Honoring those who bring news

For 80 years -- dating all the way back to July 1, 1924 -- newspaper carriers have fulfilled an important role in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. Starting on the first day of daily publication for the McCook Daily Gazette, the carriers have delivered papers to the homes of subscribers stretching from Haigler on the west to Arapahoe on the east, and from Oberlin on the south to Curtis on the north.

The proud tradition of delivery service continues to this day. Now, 81 newspaper carriers deliver the Gazette on 108 routes to subscribers in 34 towns. It's a fascinating process of teamwork and timely scheduling.

The action begins at between 12:20 and 12:30 p.m., when that day's edition of the McCook Daily Gazette starts rolling off the press. Within minutes, the papers are taken to inserters, who rapidly place sections and circulars inside. The completed newspapers are then bundled, taken to the Gazette's delivery vehicles and transported to carriers throughout the area on seven different long distance motor routes.

The 11 drivers on staff share the delivery duties, with the cars covering a combined total of 800 miles a day. This adds up to more than 200,000 miles of travel on an annual basis.

While cars are the method by which papers are delivered to carriers today, it has not always been that way. In 1929, the Gazette gained the distinction of being the first newspaper in America to be delivered regularly by airplane. The plane -- a Curtiss-Robin C-1 -- was badly damaged and had to be removed from service after a year's time. But, in the years since, the Curtiss-Robin has been restored and is now a featured attraction at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Through the years, hundreds of young men and women have been carriers for the Gazette. Years later -- after embarking on careers in business and government -- they return to tell us how valuable the carrier duties were in giving them a head start in the business world.

Today, on International Newspaper Carrier Day, we salute the 16 adults and 65 youth who deliver the Gazette to our subscribers' homes. They are providing a valuable service and, in the process, learning lessons of responsibility which will guide them throughout their lives.