One of the things we usually take for granted is that our morning newspaper will appear on our doorstep or in our driveway every day.

For over 150 years, getting papers to their subscribers was the chore of a small army of newspaper delivery boys. Usually somewhere between 10 and 15, youngsters hungry for their own pocket money got up at 4 a.m. to bicycle or walk through their neighborhoods to toss papers onto front porches.

Today, Tuesday, September 4, is the anniversary of the hiring of the very first newsboy in the U.S. — 10-year-old Barney Flaherty, who delivered the New York Sun in 1833.

Now, most of our 48.5 million daily papers are delivered by commercial distributors; and the newsboy, like the milkman, is part of history.

I’ve been a paperboy or newsboy twice in my life. Once in high school — back in the days of afternoon papers — and a second time as a part-time job as an adult. How about you? Have you had the pleasure of delivering papers?

And speaking of newspapers, the Census Bureau also reports that three important dates in American newspaper history occurred in September — spanning more than 200 years.

• On September 15, 1982, “USA Today” began publishing. Critics at the time said the idea of a national newspaper was doomed to failure — now, it is one of the country’s largest selling dailies.
• On September 18, 1851, the “New York Times” issued its first edition.
• On September 25, 1690, the first newspaper in America was published for one day in Boston before being shut down by British authorities unhappy with its content.

There are almost 1,400 daily newspapers published across the nation. Of these, over 900 have Sunday editions.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s “Profile America.”