Jobs That No Longer Exist Today- #9

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Continuing my series on interesting/strange occupations gone due to societal and technological changes. TELEGRAPH BOY If you enjoy riding a bike and wearing a uniform this would be a great job for a teenager. In the United Kingdom, they were employed by the General Post Office; in the United States, they worked for Western Union. In the U.S. these boys aged 10-18 carried telegrams through urban streets. Telegraph boys worked outdoors under no supervision on piece wages and saw no union benefits. Boys reported for work in the morning clad in their uniforms and awaited their assignments, receiving payment by the mile. In the UK, the job training was similiar to being in the military. The boys had to behave in a manner appropriate to one who wore the uniform of the Queen, and were required to complete a daily drill. From 1915 to 1921, morning exercise was added to these requirements. By 1930 telegram messages in the United States declined rapidly due to the telephone. In the United Kingdom the use of telegrams had dropped significantly by the 1960s and 1970s until the service was abolished in 1977. The job of a telegraph boy could be dangerous as President Woodrow Wilson can attest. In the autumn of 1913, bicycling telegraph boy Robert Crawford of Washington, D.C. collided with a car carrying President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson went and visited the boy in the hospital during his recovery and gave him a new bicycle. A happy ending except for a broken bone or two. Hope you found this bit of history interesting and informative. So, does a job as a telegraph boy sound appealing to you? Working outdoors, getting physical exercise, and an impressive uniform, what's not to like? If you were a teenager back then could you see yourself in this occupation? Source: msn-lovemoney.com Additional information- Wikipedia Photo: americaslibrary.gov