Newspapers

I love to clean. I've been a neat-nik since I was a little girl, when I took great pleasure in keeping my bedroom spotless. I suppose that's an incredibly uncool confession to make. As an adult, scouring baseboards and tackling grime have become great stress relievers. Lately, I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning at home. It's a rite of seasonal passage, ridding the windowsills of months' worth of winter dirt buildup and tossing the bodies of dead stink bugs outside.

As my daughter and I were working in the kitchen earlier this week, that evening's news played in the background. Our dinner preparations were accompanied by commentary on Rep. Anthony Weiner's behavior. We listened as a reporter stated that the White House had called Weiner's behavior "inappropriate" and "a distraction. " I would tend to call it "pompous. " How dare a politician act in such a self-important manner that he would ignore common decency? What kind of a man sends sexually suggestive messages and photos of himself to women?

An index of Hagerstown-area newspapers from the Civil War era is available at www.washcolibrary.org/newsIndex . Eleven counties in the Tri-State area are covered by the Herald of Freedom and Torch Light, Herald and Torch Light, Hagerstown Mail and Maryland Free Press from 1860 to 1865. In addition to articles, the index catalogs obituaries, advertisements, legal notices and marriage announcements. The indexed newspapers are available on microfilm at the Washington County Free Library.

A 26-year project to index local historic newspapers is already helping people across the country with research, including tracking down their family history, said Carol Appenzellar, project manager. The Civil War years, 1860 to 1865, of the Historic Newspaper Indexing Project became searchable online at www.washcolibrary.org/newsindex in August 2006, said Appenzellar, who works for Washington County Free Library. Since a major marketing push for the Web site in December 2006, more than 30 people from as far away as California have requested articles that they found with the index, Appenzellar said.

As I was dusting off my 1980s "Hail to the Redskins" championship videos, sweaters and polo shirts last week, I wondered - How could Joe Gibbs come back after a 12-year layoff and coach professional football? Things haven't changed that much, have they? Professional football players for the most part are as overpaid and self-righteous as they were in 1992, when Gibbs last coached the Washington Redskins. The object of the game remains to outscore the opponent and win the game - and Gibbs did that at a nearly 70 percent clip for a dozen years.

WASHINGTON COUNTY-If it weren't for the Civil War, this newspaper story might be anonymous. The "byline," as newspaper authorship is known, was a legacy of Civil War coverage, historian Brayton Harris said Saturday. Joseph Hooker, a Union general, made reporters "sign" their stories because of concerns about sensitive military information being printed, Harris said. Harris, a retired U.S. Navy captain living in Kansas, spoke at the Antietam National Battlefield visitors' center on Saturday in conjunction with an exhibit on Civil War coverage in Hagerstown newspapers.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Washington Post. I had it all figured out 20 years ago: Work a couple of jobs at smaller papers and find out what they know. I'll make some contacts, work my beats, get some killer clips and I'll be covering the Redskins or Wizards (or Bullets as they were known back then) by the time I'm 29 or 30. A funny thing happened on the way to RFK Stadium. This month marks 20 years since I graduated with a journalism degree from Shippensburg University.

A week of activites for the annual Miss Maryland pageant began Sunday at Prime Outlets Hagerstown. Read the full story in Monday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

Siriki Diabate left his four daughters, parents and three siblings behind in 2005 when he was forced to flee his native Ivory Coast after suffering a terrific beating by thugs who left him for dead. He was working for a local newspaper at the time, writing stories exposing the national government's practice of persecuting the Malinki tribal people in the country's northern region, he said. “I am a Malinki,” said Diabate, who was 32 at the time he was beaten. The men who beat him were unofficial paramilitary goons hired by the government to harass Malinki activists, Diabate said in a recent interview.

Thursday is Valentine's Day. And yes, my thoughts of love are of my family and friends, but I must confess that I also love reading The Herald-Mail newspaper. Every morning, I start my day with a big mug of coffee and The Herald Mail. I even get up on work mornings an hour early just so I have time to enjoy it. Once I get to work, I see the benefits of the Newspapers in Education Program. The Herald-Mail donates newspapers every week to schools in the county, which are great teaching tools for educators.

Two historic Charles Town landmarks - the Old Opera House, a community theater, and the Spirit of Jefferson and Farmer's Advocate, a weekly newspaper - crossed paths recently in a property transfer. The theater company, at 204 and 206 N. George St., bought the newspaper building at 210 N. George St. When renovations are complete in the fall, the theater will have more space for stage productions, plus dance, music and acting education programs. There will be ample room for costume, prop and scenery storage, said Steven Brewer, managing and artistic director.

“I read in the newspaper on Monday, somebody asked where they could drop off used newspapers, who would like to have them, to use for various reasons, and said that they wanted to know where. I wanted to call in and say that (Promise Animal League) will use used newspapers if you drop them off. Go to Funkstown, outside of Funkstown, Route 40, and that's where they're in the back of the Next Dimensions restaurant parking lot.” - Clear Spring “In reference to the Friday, Nov. 23 (column)

It was the start of a new school year in 1897 when friends of Virginia O'Hanlon told her the unthinkable: Santa Claus was a myth. Unwilling to accept such a notion, the 8-year-old wrote a letter to The New York Sun with the simple inquiry: “Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus?” The letter was answered by veteran journalist Francis Pharcellus Church, who brightened the day of all true believers with the simple answer, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” It can be argued that no editorial has had such a lasting impact, despite being written in fewer than 500 words.

Editor's note: Three student reporters for The Northside Eagle News, the school newspaper at Fountaindale Elementary School, attended the first STARS award ceremony of the school year and reported on the event.  The following is compiled from the articles of Joshua Brooks, Dayanna Trujillo and Mae Weisenmiller: On Oct. 16, Fountaindale Elementary School held its first STARS award ceremony of the school year.  The student reporters...

Washington County's economy is showing new strength, with household and business spending on the rise for nearly a year, according to a study byTheHerald-Mail. But whether the momentum will continue amid rising economic uncertainties across the globe is a big question, a regional economist said last week. “One might look at the (local spending) data and conclude we have turned the corner. That doesn't mean we might not do another U-turn” back into the recession, said Anirban Basu, chairman and chief executive officer of Sage Policy Group Inc., a Baltimore economic and policy consulting firm.

Back during the Nixon presidency, my grandparents had some technological advances that we didn't. One was a color TV. That's not to say that our black-and-white model didn't have some interesting features that theirs didn't. For example, ours had a knob called the “vertical hold.” When the vertical hold got out of whack, the picture would spin like a slot machine, and had to be adjusted with the vertical hold knob, which was on the back of the set. So, unless you were half giraffe, it took two people to synchronize the picture - one to turn the knob and the other to call out when the picture had stabilized.

There's something about the National Pike Festival that always makes me feel connected to my roots a little more. My family has lived in the Clear Spring area for generations, and when visiting my late grandmother - neé Faith - I relished hearing the stories of her youth. I grew up on a road off U.S. 40, east of Clear Spring and closer to Wilson's Store. It was the same road on which my paternal grandparents had settled and raised their brood of seven. It was the same road my dad was born on and where my parents raised me and my three siblings.

Youths and adults upset about Chambersburg's head basketball coach being ousted from his job last week have formed a new team - Team Shreffler. On Thursday, they donned blue and green shirts proclaiming “#TeamShreff” during a rally to generate support for Shawn Shreffler. The Chambersburg Area School Board chose to not reinstate Shreffler for the 2012-13 season, in part because of alleged use of profanity around students. Supporters are turning to social media, shirts, yard signs and possibly newspaper advertisements in a quest to have the school board reverse its decision.