Apparently, it was common practice in the 30s for the local paper to publish the day-to-day doings of the townsfolk. Many of these little blurbs could easily fit into any of today's Twitter accounts or Facebook statuses. "Claud Coppinger spent the weekend with the home-folks," for example, or "Mrs. Len Cochrane spent Tuesday shopping in Selma."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
2 comments:
Adam,
You are correct; there's a goldmine of true history in the old newspapers. Samford has a wonderful microfilm collection of c.1850s upward, published in various AL counties. Want to know the TRUE reasons for the War for Southern Independence? The editorials will give you a very clear picture (from the Southern viewpoint, of course). If you value historical correctness over political correctness and want to know how people really thought and lived, you're in for some surprises -- even shocks -- at the old newspapers, especially those published in the 1800s. It's too bad that every Al History class doesn't require reading one year's worth of pre-1900 newspapers.
For genealogy research, they're a must. How else would you know your gr, gr, gr, grandfather broke his leg when his wagon overturned?
Good post, Adam.
Funny how we think we are moving forward only to find out we're still the same. Technology changes, but people not so much. Cool post.
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