Lacombe’s Luscombe family looks at newspaper delivery as something of a fun and engaging family affair.
Every year, during the first week in October, newspapers across North America celebrate National Newspaper Week to acknowledge those who work hard to bring the news to their communities.
Carrier Appreciation Day is also celebrated on the Saturday of the week to recognize the carriers who make a huge contribution to the industry.
“We started delivering in May of 2014,” said Angela Luscombe, who delivers not only the Lacombe Express each Thursday with her children, but also the Central Alberta Life and the Red Deer Advocate which is delivered on a daily basis.
As mentioned, helping her out are her faithful and dedicated children Emily, 17; Jonathan, 16, and Christopher who is 13.
The two older kids aren’t as involved as they once were, but the family makes sure all of their customers receive their papers in a timely fashion.
And over the years, it’s been a fun experience - a really enjoyable family time, she said.
“We started with the morning Advocate route - the two older kids help me in the morning.”
That one requires getting up very early in the morning, but they have no complaints.
“And then we decided to take on the Thursday routes, too. For some extra money and for the exercise. It was even good to get out in the winter even though it’s cold,” she added with a chuckle.
“It’s good for the exercise and we enjoy doing it together. We would split up in the neighbourhoods - we did about 300 homes in the beginning - the Central Alberta Life and the Lacombe Express together.
“Sometimes dad would even join us at lunch,” she said, smiling of her husband Colin.
But usually it’s the hardy four who have teamed up and headed out rain or shine.
As to the advantages of delivering papers, the kids agreed that it’s a good time together.
“Along with the exercise, there are really friendly people out there, too,” said Jonathan. “They’ll come out to get their papers and say, ‘Hey - how are you doing?’ Since we’ve done it for about four years now, they’ve gotten to know us and we’ve gotten to know them as well.”
The Christmas season is fantastic as well as some folks will share treats with the carriers in full holiday spirit.
“It’s really nice, and it helps us feel even more appreciated,” said Jonathan, adding that another advantage is it tends to get him and his siblings off the electronics for a while, too.
Emily said delivery has provided her a good chance to spend time with her brothers. “I would also say that you connect with the community a bit more, too.”
Angela also pointed out that as a family, they’ve always just made it a fun time.
“I also have always taught them to respect other people’s property,” she explained. “And to make sure the papers won’t blow away. We always make sure we have respected that. We also pick up after others, too. If there’s a paper flying around we grab it.”
Christopher said that these days, his mother is helping him more with his deliveries and it’s nice to be able to spend that time with her.
Ultimately, for each member of this warm and friendly family, it’s also a great means of getting to know people.
“We were new in the neighbourhood when we started, so we didn’t anybody,” said Angela. “So it was nice to get out and interact with people in the community and get to know the areas. It’s a nice community.”
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