My mother submitted this (edited):
It was 1943 and World War II was raging, but I was looking forward to my high school prom at the beautiful Hotel Middlecoff. Especially joyous was the fact that my hometown boyfriend of one year could escort me there.
He was in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in Chicago at the time. Soon to be drafted, he had enlisted in the Coast Guard and could come home on a weekend pass. I was so proud to have the only escort at my prom in military uniform.
I wore my light blue rayon gown interspersed with white velvet circles. No matter I had worn that same gown as a junior the year before, I accessorized it with a gardenia corsage from my boyfriend.
National gas rationing was declared, and I lived 8 miles in the country, but my friends' parents lent him their car for the 16-mile round trip, twice.
The dining room of the hotel was awesome; the dinner and program were great. It was a most happy evening for a country girl like me.
My friend and I were married after the war in 1946. We have been married for 63 years.
There were five other submissions that were published featuring memories from 1940 (2), 1957,1969, and 1972. Those stories also reinforced my opinion that there really is no one under 50 who still reads a printed newspaper.
Where is the regional paper getting revenue now that readers and advertisers are jumping ship to other media? The newspaper has now become an event planner. Over the past year they have organized and sponsored health fairs, women's expositions, Greener Living Expo, wedding expositions, garage sales, Tweet-ups and more. Business participants are sold booth space and ad space in the newspaper's printed promotions.
Recently I've given several educational seminars about how businesses can/should adapt to the new economy, and I always use print media as an example of how quickly a business model needs to change if that organization wants to survive in today's fast-paced business environment. Apparently our local media has seen the light.
4 comments:
Go Grandma! :-)
That's sweet!
I think the newspaper thing is interesting. Over here nearly all nationals are suffering declining sales and a lot of regionals are either giving up completely or goiung weekly as opposed to daily (like the Birmingham Post in my present city). In London the Standard has made a big success of going free (and all rivals folding). By way of contrast, Murdoch wants to charge for the online editions of his newspapers. This strikes me as a hopeless project. Once the cat of free access is out of the bag, I don't see that anyone - except for specialist stuff, it apparently works for the Wall Street Journal - will want to pay.
white: You're on the mark about paying for news. I keep wondering if a newspaper becomes an event planner, is it still a newspaper and does it not diminish their credibility as a news source?
I fear that many of the remaining newspapers have developed political alliances... much like network and TV cable channels have... so most of what they report, be it right-wing or left-wing... leaves a great deal to be desired... I just wish that someone would report the news and let me spin it myself... :oD
~shoes~
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