Guelph Mercury closure puts paper carriers out of work

Dozens of delivery boys and girls are out of work after the Guelph Mercury stopped publishing its print edition on Friday. 

The news came as a shock to many of the paper carriers, for most of whom delivering the daily newspaper was their first job, and one that they enjoyed. 

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"I was like, there is no way they are stopping this in one week. That's way too short notice," said Ashley Geddes, 14, who has had her paper route for a little over a year.

"It's a really nice job. It pays well— because you're a kid and you don't really get paid otherwise— and you get paid for doing almost nothing."

Geddes said delivering the newspaper has given her time to think about what's going on in her life. 

"I'm almost always surrounded by people. This was kind of just a nice break. If you ever needed to get away from someone, you knew that this was going to be a part of your day."

Now that the paper and her route no longer exist, she said she would still try to find time to think, even if that means volunteering to walk the family dog.

Mitchell Duncan, 13, started delivering the Guelph Mercury along Fife Road when he was 11. In the past week, he said people have been stopping him on his route.

"They usually start the conversation, because I just want to get the job done," he said. "On Monday, [one man] asked me about how do you feel about the paper closing. I told him I'm 13-years-old and I'm getting laid off, which is sad."

Duncan said he wouldn't miss delivering papers on cold winter evenings, but he will miss having the extra spending money.