a.m. on Sundays.
“Sunday’s inserts (which were the bulk of the Sunday paper) were delivered with the Saturday bundle. Being an innovator and thinking that this is my business and my product, I would deliver the Sunday inserts on Saturday. So Sunday morning, the paper was thin.
“Collection time was the worst. I’d go to the doors and yell, ‘Collection.’ Most of the time they would answer and pay, but sometimes they would hide, not answer the door or say, ‘Come back later, no money.’
“I had a two-ring binder with all of the customer sheets with the rip-off tabs for each month that would keep track of who paid and who didn’t.
“One time my drug addict brother took all of the collection money. Well, that put me in indentured servitude to Dexter Moon to pay back the loss for many years. He would deduct some every month and pay me some.
“He gave me an extra ten bucks a month because Halawa Heights is all hills. One time he took me to collect from some deadbeats, and the hills broke his van’s transmission. I was thinking, ‘Now you know what I go through every day in Halawa Heights.’
“The best thing about my route was the view. Amazing views of Pearl Harbor, Aloha Stadium (bye, my good old friend), Pearl City, Ewa and the Waianae mountain range.”
“Going up was hard, but going downhill was wooooooo fun! I also had an in-depth knowledge of all the shortcuts through the neighborhood backyards, and fruit trees that were blossoming. Oh, the fresh, just off-the-tree mangoes, lychee, tangerines, rose apples, mountain apples, strawberry guava, wild passion fruit and coconuts. So yummy!
“What ended my time as a paperboy was when I got hurt riding my skateboard. Every day I would ride down this steep hill, straight down, gonzo style.
“One day I only remember waking up in the hospital. From what they tell me I fell backwards and hit my head. I blame Tammy Yuen, who was in front of her garage looking all pretty. Must have gotten distracted that day and ate it bad.
“I started being a paperboy in elementary school and ended my senior year at Aiea High School.”
The surfing paperboy
John Clark, who has written 11 books about beaches, said, “I was a paperboy for the Star-Bulletin in the Diamond Head area in the late 1950s. It was my first paying job.”
Clark sent a photo of a surfing paper carrier and the story behind it. “In 1958 the photo of Kahele Kukea taken by surfing photographer Clarence Maki for National Newspaperboy Day.”
In anticipation of the day, he asked 12-year-old Kukea if he would catch a wave with a canvas delivery bag over his shoulder and hold up a folded newspaper like he was going to throw it to someone’s front door.
That photo with Diamond Head in the background appeared in the Oct. 4, 1958, edition of the Star-Bulletin.
Kukea said there were six to eight rolled-up newspapers in the bag, “and since it took about three waves to get a good shot with the Star-Bulletin bag clearly shown and Diamond Head in the background, the bag was pretty darn wet and heavy by then.”
“Kahele went on to be an outstanding athlete at Kamehameha School and eventually became the principal of Kamehameha Elementary School,” Clark concludes.
Champion carrier
Melvin Sakurai says he was a proud Star-Bulletin paperboy in Pearl City. “Being a carrier gave so many benefits. The outdoor exercise literally cured my very severe case of childhood asthma.
“Being a carrier also gave me the world, literally. I was the Champion Carrier of the Year twice in a row in 1963 and 1964.
“Champion Carriers were rewarded with national and international travel prizes. The first time was my very first trip anywhere, a two-week jaunt to Tahiti.
“The second one took me to the New York World’s Fair and the aircraft carrier Enterprise.”
Sakurai did have his share of mishaps. “Early one Sunday morning I hurled a paper toward a customer’s home, and it went straight toward their huge picture window. Luckily, it hit the window flat with a big thud that shook the house but didn’t break the glass. What a relief.”
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The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s now twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
