by John Straka
Correspondent
Recently, I found my newspaper in the driveway and a few hours later I saw a UPS truck across the street while the nice lady who delivers my mail brought me another bill to pay.
That's about it for today as far as home delivery is concerned, which is not the way it was 75 years ago.
As a young man, I remember when home delivery went on all day long. It began early in the morning when the milkman and his horse-drawn wagon brought glass quart bottles of milk along with butter, cream and cheese to our milk chute or front porch.
The morning newspaper and the Shopping News were delivered to the door and not thrown onto the lawn or driveway.
Shopping News was twice a week regular and as many as five extra deliveries a week. The morning newspaper was followed by two afternoon papers -- the Cleveland News and Cleveland Press -- and in some areas, two Bohemian language papers -- the American and the Svet.
During the day, the mail was delivered sometimes twice and parcel post was a separate delivery that even brought live baby chicks.
Each morning the horse-drawn bakery wagon brought fresh bread and a variety of other baked treats.
I think that man had one of the more difficult jobs because people would be swayed by the combination of morning hunger and the aroma of fresh bakery.
THUS, THEY would buy without thinking that at the end of the week, they would have to pay for what they enjoyed eating all week.
Some would give the man a hard time about quantities and prices.
All day long the major department stores had their trucks delivering packages.
A woman could get an early bus to town, shop, have lunch at a downtown cafeteria, take in a movie matinee and get home in time to make supper and find her purchases on her front porch.
Dry cleaners would pick up and deliver dry cleaning. Some people used wet wash laundry service that washed laundry and delivered it damp -- just right for line drying or ironing. There was also a diaper cleaning home delivery service.
Telegrams were delivered by a Western Union boy in uniform on a bicycle.
In the fall before cold weather began, coal delivery was a big business. Our Theodore Street home in Maple Heights had a coal bin that held about seven tons of coal that had to be shoveled off the truck into the basement bin.
In the hot weather, the ice man made regular house calls, putting 25 or 50 pounds of ice directly into your ice box. An ice truck would attract youngsters looking to get a sliver of ice to lick to cool off.
For much of the year, hucksters came up and down the street selling fresh produce. Farmers came with truck loads of sweet corn, strawberries, peaches or whatever they had harvested.
FARMERS also came door to door taking orders for a winter supply of potatoes. Most households ordered several bushels that were delivered right into your basement fruit cellar.
The waffle truck was sure to attract eager customers who enjoyed warm, fresh-baked waffles dusted with powdered sugar. Yummy!
On Fridays, the distinctive sound of a party-type horn called housewives out to buy fresh-caught blue pike. I don't know if they sold other kinds of fish, but I do remember how good the blue pike tasted.
The paper-rags man always created an interesting diversion when he bought a 50-pound bundle of old newspapers for something like 8 cents or so.
He might be followed by a man who sharpened knives or one who repaired umbrellas or an organ grinder with a monkey that tipped its hat when someone gave it a coin.
Doctors made house calls. The pastor of St. Wenceslas Church made visits to the homes of parish members to discuss church and school matters, Mass attendance and financial contributions.
Wakes were conducted at home and when someone died that brought people in addition to all the other home delivery people.
Very few home delivery services have survived. Not even the popular ice cream truck.
I can think of only the mail, newspapers, meter readers, UPS and Fed X. The only home delivery service that is new in the past 50 years is the pizza business and maybe the florist.