by Robert Lowell Goller, Town and Village Historian
Halloween pranksters in World War II had larger worries, and this was reflected in instructions and warnings leading up to Halloween 1945: “Soaping windshields isn’t fun this year. Your government needs soaps and greases for the war.
“Carting away property isn’t fun this year. You may be taking something intended for scrap or something that can’t be replaced because of war shortages.”
As part of our Anniversary celebrations, we brought in a “ghosthunter” to sweep the headquarters of this newspaper to see if some of the tales we’ve heard over the years about bumps in the night from staff had any weight. The results were intriguing, and surprisingly informative about a little understood industry.
by Robert Lowell Goller, Town and Village Historian
Thanks to modern digital newspaper archives, we now finally have the answer to question: Who was Vera Wood, and what happened to our iconic newspaper girl?
Advertiser publisher Grant Hamilton will present the collection to Goller at the Advertiser’s 710 Main St. office, where the Advertiser has had operations for about 130 of its 150-year history of continuous publishing. The public is welcome at the brief ceremony.
On the eve of our 150th Anniversary issue, we share a spotlight on publisher Grant Hamilton, life-long East Auroran, class of 1965, who has guided our paper through 2,128 issues and has consistently embraced technology to innovate and improve. Constantly thinking about “merging technology,” Hamilton still remains a print fan, and still finds satisfaction in seeing someone pick up and engage with the written press.
by Robert Lowell Goller, Town and Village Historian
Former Advertiser editor and Aurora town and East Aurora village historian Rob Goller reflects on how invaluable of a resource a local newspaper like ours is for historical record both for present-day researchers and future generations.
Right now, a beer is fermenting at 42 North Brewing Company to highlight the 150th anniversary of the East Aurora Advertiser. The company began the brew, a kolsch style beer, on Friday, May 6, with a plan to release it in cans and kegs in early June. It will be called “Front Page Kolsch” and will be sold both at […]
As part of our continuing celebration of the East Aurora Advertiser’s 150th anniversary of its founding in 1872, we are shining the spotlight on important players in the paper’s history. This feature includes Vice President and General Manager Sandy Cunningham.
As part of our continuing celebration of the East Aurora Advertiser’s 150th anniversary, this week we’re speaking with John P. Spooner, grandson of publisher John Raymond Spooner, who left Larkin Soap in 1914 to buy the paper. Three generations of the Spooner family were involved in 67 of the paper’s 150 years. During his career, John was an Advertiser pressman and typesetter, advertising salesman, photographer and film developer, reporter and general factotum.