The Chautauquan Daily Circulation Manager Evan Riedesel unpacks stacks of newspapers to be delivered to subscribers’ doors by carrier Josie Dawson Thursday in the Daily’s office.
JULIA WEBER
Assistant Editor
By the time you read this, The Chautauquan Daily’s circulation office will have already been at work for hours.
Evan Riedesel, circulation manager, typically starts his day in the office at about 4:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday. He arrives at the Daily, unlocks the newsroom doors, prints and lays out route sheets for newspaper carriers and checks that the appropriate number of papers have been delivered to the Daily, the Athenaeum Hotel and the Chautauqua Bookstore. After that, depending on the day, he might deliver a route or two’s worth of papers, too.
Josie and Isabelle Dawson wake up at 5 a.m. and make their way to the newsroom, where they pick up their papers to deliver for the morning. Each of the two sisters is responsible for distributing about 150 papers per day, six days per week.
“My alarm goes off at 5 a.m. and I bike down (to the Daily). I just start off by checking my route sheet, getting my bag, counting out my papers and then I start off delivering at the St. Elmo,” Josie said. Afterward, she said, she’s typically greeted by a family of skunks outside of the building before she returns to the newsroom to retrieve the rest of her route’s papers, and she sets forth.
Isabelle delivers to many of the houses on the North End with their father, Director of Technology Innovation Mike Dawson. She said her days start around the same time as Josie’s; sometimes, she’ll wake her father up and then head to the newsroom. Compared to her sister’s route, she said, Isabelle has fewer animal encounters but interacts with more people.
When she started delivering papers, Isabelle was 11 years old and unable to do an entire route by herself. She and her father would split the route, a tradition that has endured Isabelle’s four seasons working for the Daily. At the end of their delivery, they meet in the middle and walk home together.
After she delivers the papers on her route, Isabelle said she will typically “go home, and then I normally nap for a few hours.” She laughed.
The carriers were first recruited by then-Daily editor and current Emily and Richard Smucker Chair for Education Jordan Steves, who emailed Mike Dawson when he was in need of carriers. Put simply, Josie laughed, “We were voluntold.”
Evan started at the paper as a newspaper carrier in 2021, delivering papers along his route each morning. His brother worked as a newspaper carrier starting in 2017, and the Daily needed additional carriers for the summer. Over time, he began delivering more papers on different routes, then joined the staff as the circulation assistant. He worked with Arden Ryan, the previous circulation manager, to learn the process of managing subscriptions and circulation, and he eventually took over the role in mid-2023. Evan begins his work for the season ahead in late winter of each year, monitoring subscriptions to ensure they can be delivered without a hitch.
Josie is in her fifth year distributing papers for the Daily, and Isabelle is in her fourth. When asked what brings the two carriers back each year, they joke, “Well… mostly our dad.” Aside from the nudge from their father, Josie said the people she has met keep her returning each year.
“I’ve met some good people on my route, and now they expect me to deliver their paper, so I’m kind of stuck,” she joked.
In his fourth year as circulation manager, Evan said his priority was making sure his successor understands the groundwork of the role and has the resources they need to succeed. His tenure has been marked by significant progress in overhauling the subscription system the Daily uses to get papers on doorsteps each morning.
In the years since they assumed their roles as carriers, Josie and Isabelle said they have learned to be prepared for anything. Isabelle stressed the importance of emergency supplies such as plastic bags in case of rain, the route sheet, quality shoes and, most importantly, good music. Josie opts for Rihanna — specifically “Don’t Stop the Music” to start off the route — while Isabelle leans toward Laufey and jazz tunes.
Josie and Isabelle shared that it can be tricky to ensure each and every paper is delivered according to any special instructions, particularly in inclement weather. When carriers send out their tip letters, the Dawson sisters said they hope Chautauquans will recognize the level of work and dedication it takes to get papers on doorsteps each morning.
Both sisters stressed that all of the carriers are under 18 years old, with Josie being the oldest of them; the majority, they said, are between about 11 and 13 years old.
“We’re doing a lot of work,” Isabelle said. Josie added, “People need to understand that it’s not just their house that’s getting delivered.”
Evan emphasized that this experience is often formative for the carriers, who may not have had a job before this one.
“The carriers and circulation staff are all young. This is, most of the time, their first job. They’re making 20 cents per paper they deliver; if you see them drop off a tip letter, don’t feel obligated to tip them, but a lot of their income from carrying come from the tips they get. That’s why you’ll sometimes see thank-you notes or have them stop and talk to you when they have a chance, because they care about Chautauqua and that’s why they do this,” he said.
Having graduated from high school earlier this summer, Evan recently departed for the season to make the trek to SUNY Morrisville, where he will begin his college coursework for a Bachelor of Technology in renewable energy. At his home in Mayville, New York, Evan said there are two windmills that his family relies on to generate electricity. Being in proximity to these, he said, is what fostered his interest in renewable energy.
“I really want to go into residential wind,” he said, “because that’s what got me interested in renewable energies.”
Josie and Isabelle will return to high school: Josie entering her senior year, Isabelle entering her sophomore year. Josie, who wants to major in international relations, is in the throes of the college application process. She attended a pre-college program at Tufts University this summer, and she is still evaluating her options for where she might apply in the fall, though she said she is focused on schools in Massachusetts.
“I really just like to be nosy about what she’s learning for college so that I can know it without the (learning) process,” Isabelle said. Josie joked, “I make all the mistakes, and she now knows what not to do.”
For Josie, the friends she has made are the driving force bringing her back each year. For Isabelle, it’s the dogs.
“I have some people on my route I’ve grown really close with; they’re really nice people. I also like to meet their dogs because sometimes they’ll have their dogs on the porch. I love the dogs,” she said.
Evan’s favorite part of his job has been seeing the carriers interact with the community.
“I love getting to go out on-grounds when I can check on the carriers, and then I get to see everyone out and about walking their dog, or sitting on their porch having coffee and getting to stop and say hi to everyone. And knowing that I’m helping deliver one of the biggest parts of Chautauqua that everyone relies on and is happy to see because every part of Chautauqua is important, but the Daily is like the heart that keeps it alive.”
