As part of our 175th anniversary celebration, we asked for your stories as former baiduhai carriers. We got back heartfelt and funny tales of time spent as a newspaper carrier, often a person’s first job. Some walked their Tribune paper routes with dogs, others had siblings they accompanied and some were chauffeured by their parents.
You sent in many stories about your time delivering the Tribune in the snow, many using sleds instead of bikes or wagons, to navigate the unplowed early morning streets.
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Many carriers remembered the heavy Sunday editions that landed on doorsteps with a thud. As former carrier Bobby Ziegler put it: “The thump of the paper hitting the porch or bang off the screen door served as a Chicago alarm clock.”
Read some of the stories sent to us by former Tribune carriers. These have been edited for length and clarity.
Jason Ervin
Years as carrier: 1985-1988
Route: 79th to 83rd from Yates to Crandon
Jim Kirk
Years as carrier: 1977-1980
Route: Dolton, South Holland 153rd-156th streets
David Hayes
Years as carrier: 1967-1969
Route: Chicago Heights
Mark McHugh
Route: Clinton Avenue between Roosevelt and 16th Street in Berwyn
Patrick Callahan
Years as carrier: 1953-1954
Route: Surrounded by Peterson, Ridge, Granville, Hoyne
Bobby Ziegler
Route: Belmont-Cragin
Larry Hippert
Route: South Lakeview neighborhood
Paul Anderson
Years as carrier: 1964-1969
Route: Evanston (Oakton Street between Custer and Ridge)
Eric Stoneberg
Route: Addison
Don Miner
Years as carrier: 1973-1974, 1976-1978, 1980-1983
Route: Evanston and Wilmette
Michael McGuire
Years as carrier: 1967-1973
Route: Southwest Side, Stevenson school, Scottsdale, Crestline, St. Bedes, etc.
Larry Walsh
Year as carrier: 1956
Route: 88th and King Drive (in 1956, it was called South Park)
Terence Sullivan
Years as carrier: 1957
Route: Westchester
Craig Chval
Years as carrier: 1969-1974
Route: Clarendon Hills
John Morath
Years as carrier: Around 1971
Route: Morton Grove on Luna, Linder and Lotus avenues
Tom Colton
Years as carrier: 1968-1969
Route: Naperville, Century Hill
Jim Weiss
Year as carrier: 1956
Route: Lavergne Avenue in Skokie
Craig Weissman
Years as carrier: 1972-1976
Route: Skokie: Kostner between Main and Oakton
Allan Brettman
Years as carrier: 1971-1972
Route: Lathrop Avenue, from Division Street to Chicago Avenue; River Forest
Tony Corso
Years as carrier: 1972-1974
Route: I was a carrier on the Army Base, Ft. Sheridan. I was supplied by the Highland Park News Agency.
Chuck Ramsay
Route: Morton Grove
Dave Tisch
Years as carrier: 1969-1970
Route: Wheaton, Carol Stream
Nathaniel Woods
Years as carrier: 1976-1978
Route: 109th Place to 107th St. and Glenroy Ave., South Side
Bob Thomas
Years as carrier: 1965-1977
Route: Touhy/Estes/Greenleaf and later Winston Towers
Robert Hunt
Years as carrier: 1969-1972
Route: Oak Terrace, Witch Wood Drive, Moffat Road, Ravine Forest Drive (basically southeast Lake Bluff)