[February 5, 2026] “Your job is to get the newspaper as close to their front door as possible.” That’s it; the outgoing paperboy was passing his paper route to a noob, an inexperienced, often confused teenager who had just moved from southern Texas to our new city. But the personality is not the focus of this story. I was … the Paper Boy.
My brother and I had paper routes for three years in Abilene, Texas, and during that time, we faced more than a few tough realities of life. We quickly learned that not everyone was trustworthy or honest, and some crooks tried to trick us out of our delivery payment. Our first lesson in betrayal happened here.
I’d heard stories about how Paper Boys got to “see” all kinds of things ordinary people wouldn’t. Maybe the milkman saw more. I only remember a few strange, and sometimes truly odd, sightings.
Some of those things I saw included: a naked man watering his garden just before sunrise, a likely dangerous Brahman bull standing in our neighbor’s yard, skid marks from a crash where a car failed to make a turn (the drunk driver was later arrested), a Great Horned owl perched on a porch holding down an old lady’s small dog (yikes!), and a couple of teenagers throwing toilet paper over trees on a school teacher’s yard (more than once).
The Abilene Reporter-News was to be delivered twice a day on weekdays and once each morning on weekends, every day except Christmas Day. It was a commitment; sick or not, you made the delivery, on time and with a dry paper. No excuses. Complaints by customers, whether right or wrong, were a black mark against the Paper Boy.
“Israelis Claim Major Victories,” the headlines of The Abilene Reporter-News blared on June 6, 1967. It was early Tuesday morning, about 5:00 am, on the first day of my brief Paper Boy career, when we delivered our newspapers. Philip and I were now seasoned veteran delivery boys. When that first successful delivery is made, you become part of a news machine that would dominate America for more than two hundred years.
I would follow the Six Day War with great interest, cut out all the articles, and save them. What surprised me was how many of my new friends were so ignorant of world events, like the Vietnam War or our race to the moon against the Soviets. The information was right there in that newspaper, and apart from the news hours on TV, this was our only source of news.
My paper route had 125 customers, and my brother had 80. We could usually finish these routes in less than 30 minutes. I typically drove my car, a 1953 Chevy with a manual transmission, a four-door sedan. My brother delivered on his bicycle. Mom helped us. We wrapped each paper with a rubber band, and it hurt when it snapped. We washed our dirty hands immediately, or the ink would get everywhere. Cleanliness mattered.
Unlike in the public school classroom, nothing was sanitized for the reader. Well, maybe just a little. Like the reports on the two-year-old girl who was tortured, sexually abused, and murdered. Murders always made the front page. “If it bleeds, it leads.” Mostly, the news was ordinary, but plenty of sensational stories were featured too. Reading the news was more interesting than studying the Canterbury Tales in high school. My favorite section of The Abilene Reporter-News was the Sunday comics and Dear Abby.
We were paid pretty well. I earned about $100 a month. This was enough to give Mom some money for extras and her needs. The rest was for me—to buy clothes, gadgets, and snacks like soda and ice cream. Philip and I started collecting monthly newspaper subscriptions on the 10th of each month. We went door to door. It was a tough job, but necessary. Catching people at home was not easy. Theft of a paper was rare, but I paid for another if it happened.
Our family lived in an average part of town on the southwest side of Abilene. Luckily, it was pretty safe. The people were friendly. Sometimes, I’d be offered a glass of milk or Kool-Aid on hot days. That was a nice perk and helped keep my spirits up, especially on rainy days when I’d spend extra time wrapping the papers in plastic bags.
I also worked on other small jobs, like helping a neighbor lift something heavy or tidy up their yard. Earning a couple of dollars meant a lot for a teenager. Fortunately, gas was cheap—less than 40 cents a gallon, even less in winter—and I changed the oil in my car. With my own money, I still needed Mom’s permission to buy clothes, since I was into the latest styles. Luckily, she was good at saving money and knew a teenager could waste it all if allowed.
In the summer of 1968, my brother and I went to the Honda motorcycle dealer to buy ourselves a motorcycle. Dad was all for it, Mom less so. Motorcycles were great. There would be many adventures I would have, as I traveled about the city and out of town with friends. We saw ourselves as Easy Rider types, even though the movie wouldn’t be released until the following year. Motorcycles were all the rage. Philip started using his bike to deliver papers, but I still used my car.
There were many lessons learned as a paperboy. Delivering newspapers was my first steady job. I’d worked odd jobs for years, but none with that kind of regular pay. Having a paper route also introduced me to a wide range of people—from good-hearted folks to those with bad attitudes, honest ones and those who might rob you if they got the chance. It was kind of an awakening—a time when I realized life was actually pretty good.
At 17 years old, I gave up the paper route in May 1970 and headed off to college, living away from home.
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Please read my books:
There are not many men today, who did not have a paper route when they were young boys. This job is, however, going away as it has become a substantial income generator mostly for young men who work very large paper routes and earn a good income for little work. Plus, newspapers themselves have changed as they mostly went the liberal political path and many now reject thier obvious biases. Thus, they no longer purchase it either as a regular newspaper or online. And the newspaper liberals deserve to get fired like the Washington Post story.
Lovely story. My brothers were both paper boys at one time.
Yes, a manhood maker.
Gen. Satterfield, thank you for this article. It takes me back to my days as a paper boy in Erie, PA. I was just a little tike, weak physically, but I knew that having some extra cash to help my family eat better, was good for me too. I was more independent than all my classmates who had other interests like girls. But I had the cash to treat the girls better, even if I showed no interest in them (I was shy). For those boys who managed a job while in school, it also taught us how to better manage our time. It forced us to choose what we did in our spare time, because there was so little of it during the school week. I became a better, more focused kid. And later, while on the school baseball team, I was even better.
Indeed, many of us were thinking the same thing, Adolf. I’m glad there are so many here speaking about their time as a paper boy. I was too, and look back on those times fondly. Why? Because I had voluntarily taken on the responsibility for my customers and fulfilled by obligations.
✅ Wow, nice! 😆
This is good readin’.
Ha, and just when you think that you’ve read enough of the lessons of growing up in the Deep South, pow, Gen. Satterfield gives us another. Is there a job he didn’t have as a teenager? Sometimes I wonder. Thank you, sir, for your continued effort to give us important lessons of your past, but also to “see” what the building blocks are of your youth, and then how it became part of you as a successful adult in the US army. Well done! If you can, please publish a book on this for us all. Like your other two books, we all love them. Your newest, “55 rules for a good life” is the most useful. Keep ‘em coming. 👍👍👍👍
Ah, the paper boy story of Gen. Doug Satterfield. I was wondering when this would come out. And,yes, I’m pleased with it. The lessons from working is invaluable. And, so it should be.
NOTICE: This is a little off topic, but for those who haven’t noticed, Gen. Satterfield has a new tab at the top of his website titled “IRAQ WAR PRE-SURGE.” We’ve been asking him to do this, and now he listened and posted it. The articles are in reverse chronological order, so beware. In other words, read bottom up if you want them as they were written. Here is the link that will take you there (or just click on the tab):
https://www.theleadermaker.com/iraq-war-pre-surge/
Same with LETTERS TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER. https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
I am one of those who has recommended that Gen. Satterfield turn that into a book. Plus, note that there are many articl3es that could be added to this book. This Paper Boy article today is just one example. More please.
A great first regular job for young boys and girls. Yes, the delivery system has changed, largely because the newspaper industry is failing.
Right, and learning how to outrun dogs. Ha Ha. 🐶
Dogs vs. Paper Boys … now that is a possible new movie. Well, it would be short but very funny. Let the filming begin. Starring Good Dog and Dog Man. Just got to love it. Thanks Gen. Satterfield for more about your childhood. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️
My brother too had a paper route and was a great paper boy. He was always making sure that every customer not only got their newspaper but that the paper was on the porch or near by the front door. That’s what good service means. Alas, that was 20 years ago before it became a “job” for youn men. Young boys no longer deliver, well mostly.
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for another story from your childhood, in this case your teenage years. We all should have some menial job as teenagers because we learn directly from it so much about the human condition. I too had a paper route as a teen, and loved getting some extra money to spend as I wished. I also learned not to waste my dollars on dumb stuff like the latest clothes fashion (just like you, sir) or on consumables (like candy). I used my money to buy a lawnmower and figuring out that I could make even more money simply by mowing yards. It’s amazing how many folks will hire you do mow their lawns and pay good. Have a great day, sir. Love your website.
Oh, I just got a copy of your book “55 Rules for a Good Life.” Great works. Everyone, please get your copy now.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
Jason, you beat me to being the first to comment today. You’re up early. And, yes I also have a copy of both his books and occasionally lend them out to folks in my neighborhood who would like to learn a little more. I sure hope that Gen. Satterfield comes out with another book soon.