While most of our work is now digital, we still have physical copies of every edition going back decades. Here are the 2000s editions of the Daily News.
The archives at the Daily News office go back over 100 years. These editions of the Breckenridge Telegram are from the 1910s. Some even older editions of various newspapers are kept at local libraries. Many of these older archives ares too brittle to allow the public to flip through, but people can ask for our assistance and we can try to locate what you need. Public libraries are also a good resource for digitized versions of old newspapers.
The News From The Past highlights in the News Monitor are currently pulled from three papers. First is the News Monitor itself, pulling from issues up to 25 years old. Second is the Lidgerwood Monitor, which we use stories from up to 85 years ago. Finally the Hankinson News, where we pull stories from up to 100 years ago.
Issues from the 1950s and before use very few images, save for in ads and cartoons. When images are used they are often taken by someone outside the paper for a national event and submitted to papers across the country.
The 1970s brought with them more imagery for stories. Most of these are headshots or static images of buildings. The use of more creative imagery and stronger headlines helps draw the eye across the page and attract attention at the newsstand.
While most of our work is now digital, we still have physical copies of every edition going back decades. Here are the 2000s editions of the Daily News.
The archives at the Daily News office go back over 100 years. These editions of the Breckenridge Telegram are from the 1910s. Some even older editions of various newspapers are kept at local libraries. Many of these older archives ares too brittle to allow the public to flip through, but people can ask for our assistance and we can try to locate what you need. Public libraries are also a good resource for digitized versions of old newspapers.
The News From The Past highlights in the News Monitor are currently pulled from three papers. First is the News Monitor itself, pulling from issues up to 25 years old. Second is the Lidgerwood Monitor, which we use stories from up to 85 years ago. Finally the Hankinson News, where we pull stories from up to 100 years ago.
Issues from the 1950s and before use very few images, save for in ads and cartoons. When images are used they are often taken by someone outside the paper for a national event and submitted to papers across the country.
The 1970s brought with them more imagery for stories. Most of these are headshots or static images of buildings. The use of more creative imagery and stronger headlines helps draw the eye across the page and attract attention at the newsstand.
If you have ever taken a look at the second page of the News Monitor, you may have noticed a big gray box called “News From The Past.” This little feature of the News Monitor has been a part of the paper for years and acts as a chance to look back on old stories and learn about the history of the area.
News From the Past is broken down into three sections. Each section is dedicated to a different paper from the area, The Richland County News Monitor, The Hankinson News and the Lidgerwood Monitor. Each of these sections has three stories from different times in the paper’s history.
Putting together News From The Past can be a fun activity. Old papers are filled with political cartoons about long gone presidents, interesting ads and some big stories.
The most interesting stories come from the 100-year-old edition. Between the near monthly bank robberies and passages about how someone’s daughter –who is never referred to by name – moved to Minneapolis and got married, finding interesting stories from 1923 is the best part of the process.
With the new year, I went into the archives and pulled down a new set of books to be picked through for articles. I took some time to research what was happening in the world in the years we were pulling from. Being able to find local stories about worldwide events is really interesting. Last year, in the Lidgerwood Monitor from 85 years ago, I found an article about the Hindenburg disaster that took place in 1937.
My favorite story I have found for the News From The Past came from the Feb. 16, 1922 issue of the Hankinson News.
“A minister of the gospel was the devil that terrified jazz devotees of a Hutchinson, Minn., dance which was duly reported in a local newspaper, according to an Alton, Minn. newspaper.” The newspaper says: “The mystery of the Devil, who broke up a questionable dance in the vicinity of Hutchinson, Minn., by appearing in the middle of the dance floor with fire streaming from eyes, mouth and tail, has been solved, according to a story told by Miss Louise Miller, who returned last week from a visit with relatives in that part of Minnesota.
“His Satanic Majesty did not stop with one appearance, according to Miss Miller’s report, but appeared at several barn dances, each time frightening away the dancers until finally a reward of $5,000 was offered among those who frequented these dances to anyone who would shoot the Evil on on his next appearance. A fourteen-year-old boy took the dare. The Devil, shot through the abdomen, proved to be human and was rushed to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, according to the report.
“His satanic costume was a very wonderful affair, equipped with electric batteries to give the effect of fire. He came down the rope through the cupola, spreading terror as he came. The man who conceived the idea to put an end to the dance of evil and who so nearly proved a martyr to the cause was said to be a minister of that vicinity.”
The paper picked up the story from Hutchinson, Minn., but the popularity of the story had spread to Richland County before the paper got to it. Were something like this to happen today, it would be a very exciting story to cover.
For some reference regarding the reward offered for shooting the Devil, converting $5,000 in 1922 money to today’s money, is $80,579. On one hand, that is a lot of money, on the other hand in order to claim that money you have to try and shoot the Devil, which makes it feel like it maybe isn’t that much money.
Finding this story was the week’s highlight. Unfortunately, the Feb. 23 issue of the Hankinson News was the lowlight of the next week. As I went to find the next big story for News From the Past, I instead found an apology. The story was faked. The town of Hutchinson made up the story to draw more eyes to the area.
That is the issue with a lot of old stories. In 1922 it was difficult to find out what was really happening. Much of the reporting in those was from town gossip. Over the years, newspapers started to become more concrete and factual in their reporting. Around WWII, newspapers started making sure sources were correct; the 1920s and 1930s editions rarely use quotes or cite sources at all. The 1950s editions became more focused as fewer stories about someone having lunch at someone else’s house were published.
The 1970s started adopting a more modern, standardized writing style as AP Style was becoming more widespread and writers were able to be more clear and communicative.
The 1990s and 2000s editions are also a lot of fun to read. I enjoy seeing the names of people I talk to for current stories, because they won a big game in high school or they took a trip to China years ago.
Being able to learn about the Red River Valley’s past through the stories told in the paper helps in understanding what folks thought was important. It gives not just an account of what was going on 100 years ago, but how people felt about it.
Next time you see a copy of the News Monitor, check out page two, you’ll see News From The Past and you’ll find some interesting stories.
