Newspaper carrier makes Guinness history

NAMPA - If it's the fastest, tallest, smallest or largest, you'll find it in the Guinness Book of World Records. And now a long-time Idaho Press-Tribune carrier holds the title for the longest-running newspaper route - in the world.

A job that started in June 1958 culminated this week with recognition from the famous reference book of extreme achievements.

Darlyne Markus, 80, of Nampa received a certificate recently officially naming her "the longest-serving paper girl." She applied for a chance at the title a little over a year ago. The former record holder was a newspaper carrier from Canada who delivered papers for 44 years.

For 51 years and through all sorts of weather, Markus has tossed countless Idaho Free Press and Idaho Press-Tribune newspapers onto driveways and front porches on her 42-mile route along Airport Road, Garrity Boulevard and Robinson Boulevard and East Victory Road.

Markus was 29 when she first got the job. The paper was smaller and a month's subscription only cost $1.25. Gas cost a quarter a gallon. There was a lot less traffic and Markus knew every customer on her route - which was during the day in the early years - by name.

"The route is really good and bad," said the mother of three grown children who all grew up on the route.

The good?

"I need to do something to keep lively. It keeps you healthy."

The bad?

"You get tired of getting up at night," said Markus, who credits vitamins, exercise, good health and good genes for giving her the energy to keep up with the job. She has no plans to quit.

When Markus first started, she got two days off a week from her daytime route. Nowadays, it's a seven-day-a-week commitment during the middle of the night.

"I haven't really gotten tired of it much at all," she said, although "lately it would be nice to sleep through the night, as I get older."

Come blizzards or car trouble - she got stuck in snow once and a couple of Good Samaritans simply lifted and carried her Volkswagen Beetle back onto the road - she keeps on delivering.

Markus has been through nine cars since she started the route and if her vehicle breaks down, she rents one instead of handing her route over to somebody else.

"I've never missed a day," she said, "and when I have a problem I don't expect the bosses to come out and fix it."

A day in the life of dedicated newspaper carrier Darlyne Markus begins with getting out of bed around 12:30 or 1 a.m., then driving to the Idaho Press-Tribune loading area, where carriers pick up their papers.

For the next three hours, she delivers papers to her customers - many have become her friends over the past five decades. Her husband, Bruce, often accompanies her. Then it's back to bed around 4 or 5 a.m. until she wakes up again around 10 or 11 a.m.

"Then I get groceries, pay bills, whatever," she said. "Fix a meal and go to bed, usually around 7:30 p.m."

Information from: Idaho Press-Tribune, http://www.idahopress.com