These Are the People in Your Neighbourhood

These are the People in Your Neighbourhood

What happened to home delivery?

If you were around in the Sixties you probably still remember "The Milkman" beyond colourful references in comedy sketches. Otherwise it might only be from movies, comedies, or "Saturday Night Live Sketches". If you were around in the Sixties you might even remember "The Bread Man"!

I remember these and vaguely remember the "Fuller Brush Man". I also remember when you would see delivery vans proudly boasting the colours of each of the major department stores travelling into your neighbourhood. Some of them were delivering goods from the catalogue sales, but others were delivering furniture and other things too bulky to take home in the car, taxi, or by bus.

You don't see nearly so many folk on your street or down your lane. I am well past the day of coal delivery, though I know there are parts of the country which still get bulk heating oil delivered.

Of course now -- and of course speaking from experience I am speaking from growing up in Calgary Alberta and now Metro Vancouver -- a person might feel lucky if they have mail delivery from a mailman -- I mean mail person to the door.

I am not sure if it is changing demographics where more often there is nobody home or more often the person home has access to a car -- either a second car if the person working during the day drives on their commute or their primary car if they commute in other ways to work. (Or whatever other combination that still is more likely to leave the person at home now with access to a car when in the past they would be without.)

The Cable Guy still occasionally calls, as does the Phone Guy; and the Gas Man and the Electric Man still come to read meters occasionally. We still do have paper deliveries though some households are opting for electronic news papers. There are also the charities that pick up old clothes and the like.

I guess there are still rare furniture deliveries, though I am thinking more and more people have to find a friend with a van or truck to help hauling the goods.

I am too young to remember when there might be others coming door-to-door to deliver their wares like meat deliveries. I guess we still have deliveries though most are fast food.

I do wonder if children will be curious about the "Milk Chute" by the back door and wonder why there is a special small door with a cabinet in the outside wall. Perhaps it will be like when I wondered at the coal chutes leading into cellars of older homes when I was a child?

Later!
~ Darrell

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