Wanted: Historic headlines, famous front pages
Our newspaper is archived on microfilm. Tiny images of every single page, and those of our predecessors, are cataloged and preserved on reels of plastic film.
We have file cabinets full, with reels dating back to 1851, each one a record of our past, and not just for Salem and Oregon, but for the nation and world.
I can spend hours in front of our microfilm reader, which projects the tiny images on a backlit screen, fast forwarding and rewinding in search of a headline or a story.
With each discovery is a twinge of disappointment. I imagine how much more exciting it would be to experience the feel and the smell of newsprint, even in a yellowed and crumbling state.
We are on a quest to find historic headlines and famous front pages for something special we plan to publish in March. It's embarrassing to admit that we don't have a complete collection, but forgivable because of the space and care it would take to preserve them. Newsprint has an approximate shelf life of 50 years.
We do have a few of the iconic ones, such as the Nov. 22, 1963 Capital Journal with this front-page headline: “KENNEDY SHOT TO DEATH BY SNIPER IN DALLAS” and the Aug. 8, 1974 Capital Journal with this: “Nixon to quit.” One of my favorites is the July 20, 1969 Oregon Statesman with “MOON AHOY!” printed in blue.
We also have some old papers with headlines that hit closer to home, such as after the 1962 Columbus Day storm, the 1964 flood and the 1967 state fairgrounds fire.
While we are tapping into our connections with local museums, libraries and historical societies, we recognize the power and resourcefulness of our readers. Some of you may have papers tucked away in a trunk, a box or a drawer that chronicle important dates in history.
Maybe you have the April 26, 1935 front page of the Capital Journal after the State Capitol was destroyed by fire or the Dec. 8, 1941 cover after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Perhaps you have the June 6, 1977 front page of the Oregon Statesman after the Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA championship or the May 19, 1980 cover after Mount St. Helens erupted.
Maybe you have the Nov. 15, 1985 front page of the Statesman Journal after it was ruled Rajneeshpuram was not a legal city, or the Nov. 7, 1990 cover after Barbara Roberts was voted Oregon’s first woman governor.
We would love it if these newspapers were in pristine, fresh off the press condition, but we welcome the brown and the brittle.
We ask that you let us borrow them briefly, so we can scan them, and return them. The quality will be so much better if we can capture images of the real thing rather than from microfilm. In exchange, we will give you credit in the special publication for providing us these snapshots in time, pairing them with your photograph and a summary as to why you preserved the paper.
With your help, we hope to publish something that will be treasured for years to come.
“Forward This” appears Wednesdays and Sundays and highlights the people, places and organizations of the Mid-Willamette Valley. Contact Capi Lynn at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6710, or follow her the rest of the week on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.