Mackinaw to honor 1st newspaper carrier in parade

MACKINAW — A 93-year-old woman who was the first paper delivery person in the central Illinois city of Mackinaw will be honored this weekend.

The Pekin Daily Times reports the Mackinaw Historical Society is sponsoring a lawn tractor for Joanne Shonk to ride on in the Mack-Ca-Fest parade on Saturday. She started the paper route with her brother in the 1930s. The two split up to cover the whole town.

Shonk did the route on roller skates during the summer. She says they earned 5 cents per customers, or half of the 10 cents the newspaper cost.

The four-day Mack-Ca-Fest begins Thursday. Mackinaw is about 20 miles southeast of Peoria.