Over the years Santa has made his rounds by zeppelin, bi-plane, hot-air balloon, and even by automobile, as depicted on the vintage postcards shared in these last recent entries, courtesy of collector, Harlan Radford, Jr.
Tonight, Santa reverts to his favorite mode of conveyance, and he has a special present for all Rivertonians, wherever they now call home, for Riverton memories never really leave those who have to move away.
Now, I know it’s Christmas Eve, but you don’t have to wait until Christmas Day to open just this one present.
This is a big 83.5MB download, so you might want to fix a cup of tea while you wait.
Reading this scarce 1909 Christmas Issue of the New Era, Riverton’s hometown newspaper from the late 1800s through about 1975, is like opening a window to a bygone age.
Including descriptions of almost every social, civic, economic, religious, and educational institution in Riverton, Cinnaminson, and Palmyra and liberally illustrated, it gives us a glimpse into these river towns of our forebears. (We actually posted this before, in two installments in 2011, but the file available here is for the entire 48 page issue.)
The really huge present will come closer to New Year’s Eve when we post dozens and dozens of recently digitalized vintage issues of The New Era, the Riverton Journal, The Palmyra Weekly News, and The Palmyra Record. More details to follow.
A new tab on the homepage will direct visitors to a new page with the above masthead which shows the four newspaper titles for which PDF files will be available for viewing and downloading.
The Society elves are working on publishing an issue of the Gaslight News shortly after the New Year which will include details about the upcoming presentation at the New Leaf by Alisa DuPuy as she channels Queen Victoria on January 24 and a form for paying dues.
We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a New Year filled with prosperity, joy and happiness. – Santa’s Helper, John McCormick
