Anchorage Newspapers
Sold Twice?

by Ron Maley
(Ocean Shores, Wa.)

Back in 1950, I sold Anchorage Daily News on the corner of 4th and C.

Ten feet from the bar door.

Most of my customers paid more than I was selling them for, many times I would get a dollar. When I ran out of papers, I would go into the bar and collect the papers that were lying around and go back out to the corner again.

About a week into reselling, the bartender started helping me by collecting the papers for me and stacking them by the door. I don't think he liked me roaming around the tables in the bar…

At the end of summer I was the richest 11-year-old in town. The good old days.

A Note from Anchorage Memories

My brother Tom had an experience like that, only his was when he became a shoe shine boy.

We were living in Cordova, Alaska at the time and in the summer, my brother built a small, portable shoe shine box.

He stationed himself on the sidewalk just outside the bars. He charged 50 cents for a shine, but his customers were giving him a dollar, ten or even twenty dollars – because they admired his hustle and some had a few too many drinks under their belt.

Tom made a lot of money that summer until dad started telling the guys at the bar to “stop spoiling my kid” by overpaying him so much.

Yours Free

Anchorage and Alaska Facts, History, and Pioneers

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