On September 6, 1995, in the former Magic Hat Brewing parking lot in South Burlington, Seven Days founders Pamela Polston and Paula Routly helped Nat Michael load bundles of the first issue into her car. Michael has since delivered the paper nearly every Wednesday for 30 years, sometimes with a dog as copilot. She estimates that she’s only missed two issues.
The contents, size and look of the paper have changed over those three decades, but the independent, punk-rock essence remains. And the pages wouldn’t reach our readers without our dedicated crew of delivery technicians.
In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger visited our Burlington loading dock on a Wednesday morning to see the semitruck deliver 35,000 papers and 15,000 Daysies magazines from Québecor Media in Mirabel, Québec. Eighteen delivery techs filled their vehicles with papers and set off to 1,000 locations across Vermont.
Brothers Pat and Joe Bouffard were there alongside Michael; they’ve also been delivering the paper since the early days. Matt Hagen, a well-known local musician who has been delivering Seven Days for almost 10 years, had arrived as well. Sollberger followed Hagen’s Nissan Rogue on his 100-mile loop, dropping off papers at 52 locations in 11 towns. Their travels took them through construction zones, along the interstate and down country roads.
Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.
This episode of “Stuck in Vermont” was supported by The Vermont Community Foundation.
Why did you feature our Seven Days drivers?
Because they are amazing, and I wanted to see what a day in their lives was like. I arrived at 6:30 a.m. to see the truck with Canadian plates pulling up to our loading dock. Then I followed Hagen around as he made deliveries from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and I didn’t even film at all of his dozens of stops. When I got home, I had to take a nap. These delivery technicians work hard!
What is Hagen’s route like?
He started off by delivering papers to both City Market locations in Burlington — it took one carload to fill the racks at both stores. After refilling his car, we headed to Simon’s Mobil in the small town of St. George — which I promptly checked off my 251 Club list. From there, I followed Hagen along country roads as he made endless stops. I was impressed by the diversity of locations that distribute our paper: country stores, a bank, libraries, gas stations, inns, businesses, taverns, restaurants, senior housing and a drug store. Everyone was happy to see us, and it felt satisfying to see so few papers left over from last week.
What was your takeaway at the end of the day?
Seven Days is a weekly miracle. I’m not sure if readers comprehend all that goes into every issue. I’ve seen firsthand all the complex steps that it takes to write, edit, design, sell, print and deliver it to 1,000 locations. How has this been happening every week for 30 years?!
Seven Videos About Seven Days
Over the years, Eva Sollberger has covered many sides of Seven Days, from our founders’ origin stories to the printing press in Canada.
1. ‘The Paper the Ps Built’ (2015): To celebrate Seven Days’ 20th anniversary, Sollberger sat down with cofounders Pamela Polston and Paula Routly to find out how two performing artists created a multimillion-dollar media company.
![The Paper the Ps Built [SIV400]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/episode400.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
2. ‘Following Seven Days‘ Paper Trail to Québec’ (2023): For our Québec Issue, Sollberger visited Québecor Media, where we have printed the paper since 2018, to watch 35,000 papers fly off the press.
3. ‘Peter Freyne’ (2008): What made Seven Days‘ original columnist Vermont’s most renowned political journalist? Shortly after Freyne retired from “Inside Track,” he and others, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, looked back at his legacy.
Related
![Peter Freyne [SIV91]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/episode91.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
4. ‘The New Fab Format of Seven Days‘ (2009): Creative director Don Eggert introduced the new magazine-style look of the paper, which launched on October 7, 2009. No longer folded, the new format offered color on all pages.
5. ‘A Decade of Daysies’ (2012): Ten years into Seven Days‘ readers’ choice awards, Sollberger filmed the Daysies party at Burlington’s ECHO aquarium. Local luminaries in attendance included the House of LeMay, Tom Messner and dug Nap.
6. ‘Photographer Matthew Thorsen Gets the Last Word’ (2018): Seven Days‘ quirky staff photographer, who died of cancer a few months after this video was made, opened up about life, art and dying.
7. ‘Happy Birthday, Seven Days‘ (2007): For the paper’s 12th anniversary, partygoers gathered at our Burlington office to kick off the South End Art Hop with snacks, booze and original T-shirt designs.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Papers to the People | Meet the drivers who crisscross Vermont to deliver Seven Days.”
This article appears in 30th Birthday Issue.
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