Community carriers brave the constant cold

    When temperatures dip into the single digits or even lower, as they have in the last two weeks, there are few enviable outdoor jobs. Many workers have to brave the elements on a daily basis no matter the cold, wind or rain. Newspaper carriers are among those who have no choice but to work in whatever conditions Mother Nature gives them.

    The Washington Evening Journal employs 20 carriers, and each one of them has a story to tell about delivering papers during last week?s blizzard. Rose Streff said that she carried her papers around in a wagon last Tuesday afternoon, just as the blizzard was approaching southeast Iowa. Rose has three routes to do, and just as she was beginning her third one, it began to rain.

    ?It started raining at 3:30 p.m. and continued until almost 5 p.m.,? recalled Streff. ?Instead of my wagon getting lighter as I went on like it normally does, the wagon kept getting heavier! Finally, I called my husband and I said, ?I can?t go any farther.??

    Streff said that she had to battle blowing snow last Wednesday, but added that she had an easier time delivering papers that day than she did the day prior. When it?s really cold outside, Streff said she puts on a stocking hat, boots, a scarf, two pairs of gloves and two pairs of socks. Streff said that the recent blizzard was worse than anything she had to face all of last winter.

    ?I don?t remember anything as bad as this blizzard happening last year,? said Streff. ?Last year it was just cold. And we had a lot of ice. During one ice storm last year, it took me 40 minutes to do my route around Sunset Park when it normally takes me 10 to 15 minutes.?

    The ice also proved to be an issue during and even after the blizzard.

    ?The ice has been a big problem,? said Streff. ?You have to take baby steps. I had to walk in snowdrifts past my knees. Most of the sidewalks were completely covered for a few days last week.?

    Taking baby steps is more easily said than done, especially when Streff knew that it would mean more time in the freezing cold. 

For the full article, see the Dec. 16 edition of the Washington Evening Journal.