The boys want a new bike but have only saved about $6 and Ward isn't willing to hand over $50, if they want it then they will have to work for it. They apply to get a paper route and "Old Man" Merkel takes them on a trial basis. June isn't happy about seeing her babies work. Ward feels it will teach them responsibility.
Things fall apart quickly. Wally has to stay after school and June ends up folding the papers for Beaver. Beaver can't lift the bag now filled with papers, so June helps. Then we get a rainy day and Wally has to go back out, this time Ward helps him by driving him around.
A bill from a cab company arrives, June spent $6 to deliver 58 five cent papers? Yes, she did. Then there is a pile of old papers folded up in the garage, extras. Ward and June find them and figure the boys forgot to deliver the Saturday papers. Out they go, delivering old papers to the boys' customers.
Where are the boys? They were at the paper office picking up their papers. The old extras? They were to be taken back for a refund. Before they can even deliver the papers, they get a phone call from Old Man Merkel telling them they're fired for delivering old papers. Ward and June come home to lecture the boys about responsibility to discover it wasn't the boys who messed up. June talks to the boys and hopes they aren't too upset at what happened. The boys aren't upset with their dad. Mistakes happen and after all, they were being good parents and just trying to help.
Ward goes down to the paper office to straighten the situation out and finds old man Merkel is half Ward's age. When Merkel balks at hiring the boys back, Ward threatens to have his company pull their advertising. The boys get the route back, but they don't want it. They may have a chance at a job that would have them work on weekends only at the local supermarket. What now? June folds; Ward delivers.
The boys finally earn enough and get their bike and are assembling it in the garage. Ward goes out and tells them when he and his brother got a bike, they fought over who would get to ride it first. The boys say that's not a problem, they want Ward to ride it first. Unless he would feel silly riding a kid's bike. Silly? Ward is beaming at what great kids he has as he takes off down the street.
A fun episode that takes me back. But 58 papers? That would have been a dream route except it would have taken the boys forever to earn their money. Most routes were from 150 to 200 customers. Newspapers cost 45 cents a week back then. The paper boy earned 3 cents a week for each customer. Which means the boys would have made $1.74 a week. If one quarter of their customers tipped them a nickel, then that's an additional 70 cents for a grand total of $2.44 a week. It would have taken them 20 weeks to make that $50. I know. I had a route for six years.
Things fall apart quickly. Wally has to stay after school and June ends up folding the papers for Beaver. Beaver can't lift the bag now filled with papers, so June helps. Then we get a rainy day and Wally has to go back out, this time Ward helps him by driving him around.
A bill from a cab company arrives, June spent $6 to deliver 58 five cent papers? Yes, she did. Then there is a pile of old papers folded up in the garage, extras. Ward and June find them and figure the boys forgot to deliver the Saturday papers. Out they go, delivering old papers to the boys' customers.
Where are the boys? They were at the paper office picking up their papers. The old extras? They were to be taken back for a refund. Before they can even deliver the papers, they get a phone call from Old Man Merkel telling them they're fired for delivering old papers. Ward and June come home to lecture the boys about responsibility to discover it wasn't the boys who messed up. June talks to the boys and hopes they aren't too upset at what happened. The boys aren't upset with their dad. Mistakes happen and after all, they were being good parents and just trying to help.
Ward goes down to the paper office to straighten the situation out and finds old man Merkel is half Ward's age. When Merkel balks at hiring the boys back, Ward threatens to have his company pull their advertising. The boys get the route back, but they don't want it. They may have a chance at a job that would have them work on weekends only at the local supermarket. What now? June folds; Ward delivers.
The boys finally earn enough and get their bike and are assembling it in the garage. Ward goes out and tells them when he and his brother got a bike, they fought over who would get to ride it first. The boys say that's not a problem, they want Ward to ride it first. Unless he would feel silly riding a kid's bike. Silly? Ward is beaming at what great kids he has as he takes off down the street.
A fun episode that takes me back. But 58 papers? That would have been a dream route except it would have taken the boys forever to earn their money. Most routes were from 150 to 200 customers. Newspapers cost 45 cents a week back then. The paper boy earned 3 cents a week for each customer. Which means the boys would have made $1.74 a week. If one quarter of their customers tipped them a nickel, then that's an additional 70 cents for a grand total of $2.44 a week. It would have taken them 20 weeks to make that $50. I know. I had a route for six years.
