Newspaper Carrier Tools of the Trade

One of my earliest jobs was delivering the Erie Daily Times, just like hundreds of other kids. I picked up my bundle at the firehouse on 23rd and Ash, counted the papers and inserted the ads in each one. Depending on the weather and the weight of the paper, I would put the papers in my canvas bag and then jump on my bike, walk or pull the sled behind me and head down to Slomski's Funeral Home on East 21st St. and start my rounds. My father drove me around on most Sundays because the papers were so heavy.

On Fridays and Saturdays I'd carry a money bag with change, a hole puncher and a hard-covered binder full of cards. I would line up the customer card and my card and punch the appropriate spot so we would each have a record of payment. The color of the card changed each year. 

The district manager (Dan) would meet us at the firehouse so we could pay our bill, part of which included a savings plan that did not pay interest. We got a long, skinny form that recorded our payment for the papers. A few years after I stopped delivering papers I started writing freelance for the Erie Times. I don't think there are any more youth carriers now that adults deliver the motor routes.

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com

Labor Unions in Erie PA in 1918

About one in every three wage earners belonged to a union in Erie, PA in 1918. It appears that most of the skilled tradesmen, including some whose jobs no longer exist in this region, were able to join a union if they so desired. Others would have signed up if there was a local in Erie that represented their profession or occupation. There were about 15,000 card-carrying members during World War I in Erie.

Labor unions included: Erie Central Labor Union, Erie Allied Printing Trades Council, Erie Building Trades Council, Bakery Workers, Journeymen Barbers, Bookbinders, Brewery Workers, Bricklayers, Bridges & Structural Iron, Bartenders, Carpenters, 

Electrical Workers No. 30, Electrical Workers No. 56, Electrical Workers No. 600, National Marine Engineers, Portable Engineers, Stationary Firemen, Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, Switchmen, Railway Machinists

United Garment Workers, Lathers, Letter Carriers,  Machinists, Moving Picture Operators, Molders, Musicians, Painters, Plasterers, Plumbers, Postal Clerks, Printing Pressmen, Stage Employees, Stone Cutters, Tailors, Teamsters & Chauffeurs and Locomotive Engineers

Asbestos Workers, Cigarmakers, Carriage & Wagon Makers, Horseshoers, Iron, Steel & Tin Workers, Lithographers, I.L.A. Grain Handlers, Licensed Tagmen, Gill Net Fishermen, Fish Dressers, Pound Net Fishermen, Twine Stringers, Poster Artists, Street Railway Employees, Typographical and Milk Drivers.

Which union did your grandfather or great-grandfather belong to?

(Note: U.E. Local 506, the bargaining agent for workers at General Electric in Erie, is not on this list because it formed in 1937.)

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Tribune Bicycle Blue Streak Ad 1899

Old Time Erie Tribune ad in Erie Dispatch, April 28, 1899.

The Tribune Bicycle was made in a factory at 1912 Liberty St. in Erie, PA during the late 1890s. 

The Black Manufacturing Co. had a retail store at 806 State St. in downtown Erie. According to this advertisement, Over 500 Erie residents owned the 1899 Tribune, the Wheel of Wheels.

The Blue Streak was one of the models of Tribune bikes. 

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com

View drawings of the old Black Mfg. Co. factory on Liberty St. between West 19th and West 20th Street here: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/10/tribune-bicycle-black-mfg-co-19th-and.html

Holy Trinity Parochial School 1953

Holy Trinity Parochial School was located at 651 East 22nd Street in Erie, PA in a predominately Polish neighborhood. The school was designed by Ladislaus Zawadzki of Buffalo. The cornerstone was laid in the summer of 1909. Sister Mary Lucina, of the Felician order, was the first superior of the school. Holy Trinity School was remodeled in 1953. The school closed in 1997 and was later demolished and turned into a parking lot to provide more room for the annual Zabawa celebration. Learn about Zabawa here: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/08/zabawa-holy-trinity-polish-summerfest.html

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com