Newspaper Clippings ~ L

This post is part of a series for the April Blogging from A to Z Blogging Challenge. My theme is Newspaper Clippings in relation to my family history. These have come from both microfilmed and digitized newspapers I've searched over the past 25 years. Click to enlarge any clipping.

Letters

A pretty standard feature in newspapers are the Letters to the Editor.  I found a couple of letters in digitized newspapers that my relatives sent in that were printed. Not the complaint type of Letter to the Editor, but both of them just saying hello to their former homes. 

Wayne County [KY] Outlook,
July 7, 1955

Grand Island, Nebr
June 24, 1955
Mr. Simpson
Editor of The Wayne County Outlook
Dear Mr. Simpson:
Could you spare a little space in your paper for a word or two from a friends or subscriber of your paper? My wife and I always look forward to the time our postman brings your Wayne County Outlook. Each week we see so many items from friends we knew when we lived in Kentucky. I was born and raised in Wayne County near Parnell. I left there October 7, 1909 for Kansas. We lived there until 1923 and then we moved to Nebraska and have lived in Grand Island, Nebr. since 1944. My wife was the former Miss Laura Bell. We were married in 1902 and will soon celebrate our 53rd wedding anniversary health permitting.
We had the pleasure of having Mrs. Mary L. Gholson, from Monticello, Ky visit us on June 20th. She is here in Nebr. visiting her aunt Mrs. Cicero Bell, of Aurora, Nebr. It had been 30 years since we had seen each other so it was a real treat visiting with her once again.
Grand Island, Nebr is a town of about 30,000 located in the beautiful Platte-River Valley. It is a fine farming territory, most all the farms here have irrigation wells. We raise most all kinds of crops.
I and the Mrs. were back in good old Ky in 1949. Just 40 years from the time we left there. We saw many great changes and would like to come back now and see the big lake.
We enjoyed our Kentucky visitor very much and also enjoy your weekly visits by way of your paper. Hope you can spare a wee space for my "hello" to all of our old friends.
Mr. C. A. Alcorn,
822 So. Sycamore,
Grand Island, Nebr.

"From An Old Time Resident

Eldorado, Neb., Feb. 4, 1920

The Leon Reporter - 

Leon [IA] Reporter, 
February 19, 1920

Dear Sir (Who ever you be): Enclosed please find post office order for $2.00 for which send The Reporter to J. F. Negley, Eldorado, Neb. for one year or $2.00 worth anyway. Although I left Decatur county nearly 33 years ago, there are quite a number of old acquaintances, besides my relatives living there and I take this plan to hear from them occasionally. This has been a severe winter and although I have seen lots more snow other winters, the east and west roads have been worse longer than I have seen them for a number of years as there was no frost in the ground when it snowed and now as it melts off it leaves the ground soft. There is lots of flu and pneumonia in the neighborhood. Four deaths from this township in a week. Ben Kaufman was buried today, leaves wife and 5 children. The weather has been foggy and frosty since Sunday and about three inches of sleet and snow has fallen and the indications are still threatening. There are public sales nearly every day and stuff sells high - the hog market is about 14 cents, cattle 6 cents to 12 cents according to conditions; wheat about $2.25; corn $1.25; eggs 45; cream 56; butter 60 cents; sugar getting to be pretty near quits 20 cents per pound and up; flour 48 pound sacks $4.00

J. F. Negley

Eldora, Nebraska

From older newspapers, I've found printed "List of Letters" which show that a letter is waiting at the Post Office for an individual. There isn't anything more than names listed and it may not be very helpful information, but I was trying to find a death place of Mrs Mary R Davee and this helps narrow that down. She died about a year later so possibly still lived in Canton when she died.

Canton [IL] Weekly Register, December 21, 1863

Who writes letters anymore? Email is my preferred form of correspondence and when I receive an email with important genealogy information that I want to keep, I save the email as a pdf file. 

Look for letters from servicemen and women, especially during wartime. They were often printed in the local paper. Let me hear from you about the articles you find about your ancestors that you file under "L". Good luck with your search!