Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: April 1982 Volume 20 Number 2, Pages 49–50

Theodore Plumley, Newsboy Extraordinaire

Grace Winthrop

Page 49

Having recently experienced the demise of my daily newspaper, The Philadelphia Bulletin, which once claimed the largest circulationin the country, I was reminded of the story of Theodore Plumley.

Science is continually changing our life style. While radio and television have now taken over as the major news media, with their instant, on-the-spot coverage, it was only a few years back that the daily newspaper became the newest thing, having overtaken the local weeklies.

Theodore Plumley (Julius Sasche spelled it "Plumbly") was something of a pioneer in the news trade. He was the first news carrier to deliver the daily newspapers to customers outside the city on the same day that they were printed.

Plumley was a very colorful figure along the Main Line. He was a tall, lanky half-breed Indian, with jet black hair that always hung in a roll at his neck. He usually hung out at "The Paoli" when he was not on his paper route. If he liked you, he was very cordial and obliging, but if for some reason, known only to himself, he did not, he wouldn't even sell you a paper!

He rode the trains in and out of Philadelphia, jumping off and on at various delivery points. According to Sasche, who claimed to have seen him many times, he would jump high into the air, with a bundle of newspapers under his arm, from a train going at full speed, and always land on his feet running.

Page 50

He was an expert runner, and boasted that he could beat any horse running into the city from Paoli.

Sometimes when he missed the Sunday morning train going west, he could be seen trotting along the Lancaster Pike, delivering his newspapers at "The Steamboat", "Ship", and as far west as Downingtown, and then turning around and running back to spend the remainder of the afternoon at "The Paoli".

When he died, this article appeared in the West Chester Daily Local News on October 31, 1878:

"Local Paper Carrier Dies
"Theodore Plumley, who for nearly 25 years has served the Philadelphia Ledger throughout the country along the Pennsylvania Railroad, died yesterday at his residence in Philadelphia at the age of 45. He was noted for his endurance and punctuality."

Drawing by Meg Fruchter