Old-fashioned newspaper toss contest being held by Elgin Golden K Kiwanis
On Labor Day morning, local historian Jerry Turnquist and fellow members of the Elgin Golden K Kiwanis will be paying homage to a job they held in their youth.
The inaugural Greater Elgin Newspaper Throw invites participants to stand on the sidewalk and toss a rolled-up newspaper to the top of a 12-step porch at a 138-year-old home at 27 Rugby Place, located in Elgin’s original historic district.
It takes place from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Sept. 7, and nets the winners prizes.
“(Delivering newspapers to front porches) was a way young people earned extra money and learned responsibility for years, including me,” Turnquist said.
Turnquist, 77, said his father managed the Elgin News Agency, which oversaw the delivery of The Courier-News, the Chicago newspapers and other publications from an office on Grove Avenue, not far from where the Grand Victoria Casino is now located. Turnquist worked for his father until he was in his early 20s, he said.
“I probably threw more newspapers than any kid I knew,” he said. “Back then everybody had a subscription to some paper. That’s how we all got our news.”
He helped drivers bring newspaper bundles to local stores and to the homes of the kids who delivered them. If a carrier called in sick, he would cover their route, Turnquist said.
Golden K Kiwanis member Lyle Wolff, 75, was also a paperboy. According to a club newsletter, Wolff said delivering 50 copies of the Courier-News every day was his first job when he was in fifth grade.
“I was advised to send a card with the paper advising that I was the new paperboy.” Wolff wrote. “The card included my name, where I lived, and to contact me if you had trouble with delivery of the paper. That card was the best thing I could have done for me and my customers.”
Wolff would bring the bundle of papers into his family’s living room floor to fold. Initially he’d use rubber bands to bind them but eventually learned they could be folded and tucked, which saved him money, he said. They’d all go into his delivery bag, which he’d carry on his rounds.
These days, newspapers are delivered by adults in cars. And the goal of getting a paper on a porch is a lost skill for some.
Those who learned it as kids will attempt to demonstrate that ability on Monday, when contest participants pay $5 for one throw and $10 for three in a fundraiser benefiting Kiwanis causes, including the purchase of playground equipment for special needs children at Elgin’s Randall Ridge Park.
If all goes well, the Kiwanis hope to host the tossing again sometime next year, Turnquist said.
“We hope it will be a great day and give people something to do on Labor Day morning,” he said. “It’s also a chance to take a trip back to a different era.”
Participants can sign up in advance at elgingoldenk.org/donations or in person the day of the event.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.