Newspapers often give different historical view

Keeping the past alive

Look up the date Aug. 15, 1945 in any search engine and one will find a wealth of information about the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.

Look up that week in the Green River Star, and a person will see a side of the conflict that doesn’t appear on Google, Yahoo! or Bing. A big, bold, headline reading “Green River rejoices war ending” spans the top of the page originally published Friday, Aug. 17, 1945. Below that headline are stories about the community’s role in the war, how the city’s residents celebrated the war’s end 12 minutes after a radio broadcast spread news of Japan’s surrender and an honor roll of Green River residents who died in the war.

Brie Blasi, curator of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, said newspapers often tell a side of a story not often captured in other primary information sources. She said she often uses newspapers in her research to see the social impact and response to a topic.

“They’re invaluable in historical research,” she said. “That’s where you get the social side of the story.”

A lot of research Blasi has conducted involves criminal cases and often time some information about public reactions to trials and crimes is only available in newspaper articles detailing the crimes. Sometimes, newspapers offer the only record of events as well, due to original records such as death certificates and trail testimony being destroyed in floods or other natural disasters.

However, this problem is true for many newspaper archives as well.

A significant part of Green River Star editions from the early 1900s is missing and presumed lost. An unsigned note dated May 31,1951 placed in the newspaper’s 1951 archive book asks where the newspaper’s old files are. It recounts a claim that the old files were stored in a garage, but discredits that claim.

“These files belong to Green River Star Pub. Co. Inc. and should be located and preserved,” the note reads. “They are definitely not in garages.”

Blasi said newspapers often give a window into the social progress and economy of the towns they served.

For example, Blasi said sections dedicated to news for non-white audiences showed significant social strides in local communities that isn’t present in other portions of America, saying it’s possible to learn a lot about the social context of an entire region while researching through newspapers.

In 2015, Blasi said newspapers still serve as a viable part of some communities. Specifically talking about Green River, she said she notices a lot of information doesn’t take hold with the community until it’s published in the newspaper, including advertisements for events.

“Advertising in the newspaper has been the most successful way we advertise,” Blasi said. “That’s not as true with other places I’ve been.”

 

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