Baby’s First Newspaper

One of the first things we did for our newborn daughter was to buy her a newspaper. The act wasn’t prompted by an overzealous interest in our daughter’s education; we were beginning her personal history.

My mother started this tradition when I was born, and over the years the newspapers she saved for me and each of my sisters and brothers have become fascinating keepsakes. By reading them, we have discovered what was happening throughout the world on the day we were born. But even more interesting are the local articles and advertisements, which tell about happenings in our hometown and show the prices and popular fashions of the day.

Start a great tradition for your children or grandchildren by saving their birthday newspapers. It will probably be most interesting to save a hometown newspaper as well as a major metropolitan one so that they will have records of both national and local events.

A birthday newspaper can also be a delightful addition to a book of remembrance for yourself or a loved one. Many newspaper publishers and large libraries have major newspapers on microfilm. You can get photocopies for a minimal charge.—Julia West, West Jordan, Utah