Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

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Lost Fresno
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Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by Lost Fresno » Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:32 am

The Fresno Guide, It was just another paper beaten out by the competition. Same thing happened in Sac with the Sac Union Tribune. These valley towns are to small to support 2 newspapers, although everyone says we need another one. We've always had way too many radio stations, now they are all in Spanish and not a very wide selection of rock stations.
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Lost Fresno
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by Lost Fresno » Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:35 am

Geez, I threw the Guide for about, maybe a year? Kept going until I made about 14 dollars a month and new it was time to bail! We were supposed to throw the thing even if people didn't pay. BUT we were supposed to go around "collecting" anyways as it was our ONLY source of possible income; is that messed up or what?

People would say "is it a free paper?"
We'd say, "no".
"But you're supposed to keep throwing it until I say stop."
"Yeah."

So, the first month you'd make a mint (maybe like 60 bucks). Cuz they'd say "here's your 4 bucks kid, just don't throw it anymore." [or, 'we don't pay for that rag'--but they wouldn't tell you to stop!] So, you'd do that until the route dwindled to about 12 people(with maybe 4 paying), and pass it on to the next willing 'guide boy'. This is what this fostered: you were taught by the previous Guide Boy to ask people if they wanted a receipt, cuz if they didn't, you didn't have to report it, thus you pocketed the whole 4.50. How messed up is that? I'm even ashamed to write about it now. [except now that I know I was indirectly stickin' it to Bonadelle] most of the customers were in on it too. So, the one's who didn't want a receipt just gave you the money out of pity, and the one's who DID want a receipt did it just cuz they knew you were a little kid dirty cheater guy.

The only alternative was to throw the Bee, but they, at the time, had changed to early morning delivery and what kinda kid (i reasoned at the time) would want to get up at FIVE in the morning EVERY day of the week. [That was as messed up as the kids who willing chose to get up on cold foggy Saturday mornings to play soccer.] This sped up my move to giving guitar lessons after school to earn my comic book/Tower Records money.

Reprinted with permission from Fresno Famous
http://www.fresnofamous.com

frodoboy
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by frodoboy » Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:02 am

I remember also throwing the Guide. I think it was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I remember now the "free" thing. I forgot about that. I made enough to buy a brand new Schwinn bicycle which is probably worth a mint now. It had whitewall tires!

Christopher Stone
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by Christopher Stone » Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:26 am

My memory is that it was delivered to our home on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. At the time, the Fresno Bee was delivered during afternoon hours by paper-boys on bicycles, after school.

Bulldog406
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by Bulldog406 » Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:08 am

This is definitely one of the situations where it was survival of the fittest. I only vaguely remember the guide due to my age, but we have to remember that Fresno is no different than any other town in the country. The guide went early, but now papers all over the place are going down. I think we are right on the edge of being able to support two papers, ten years ago haha.

barry1960
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by barry1960 » Sat May 14, 2011 11:48 pm

I threw the Fresno Guide for five years from 1971-76, right before it shut down. The paper was delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. The Guide had a niche because the Fresno Bee was an afternoon paper. When the Bee switched to a morning paper, the Guide went to a five day (Monday-Friday) paper, but it was doomed. The only reason the Guide was able to compete was that people liked a morning paper.

I remember a subscription to the Guide was voluntary. The price was $1.50 per month, 0.75 the carrier got to keep. Customers could receive the paper and not pay, and some customers chose to give the carrier a tip of a buck instead. Carriers got to keep all the tips. The Guide was a small paper, between 16-32 pages. Mondays were the smaller paper and Wednesdays a little larger.

The routes for the Guide were pretty large. My route for five years ran around 120-130 papers. I had a really nice route averaging around 60 collections a month (much better than other routes) and $70.00 a month. In fact the Guide rewarded their higher collectors with prizes so I received a season's past the the Fresno Giants on three occasions. That was a lot of money for a kid. The paper was a great job because you only had to get up three days a week or about 13 days per month. I can also remember finishing my route in the summer and riding over the Valley Donut at Ashlan and Cedar for these huge donuts. Harpains Dairy was just east of my route and I heard the cows being milked, although that usually occurred before I threw the paper.

jcred
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Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by jcred » Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:27 pm

My Brother threw the Guide while we worked together on my bee route in the downtown area I always thought his route was to hard and an stops to far apart he just thought my route was way to heavy weight wise but easy to collect with mostly stores and two banks two flower shops and then senator Ken Maddys office as some of my stops

lendawg1182
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Re: Remembering the Guide

Post by lendawg1182 » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:28 pm

I also remember delivering the Guide in the early 60's. Since most people didn't care if they got it I remember sleeping in and throwing the papers in the garbage and getting no complaints.

KW

Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by KW » Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:47 pm

I had my first photographs published in the The Guide. I used to listed to the police scanner - had my mom drive me from Chestnut/Tulare to near the Fresno Community hospital - to 'cover' a SWAT Team callout. Took the city bus back, processed the B&W film - and took a couple prints to The Guide. Was told that they couldn't pay me - I let them know a byline was fine with me. Much to my surprise - FRONT PAGE news!

I threw The Bee (won a trip to Disneyland when I was the Fastest Folder contest at a Bee carrier picnic held at Roeding park) - and would help cover a friends Guide route ocassionally. Back in the days when Sunday was the only morning delivery of the BEE - I rather enjoyed getting out of the house at 4am - get work done - then mess around! (Doughnuts at Winchells at Chestnut and Olive with FPD).

janice babb

Re: Remembering the Fresno Guide newspaper

Post by janice babb » Thu May 14, 2015 10:08 am

I have a Oct.6 1966 Fresno guide. Prices on stuff was so much cheaper back then.

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