Since being introduced to the newspapers.com website a few months ago, I've saved dozens of articles from old newspapers from towns and cities all over Pennsylvania. It's astounding how much local Carpatho-Rusyn community news can be found there.
I always knew an essential source for my history writing would be the Rusyn immigrant press (in all its ethnonational and political incarnations), but now having easy access to the secular local press of decades past has revealed an entirely new wealth of source material.
Among the topics are histories of social clubs, activities of political organizations I didn't even know existed, and even the surprising participation of certain community leaders I thought were committed to one particular national orientation but who, it turns out, were also active in organizations of opposing national orientation. Some of the coverage is useful just because the subject is not written about anywhere else, and some of the coverage reveals the profoundly "human side" of our experience in America—the good, the odd, the unfortunate, and the very bad.
Here are some of the gems I've come across that will help me not just to more accurately write about events in the Carpatho-Rusyn community that had received little coverage elsewhere, but to do so with insight into how our communities were viewed by those who in many cases were on the outside looking in.
Much of the text here will appear small, so click on a clip to view it at a larger size.
 |
| 1915 |
 |
| 1916 |
 |
| 1927 |
 |
| 1934 |
 |
| 1909 |
1910; 1931
 |
| 1895 |
 |
| 1940 |
 |
| 1914 |
 |
| 1922 |
Kulpmont, 1937; Monongahela, 1950
Shamokin, 1935
 |
| Brady (Ranshaw), near Shamokin, 1937 |
Shamokin, 1955 and 1959
 |
| 1931 |
 |
| 1934 |
I'm sure I will be continuing to collect items like this over the coming months, but as always, if you want to alert me to old news articles or any other materials you think would be useful, please get in touch.
Original material is © by the author, Richard D. Custer; all rights reserved.
Since being introduced to the newspapers.com website a few months ago, I've saved dozens of articles from old newspapers from towns and cities all over Pennsylvania. It's astounding how much local Carpatho-Rusyn community news can be found there.
I really enjoyed reading these articles Rich and look forward to seeing more in the future! I also found it interesting that our people from different orientations came together back in the 1930's and '40's, showing that we truly are one people.
ReplyDelete