Old News New Again

My cousin, Laurie is doing some research on part of our family. She's uncovered a ton of information that I knew nothing about. It's all good stuff. Yesterday she sent along this scan of an old newspaper and reading it brought amazement.

The scan is of the Sheboygan Press Society Page from Oct. 10, 1929. If you're old enough, you might remember the society pages from the newspaper. For the big cities it was a rundown of what all the big shots in town were doing, the places where you just HAD to be seen, and so on. For small towns it was sort of like a collection of gossip and chit chat about what folks in town have been up to. What struck me is how, in some ways, it's kind of like Facebook or Twitter or a combination of some of today's social networking tools. Except instead of some reporter doing the writing, we're doing it ourselves. From the mundane to the exceptional. It's all there.

Then I spotted the article that's highlighted. It's a write-up of a social gathering at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiden. There was a baseball game, some card playing, and a bratwurst roast to celebrate the couple's 51st anniversary. Then there was a list of all who attended. It includes my grandparents and their sons, and their one daughter. My mom, Dorothy. She had turned six just a month before. Amazing! It's like looking back in time.

My mom is still with us and doing well, all things considered. Haven't had the chance to ask her about this yet. Hopefully she remembers and can fill us in on all the gossip from the big event. At least tell me who all those people were since many were relatives.

I love this stuff. Time travel stories have always been my favorite so things like this are like little trips back along the stream. Can you imagine what my grandkids and their kids will be able to find in the years to come? Boggles the mind.