By CASEY NEILL
DELIVERING the Journal gave at least one paperboy a strong work ethic he’s carried through life.
Sean Whitaker now calls Drouin home, but grew up in Narre Warren.
He was 12 years old when he started a morning paper round 30 years ago.
“The Dandy Journal was one of the ones we did,” he said.
“It came out twice a week back then, I think.
“I did it for nearly three years.
“I thought it was really worthwhile.
“I used to get paid the princely sum of $12 a week, which isn’t really a lot of money considering you had to get up at 5am and ride your bike in the freezing cold.”
Sean was finished by 7am and went off to school. The early starts didn’t bother him.
“My parents for years said they couldn’t believe that they’d hear the alarm go off and it would only go for one ring and I’d be up and I’d be out of bed and I’d be out the door within five minutes,” he said.
“It didn’t matter what the weather was like.
“I think I just enjoyed the routine and commitment you had to make with it, which obviously sets you up for work down the track.”
Sean would deliver about 70 papers each round.
“On the front of your bike you used to have a milk crate that you’d latch onto the handlebars of the bike and that would be chock-a-block full,” he said.
“That was quite a bit of weight on the front of your bike.
“The papers probably weighed as much as I did!”
He recalled a few stacks, scrapes and bruises.
“Bikes aren’t meant to carry that weight on the front, so the common thing was the gooseneck that held the handlebars used to snap,” he said.
“So you’d be riding along and suddenly the whole thing would fall off the front – including your handlebars – midway through your round.
“You had to replace it.
“We all worked out which were the best parts to have on your bike to make it the strongest.
“Most of us would have a separate bike that you would use for your paper round (rather) than your normal bike.
“You had your good bike and you had your working bike.”
There was no throwing the paper into the front yard back in those days because there was no plastic on them.
“You’d be rolling the paper while you were riding, because you wanted to get around as quick as you could,” Sean said.
“People would complain if their paper got wet.
“There was one person who used to leave me 20 cents out every day if I dropped their paper at their front door.
“I could get 10 per cent extra for my entire week just by taking one paper to that person’s front door.
“They used to leave the money sitting in a little dish.”
Decades down the track, Sean is still making sure people get their hands on a copy of the Journal.
He owns the Genesis gym in Dandenong and has a stack of newspapers delivered each week.
“Clients pick up the paper here,” he said.
