Boatman, now 94, said when he was 13 years old, he wanted to buy a bike and took over the paper route of a friend who was looking to sell his route.
“He made 1 cent on the daily paper (sold for 3 cents) and 3 cents for Sunday’s (sold for 10 cents) for a total of 9 cents a week per customer,” Boatman said.
On occasion, Dayton Daily News ran contests for the delivery people “and every Valentine’s Day, some lucky girl or my mother got a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates.”
“Another prize I liked was an all-day pass for free rides at Lakeside Park. Of course, once a year on Newsboys Day our papers were free and our customers would give us gifts,” Boatman said.
Then came high school and he applied and was accepted to Parker Co-op, which was later renamed Patterson Cooperative High School.
“But, surprise, since I was out of area there was a $50 tuition fee. DDN to the rescue as I paid the fee with my paper route money,” Boatman said.
He said his actual subscription to the Dayton Daily News started the summer of 1949.
“We moved to Bellbrook in 1955 and still continue taking the DDN,” he said. “I must mention that for the last few years, we have had the best carrier ever, Carolyn Wilson. She takes pity on a 94-year-old guy and always lays the paper on my doorstep. Dayton Daily News has always been there for me!”
Lifelong Subscribers
To finish the 120th year of the Dayton Daily News, this month we are featuring stories of some of our lifelong subscribers. Read them all at DaytonDailyNews.com
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