New Collections Coming Soon!

While we wait for the new Kentuckiana Digital Library to display Kentucky's historic newspapers, we continue digitizing new collections behind the scenes. Coming soon will be 50,000+ pages of Civil War era Kentucky newspapers. One of the most beautiful mastheads belongs to the Louisville Industrial and Commercial Gazette. We'll have content ranging from 1865 through 1872. Get ready!

Remembering 9/11

Our friends at the Rural Blog have provided a resource for 9/11 Remembrances that includes newspapers from KY, some of which were scanned from UK collections then assembled at the KY Press Association's site.

More news about Digital Newspapers

More and more people are discovering the joy - and convenience - of digitized newspapers. Take, for example, professor and author Stephen Mihm's New York Times article The Biographer’s New Best Friend. Mihm's outlines biographer James McGrath Morris' search for all things Joseph Pulitzer and how, through the technology of digital newspapers, previously hidden and all-too-hard-to-find information is suddenly available and changing how stories might be told.

A shout out to our NDNP peeps at the University of California-Riverside for this great article!

Day of Digital Archives

It's an exciting time to be involved with digital archives, digital curation, digital stewardship, digital preservation, digital collection development, well....digital everything! To bring the issues surrounding digital work, the folks at (I'm assuming) the University of Virginia have called for a Day of Digital Archives on October 6, 2011.

"The Day of Digital Archives is an initiative to raise awareness of digital archives among both users and managers. On this day, archivists, digital humanists, programmers, or anyone else creating, using, or managing digital archives are asked to devote some of their social media output (i.e. tweets, blog posts, youtube videos, etc.) to describing their work with digital archives. By collectively documenting what we do, we will be answering questions like: What are digital archives? Who uses them? How are they created and managed? Why are they important? This year's Day of Digital Archives will be held on October 6th and entries will be gathered at the Day of Digital Archives blog http://dayofdigitalarchives.blogspot.com."

KY-NDNP will do what we can to participate here, on facebook, and on twitter (look for #digitalArchivesDay for all tweets related to The Day).

KY-NDNP4

That's right, kids, The University of Kentucky Libraries has been awarded a rare NEH fourth grant for the National Digital Newspaper Program.

Meanwhile, the program welcomes three new awardee states: Indiana, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Welcome one and all - meet you at the finish line!

Chronicling America gets a facelift!

Chronicling America, home base for most of our KY-NDNP content, has recently undergone a beautiful transformation.

Let our awardee partners at the Ohio Historical Society walk you through it with their fantastic post about the new interface. Go, now!

Google drops its Newspaper Digitization

In an article from Search Engine Land on May 20, 2011, Google announced that it is suspending its newspaper digitization efforts. What do you think?

With traditional newspapers struggling to stay afloat, this video posted courtesy PALEO FUTURE is fascinating from a historical standpoint, to say the least. Equally fascinating is what will ultimately become of paper print in the future. What do you think tomorrow's news will it come from and how will we access it?

newspaper preservation

[Participant and presenter, Vicky McCargar, used the above corrupted photo as an example of corrupted data during the Newspaper Archive Summit at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, Columbia ¦ LOS ANGELES TIMES FILE PHOTO]

Events of last week drove home just how tenuous newspaper preservation in the digital age really is.

There was the Newspaper Archive Summit in Columbia, Missouri. The talks centered on digital content and orphaned titles, how to preserve them, the costs, the risks, and most importantly, what's at stake if we don't. As documented in this piece from the Missourian by conference attendant, Tom Warhover, preserving digital content is a constant battle with sometimes tragic results.

Then, came the UK Libraries' Digital Library Services' presentation to the Kentucky Press Association Board of Directors. UK unveiled their latest tool for contemporary newspapers preservation called Paper Vault (Beta). Paper Vault allows for seamless upload of whole issues of print-ready PDFs. The files are then prepped for UK Libraries Trusted Digital Repository and for online access. Publishers from the larger conglomerate newspapers quickly dismissed the repository, citing contractual agreements with vendors who offer the goods behind a pay-wall. However, the smaller newspapers were equally enthusiastic about the opportunity.

Enlightening bookends to a digital week.

Making the Transition

So many newspapers are folding under the weight of digital media that it's hard to stay positive some days, that is if you're in the business of newspapers or preserving the first record of history, such is the case with KY-NDNP. But here comes a glimmer of hope from our friends at The Rural Blog who reports on the success of Connecticut's Register Citizen and California's Appeal-Democrat.

For more inspiration, try 10 Newspapers that Do It Right from Editor & Publisher.

Kudos to everyone working hard to keep our history alive.

This day in History

From our favorite historian, Mary Koegel, comes this exquisite niblet:

Today in KY newspaper history, in 1837, it's the birthday of everybody's favorite (alleged) atheist, Charles Chilton Moore, editor & founder of Bluegrass Blade. Ironically, he was the grandson of Barton W. Stone (co-founder of Disciples of Christ, Christian Church, & Church of Christ).

Read more about Charles Chilton Moore at the Kentuckiana Digital Library, or if you'd like something longer, John Sparks recently released Kentucky's Most Hated Man chronicling Moore's exploits.

R.I.P. David Dick

(Photo by: Ron Garrison)

Kentuckian and journalist extraordinaire, David Dick, died July 16, 2010 at his home in Bourbon County, KY. he was 80. Though he was born in Cincinnati, Dick's mother moved the family to her native Kentucky home when David was only 18 months old. the rest, as they say, is history.

David Dick was a writer and journalist best known for his long-running writing and reporting with CBS News as well as his many bestselling books such as Rivers of Kentucky (2001).

Funeral services were July 19 in Paris, Kentucky.

Dick's oldest son, Sam, has followed in his father's footsteps as anchor of the local Lexington CBS affiliate WKYT, 27 Newsfirst.

A fitting tribute about David Dick can be found with our friends at The Rural Blog

Remembering Mother

The long-standing tradition of Mother's Day goes longer back than perhaps many of us realize - riding a somewhat difficult road before it was established as a national holiday in the US (among other countries) by President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914.

Back in the Civil War, and during Reconstruction, Julia Ward Howe led an anti-war movement focusing on honoring mothers, even composing a "Mother's Day Proclamation" in 1872. However, the contemporary holiday is founded in a movement by West Virginia's Anna Jarvis, who continued her mother's efforts.

The first successful efforts came in 1908, through national promotion. After 4 years of success, Jarvis declared a stable "date" of the "second Sunday in May" for Mother's Day (Note: the punctuation is VERY important - possessive of the singular!). She initially intended the holiday to be commercial. But, ultimately, resented its overcommercialization - even being thrown in jail, 1948, for protesting the very day she founded!

White flowers are worn, or given, to honor mothers. Most notably carnations.
Apparently, according to these articles from the Bourbon News & Mountain Advocate, it doesn't REALLY matter; the flowers can be snowdrops, as long as they are white. (Personally, I remember giving my mother marigolds potted in detergent covers, when I was in elementary school. But what do I know?)

Of course, it didn't take long to call out for a day honoring the family patriarch!

(Sidebar: A movement had already begun in Washington at the time of this publication - Hartford Herald, 22 May 1912. However, Father's Day also saw trials & tribulations - including failed presidential recommendations & suggested "dates," before President Nixon proclaimed it a national holiday in 1972.)

Controlling the Dog Population - April Fools?

Today, humane societies and shelters help control stray dog populations in American towns and cities. But, in 1904, when the World's Fair came to St. Louis, so did Filipino headhunter tribes who simply LOVED dog meat! When they came down with pneumonia (traced to the missing dietary supplement of dog) and threatened to strike, St. Louis authorities offered them all the stray dogs they could ever want. The Filipino tribesmen could also use the hides in their costume, as they "refused to dress in American conventional style." ("For Breakfast at World's Fair Colony---Igorrotes Want Dog Meat." Hartford Republican 8 April 1904, p. 3)

It MUST be true, right? After all, two Kentucky newspapers - the Breathitt County News and Hartford Republican - and surely many others, printed the story! Of course, this generous offer DID begin on April Fools Day, as cited by both articles.


Can we chalk it up to cultural differences, or was it all an elaborate April Fools prank on the readers? What do you think?

RIP "Duke of Paducah"

Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb was born in 1876 Paducah. At sixteen, he took his first newspaper job as an apprentice reporter with the Paducah Evening News to help support the family, and he never looked back!

As his career progressed, Cobb became well-known as an editor, reporter, columnist, and humorist in papers all over the state and nation. He hob-nobbed with the best of them through the years: politicians, actors and actresses, writers, and so on. But he never forgot his home state and seemingly retained a sense of morality. Early on (1900), he married Laura Spencer Baker - a marriage that lasted a lifetime.

Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 17 April 1900, p 5
Cobb was a larger-than-life figure. One of his early columns, as paraphrased here in the 1900 Earlington Bee, humorously commented on "Fads of Kentucky Statesmen." It included observations on Goebel, who would be assassinated only weeks later! Cobb went on to report in Europe in World War I. He saw the potential in film, and sold several scripts to Hollywood, not to mention appearing in a few or hosting the 1935 Academy Awards! But that was only the beginning.

Politics was not far from Cobb's thoughts. He vehemently wrote about and fought for what he believed in, including African-American rights and composing anti-Prohibition press releases.

In the first half of the twentieth century, Cobb was easily one of the most recognizable (and quotable!) American celebrities directly connected to Kentucky. He died on March 10, 1944, and now rests in Paducah, quite appropriately under a tombstone reading "Back Home."

Signs of the Times - Part 1

It probably goes without saying that most, if not all of us are familiar with the basic layout of a contemporary newspaper. We know what to expect on any given day from any given section or page. The same could be said 100 years ago, even though many publications were significantly shorter (perhaps only the front and back of a single sheet of paper!).

What was included differed somewhat from today's publications a little too. Local papers had local news - but it might be a bit more intimate, especially in rural areas, where everyone knew everybody's business! Ads were not necessarily as vivid, and bylines (the author's name) may or may not exist on every article.

A seemingly popular trend were unattributed columns and snippets throughout publications that delivered news and commentary in a quick shot - one or two sentences. They might include anything from:

health and weather, to current events.















Or the economy and politics


























These are common threads still followed today, though thrown together in tidbits on pages 3 and 4 of the February 17, 1910 edition of the Clay City Times. In their own ways, they reflect patterns from 100 years ago. Can you tell how and why? What makes these "reports" different from reports you might see in a modern-day newspaper?

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Today we celebrate the birth of one of Kentucky's best-known native sons, President Abraham Lincoln! Though he is sometimes more closely accredited to Illinois, he was born in 1809, near Hodgenville. The Lincolns didn't even leave the state until little "Honest Abe" was 7 years old!


He went on from the humble log cabin to achieve great things, as we all well know, but remembered his birth state connections through friendships and political contacts with such Kentuckians as Joshua Speed - a close confidante and contact during the Civil War. Soon after which, of course, he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

There are as many dark stories as there are bright ones regarding Lincoln's life and activities. But today, as his bicentennial birth celebration comes to a close, we merely memorialize and celebrate the man and his life, as did the Earlington Bee, in 1897, and the Winchester News, in 1909, for the centennial of his birth.

Goebel!

William Goebel - Kentucky governor for but a few days, all of which spent, quite literally, on his deathbed, died today, in 1900, of an assassin's bullet. But who was the killer? This remains one of the unsolved mystery's in the Commonwealth's past.

Goebel was born to German immigrants in 1856 Pennsylvania. The family moved to Covington after his father returned from the Civil War. William went on to law school and an on-again, off-again practice with eventual US Senator John Carlisle. But he also had quite the hand in political wheelings & dealings at the end of the 19th century, including through the state Senate.

When Kentuckians were in an uproar about toll roads & turnpikes, Goebel successfully campaigned to remove tolls. He was a delegate in the 1890-91 Constitutional Convention. He advocated to further civil rights for women and African-Americans. Possibly one of his most notable measures is the Goebel election law, which gave power to a 3-member Board of Election Commissioners to appoint county election commissioners, as opposed to the previous system, which he felt had been unjust.

But Goebel was no angel! Many were opposed to his methods, and believed he sought only to raise his own political power. Goebel even broke Kentucky Constitutional law when he fought an 1895 duel against John Sanford (Goebel won, killing Sanford, but was acquitted of charges). His gubernatorial election was also tainted with scandal. Although he won, accusations flew regarding corruption & stuffing of ballot boxes. The General Assembly ultimately decided Goebel had fairly won on January 30 - the same day he was shot.

As Goebel walked to the Capitol in Frankfort, an assassin shot him with a rifle (accounts claim it was likely from a window next door). He lay dying for nearly 5 days, until he passed on February 3rd. Before that, however, the GA had him sworn in as KY Governor on January 31, 1900. Sixteen men were accused of conspiracy in his murder; 5 went to trial; 3 were convicted; all maintained their innocence throughout!

To this day, no solid answer has been offered as to "Who killed Goebel?" He remains the only state governor killed while in office, even though he was technically shot before even being sworn in, and remained "Governor" on his death bed, for only a few short days.

Semi-Weekly Interior Journal. 6 February 1900. p 1.

Only the Shadow Knows...

A long-standing tradition, today marks Groundhog Day! People rush to Gobbler's Knob, in Pennsylvania, to learn from Punxsutawney Phil whether or not winter will sustain another 6 weeks. He and his shadow have been forecasting the weather for Americans since 1887, in secret, and then publicly since 1966. But there's much more to this tradition than many of us realize or even consider!

With debatable origins, this yearly celebration traces its roots further back than the last 125 years or so to the European Candlemas Day (also celebrated today). A poem regarding the holiday reads "If Candlemas be fair and bright,/May Winter have another flight." Hence, the shadow knows all!

Speaking of lights, Phil is not the only forecaster! Canada has their very own famous groundhog - Wiarton Willie! Similarly, there are other groundhogs around the US that share Phil's spotlight, at least to some extent - and other animals too! Texas has Bee Cave Bob, an armadillo, to forecast their spring every February 2nd, or "Armadillo Day." Just last year, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, declared Feb. 2 "Marmot Day;" but there were no forecasting duties assigned.

Over the years, even Kentucky has shared in Groundhog Day festivities, as you can see in these 1910 Paducah Evening Sun articles. Though not official, Captain Mason Smith adopted a groundhog, dug a burrow for him the previous October (for hibernation, of course), and brought him out to predict the weather. It paid off - the unnamed adoptee's shadow predicted Spring! And then there's the Dickson, TN club who ran around all day searching out groundhog burrows and digging them up just to offer a weather report that evening! So which method is better?

Oh, and as for this year's prediction? Nothing from Bee Cave Bob or Wiarton Billie as of yet, but Punxsutawney Phil is calling for 6 more weeks of winter. And the shadow always knows... (or at least he does 39% of the time, according to the National Climatic Data Center)

Something to Chew On

Many quintessential American foods & treats have their roots, or at least some links to the state of Kentucky, whether its well-known, acknowledged, or not. This includes chewing gum, believe it or not!

Pharmacist John Colgan, born in Louisville, in 1840, went through the public school system there, and to college in Somerset, OH. He returned to Louisville and opened a drug store at the corner of 1oth & Walnut Streets. While Colgan didn't INVENT chewing gum (in fact, some form has arguably been around since Greek civilization, if not longer), he had a strong hand in developing its popularity.

Legend has it he saw children peeling the bark off trees & chewing on it, so he ordered the main ingredient for chewing gum (again, this product already existed in the US), which is from a South American tree, and improved upon the existing product by sweetening it with powdered sugar. This resulted in a sticky substance he called "Colgan's Taffy Tolu Chewing Gum." Fortunately, the ingredients & manufacturing process remained "pure" enough that they were not affected by the 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act.


He sold his drugstore, went into business with James A. McAfee, & advertised all over - including a presentation by his son, William, of Colgan's Taffy Tolu at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Check out these other advertising campaigns:












His version of the gum became SO successful, it was sold internationally in Canada & Australia! Thomas Adams (a huge NY manufacturer & distributer of chewing gum at the time) even took inspiration from Colgan's development when he created Tutti-Frutti, the first gum sold in vending machines!

John Colgan died today (February 1) in 1916. He is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery, in Louisville. But his legacy lives on in the modern treat many of us still love to chew on today, first made sweet by Colgan's addition of powdered sugar!