 |  | |
 |
|  |
 |  | |
| | |
|
| |
| | |
|
|
Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
But the readers' interest extended beyond politics. The new century
saw the inception of a large number of country weeklies, which generally
held with the Camden Mail "that exclusive devotion to any one party does
not afford the widest field of usefulness for a newspaper." Some of New
Jersey's prominent weeklies date back to this demand for a respite from
politics: the Sussex Register (1813) of Newton, the Monmouth Inquirer
(1820) of Freehold, the New Jersey Herald (1829) of Newton, and the
Salem Sunbeam (1844). These papers were trail-breakers for suburban
types that have remained characteristic of the State.
These old sheets did not know the meaning of "local color." Neither
the city editor nor the society reporter had appeared. Though churches
existed in abundance, there are no records left of their harvest dances or
clam bakes. The, advertisements alone permit a few glimpses into the late
stagecoach and early railroad days. Exceptions were items like the following, which were widely reprinted: "A sturgeon, seven feet long, leaped
through the cabin window of a sloop moored at Bridgeton while the
crew was asleep, and did considerable damage to the cabin."
The story of a "panther hunt" near Blackwoodstown in 1819 found
equal credulity among the rural readers. One editor explained that "the
panther is of the feline species, a sort of first cousin to the tiger, and
ranges the depth of the remotest American forests."
Payment in kind was a common occurrence: Editor Barber of Woodbury announced in a front page notice that his woodpile was running low
and that a few loads from his debtors would be acceptable. The editor of
the Columbian Herald once informed his subscribers that he was willing
to take "cats and grain" for the $2 yearly subscription price. The value
of cats can only be surmised.
|
|
|
Return To |
|
|
