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Friday, July 17, 2015
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Know your local 2015 AVID READER: Reg Whinray catches up on the latest local news.
PHOTO: Luke Plummer
Part of the community FOR the past 42 years, there has scarcely been a time when Reg Whinray has not been surrounded by newspapers, magazines and books. Like so many others of his generation, Reg began his working life at the tender age of 12, as a keen and hard working paperboy for Edgar’s Newsagency. Up before dawn six days a week, all year round, he rode the streets on his trusty bike, delivering papers to the homes of the newsagency’s customers. He so impressed his bosses that he began working full time at Edgar’s Newsagency (now Edgars Books and News) at the age of 16,
and he has never looked back. “Things have changed a lot since then,” Mr Whinray said, adding that while newsagents used to have a monopoly on selling items like newspapers, magazines, and greeting cards, this is no longer the case. During his time as a newsagent, he has seen many changes come and go, one of the biggest of which has been the phasing out of paperboys earlier this century. This was because of the introduction of government legislation making it illegal for minors to work before daylight hours. “The paperboy was like an
institution, often it was the only way a young kid could earn a dollar,” he said. “It was great for kids.” He said ironically, some of the adults who now make paper deliveries – using cars – are expaperboys themselves. Himself, wife Christine, and Mark and Jude Rosenow took over the business from Murray and Nola Edgar in 2000, and Mr Whinray said that although much about working in a newsagency has changed, the one constant is the customers who make buying the paper a part of their daily routine. “It’s the customers who make the job fun, particularly the early
morning customers,” he said. “You get to know a lot of people around Wangaratta.” He said changing fortunes in the newsagency industry has seen the business add books, giftware and other items into their range, including the recent addition of the ABC Shop range. Away from work, Mr Whinray is of course an avid reader himself, and over the years he has spent much time working with the Wangaratta community – from serving others through Apex, to spending many years working as a scout leader.
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