Why I Love Community Newspapers!
By Julia Traylor Dyar
I’d really rather make that -
“Why I Love Newspapers!”
After all, every newspaper
has its own community of
readers - urban or rural folks,
or both.
A real newspaper is one
that contains local/state/na
tional/world news, editorials
or opinion columns, feature
stories, photographs and ad
vertisements. If it has a cross
word puzzle and “the fun
nies” it is that much better.
In my opinion newspapers
are necessary to the preserva
tion of recorded history and
our quality of life. How can
we know where we are go
ing unless we know where
we have been? How can we
appreciate where we are now
until we know how far we
have come and who helped
along the way?
When you need to know
something about a town or
city read its old newspapers
to see what its citizens were
reading at different times in
history. This is the best tem
perature chart you can find.
For World War II days you
will find the latest news from
the war front and on the edito
rial pages you will find opin
ion reflecting love of country,
pride in our armed forces,
hope and suggestions for a
better future and gratitude for
our blessings. The newspaper
will contain births, deaths,
marriages, school/church/
social and sports coverage,
all of which give the reader
a mental picture of the “com
munity” and its people. And
that’s what matters!
Newspapers educate us on
local, state and national is
sues that greatly affect our
lives. Newspapers make us
better citizens, better neigh
bors, better shoppers.
Newspapers have been
an important part of my life
since 1941.1 was 16 years old
and a cheerleader at Greens
boro (Ga.) High School when
the late Alva Haywood was
Sports Editor for the Greens
boro Herald Journal. Alva
gave me my first by-line for
reporting on away basketball
games for the paper. That
same year I was one of three
senior class members to visit
the school principal’s office
to get permission to start a
school newspaper. We did,
and I was hooked.
My next writing experience
came while I was a student
at LaGrange College from
1942 to ’46 and wrote for the
school’s literary publication,
The Scroll. I also sold ads
to help pay for its publica
tion. I really swallowed the
line in 1948 when I married
Hubert Dyar, then editor of
The Royston Record, and
became its associate editor
and a weekly columnist. At
that time I was also a stringer
for The Atlanta Constitution
and in the mid-1950s wrote
a Sunday column on Geor
gia folks in The Anderson
(S.C.) Independent. During
those years I was most grate
ful for a patient and loving
husband who had learned
enough at the Grady School
under Dean John Drewry to
teach me what I needed to
know to become a life-long
newspaper-woman. I didn’t
know then, that I would lose
him at 47 and have to be a
career woman the rest of my
long life.
But I’m getting ahead of
myself, because the best
years we had together came
when we moved to Atlanta in
1958 when he became execu
tive secretary of the Georgia
Literature Commission and I
got a job at the Georgia Press
Association. No longer was
I just working for one news
paper, but for all the newspa
pers in Georgia and I loved
every minute of it. Once
more, I had a great boss in
the late Harvey Walters, who
taught me so much as his as
sistant, preparing me for the
promotion to executive man
agership of the GPA some
years later, a position I held
until 1978, when I returned
to my roots in LaGrange,
Ga., as public relations di
rector of my alma mater, La
Grange College. Hubert had
died in 1973, the year after
I became manager of GPA,
and I was beginning to feel
the need to be with family
again in LaGrange. My leav
ing Atlanta and GPA was a
tough decision, but my con
tact with newspapers contin
ued as I wrote stories about
the college every day for the
LaGrange daily and for the
hometown newspapers of our
students at LC.
When I retired from the
college in 1993 I was bored
to tears and asked my good
friend, the late Glen Long at
the LaGrange Daily News,
for a job as proofreader or
“just anything.” He wanted
a columnist, so we settled on
my writing a weekly histori
cal column based on news
papers 100, 75, 50 and 25
years ago by month. I’m still
writing “Memoried Glances”
in July, 2013, and will begin
my 20th year in December.
The History Press of Charles
ton, S.C. published my book
based on my columns that
covered the years from 1894
to 1980 in 2011. It is entitled,
“Remembering LaGrange”
and is in paper back form.
At my age I’m not planning
to write another book, but I
am hoping that heaven will
have a newspaper job open
when I get there. I pray that
I can either be a stringer or a
proofreader.
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Birthdays for the month of August
August 1st
Savannah Klinger, Dana Callo
way, Rita Kendrick, Cheryl Rad
ford Whitaker, Joe Ware, Steve
Home, Tina Ashford, Tanya Lar
son, John Grant, Kerry Moye
August 2nd
Joseph Hortman, John Grant,
Tina Ashford, Tonya Larson
John Hopper
August 3rd
Diana Hicks, Mary F. Walker,
Angela Walton, Jennifer French
Tabor, Leighton Cooley
August 4th
Meagan Joyner, Joy Lacey,
Wanda H. Castleberry, David
Hortman, Amber Sellers, Denise
Sutton, Bobby Lewis Webb
Toby Rowland, Sara Maddox
Valerie Heaven, Jennifer Ander
son, Terrie Purser
August 5th
Jay Darsey, Marvin Webb
Richie Thompson, Brenda Ar
rington, Charlotte Touchton
Nikki Greer
August 6th
Chery I. Grace, Aaron Ruther
ford, Jr., Tyrese Robinson
Kase Hill, Catherine Sauls
Nicholas Tyler Johnson
Sarah Miller, Penny Ayers
Ken Joyner
August 7th
Linda Reynolds Rozier, Beverly
C. Morgan, Kathy Rissmann
Fabricio Correa
August 8th
Austin Sellers, Tony Soumas
Tony Soymas, Vance Shepard
August 9th
Debra Parkman Elliott, David
Shepard, Kathy Belew, Tammie
Murchison, Larry Pearce , Mi
chael Crabb, Joni Dees
August 10th
Edwin Hortman, Robin Drew,
Barbara Donalson, Tyler Lauren
August 11th
Brandon Blasingame, Nicole
Bond, Cheryl Lowery, Claudette
Atcheson , Rafael Vega, Marga
ret Gilreath
August 12th
Roy Shepard, Sherry Cotton,
Cherry Preston, Geraldine
Webb, Thomas Calloway III
Jeremy Beach, Trenesia Stubbs
Mary Hill Cummings, Stephanie
Sharpe, Brandi Yeoman
Wally Scarborough
August 13th
Dusty Elliott, Kristie Touchton
Peggy Knight, Lakeria Davis
Dustin Elliot, Rick Claeys
Rex McIntyre
August 14th
Eric Baggarley, Ruth Smith
Brandon Butterworth
August 15th
Gary Sumlin, Anna Johnson
Robin Simmons, Henry Ogle-
tree
August 16th
April Hall, Charles Hollis, Karen
Thames, Michelle Fulcher, Mi
chael Chumbley, Amber Collier
August 17th
Brandon Myers, Mindy Powell
Tunisia Stallings
August 18th
Sharon Howard, Lori Jackson
West, Marilyn J. Cupp
August 19th
Antonio Howard, Flora Mae Ivey
Eddie Davis, Deborah Wain-
wright, AJ Phillips, Jennifer
Jones, Christina Hammock
August 20th
Audrey Jones, Jacqueline
WMAZ, Jenni Bailey, Jennifer
Mirabile, Justin Williams, Nan
cy Waters, Thomas Hudgins,
Christie Patterson
August 21st
Susie Mae Shirley, Brenton
Walker, Minnie Eversole
August 22nd
Sherry B. Raines, Jerry Bras
well, Carols D. Raines, Caleb
Harris, Shelia Ferrell, Garry
Hammontree, Crystal Young
blood, Kevin White , Paige Coo
per , Steve Montgomery
August 23rd
J. Derrell Grace, Amanda N.
Eastabrooks, LaTrina Avant,
Kevin Floyd, Linda Cook, Stacy
Webb, Dough Martin , Cindy
Griffin
August 24th
Rebekah Bowden, Kevin Huff
man, Michael Gosnell, Jay Allen
Amberleigh Rowland, Charles
Frost, Amber Rowland, Lisa
Brady, Julie McCook, Darlene
Chestnut, Fontella Hayes
August 25th
Erica A. Peacock, Michaela
Dowdy, Annette Crawford
Keith Joyner, Kenny Cameron,
Vivian Grace Strickland
August 26th
Margie Bowden, Nicholas Dylan
Presley, Amanda Ashley, Sonja
Walton, Lottie Cameron, Cheryl
Kennington, Susan Rayson
August 27th
Mandy Johnson, Emily Castro-
villari, Bent Chancellor , Chad
Griffis, Christy Ragan, Lana
Turner, Kelly Ann Douglas, Lac
ey Ivey, Lee Posey
August 28th
Grace Greer, Ja’Keria Danyell
Howard Smith, Rev. Ricky L.
Tidwell, Trey Giles, Ascha Dani
elle, Wayne McCollum, James
Gill, Trey Giles, Juanita Towson
August 29th
Brianna Mathis, Brad Tidwell
Sheila Louise Barnett, Loretta
Pickett, Alaina Harrison
Jeremy Paul Noe, Shauna
Bramlett, Christine Wealot, Re-
genia Brabham, Keith Scott
Vangie Corlee, Shanteria Smith
Jennifer Rawlings, Bobby
Goodman
August 30th
Alexia Robinson , Carolene Sol-
oman, Octavius Hart
Christoria Lockett, Patti Chan
dler, Valerie Schofield, April
Minchew, Ethan Whitehead
Deanna Fincher, Gayle Nettles
Michael Daley
August 31st
Payton Ware, Gay Wilson,
Stafford Linsenbach, Daniel
Schlafer, Brendon Simmons ,
Brenda Goodwin
Keep up with your local
news, sports and
community events.
Call
836-3195 today
for rates!
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