They just very well might be the unsung heroes of our industry.

They work long hours, often in the dead of night, driving through neighborhoods and down dark, lonely roads in all kinds of weather to deliver the newspaper to our customers.

Today is National Newspaper Carrier Day, which harkens back to a time more than 180 years ago when New York Sun publisher Benjamin Day issued an advertisement looking for “steady men.” A 10-year-old boy, Barney Flaherty, answered that September 4 ad and soon began the tradition of calling out to passers-by, “get your paper, here! Get your paper!”

There is even a newspaper carrier hall of fame. Its members include those who toiled as newspaper carriers. It’s a list that includes Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Warren Buffett, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Walt Disney, Bing Crosby and even John Wayne.

The world of newspapers has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. People now can read it on their phones.

But there’s still something about holding it in your hands. And that’s the result of the carriers delivering it. As long as the printed paper exists, and we think it will for quite some time, carriers will be out there bringing it to you. 

If you want to say thanks to your carrier, please do. We can’t thank them enough for delivering the Thomasville Times-Enterprise to you and for undertaking the hard job that it is.