Thanks, carriers

If you are reading this paper in the cozy confines of your living room, you need to pause and be grateful for the efforts of your newspaper carrier.

Normally we celebrate Newspaper Carrier Day in early September. The day honors everyone, who is now, or once was a newspaper carrier.

Newspaper Carrier Day commemortes the hiring of the very first newspaper carrier, 10 year old Barney Flaherty, hired Sept. 4, 1933. Benjamin Day, publisher of The New York Sun, hired Flaherty to sell papers for his penny press. The only job requirement, was that he had to show that he could throw a newspaper into the bushes.

We've come a long way since then.

Thousands, if not millions of children, have delivered papers as their first job. A paper route teaches many things, ranging from responsibility to punctuality to developing customer service skills. All of these lessons come in handy throughout life.

Just as many parents and brothers and sisters have delivered as well. Without the committment of the entire family, a youngster will struggle to succeed as a carrier.

While the day has historical significance, it pales in comparison of the performance of carriers in adverse weather conditions.

We appreciate the efforts of our carriers and bundle haulers every one of the 254 days that we publish a newspaper. They consistently do an excellent job of promptly delivering the news to you, our valued subscribers.

But we really appreciate their efforts during times of extreme weather like we have experienced for the better part of a month. Battling snow, sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling wind chills and over two and a half feet of snow is truly going above and beyond the call of duty. We are thankful that they take care of you, our customers

We also appreciate our subscribers having their sidewalks clear and pets under control. It makes the job of delivering the news much easier and safer for all involved.

There's a lot of winter ahead, and with everyone's help we can make sure that the news arrives on time and safely.