United Helpers Gives the Gift of History to County Historian

 By Benny Fairchild

Newspapers with headlines from World War II, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy were recently uncovered by staff at United Helpers while researching organizational history. 

After looking through the papers to determine there was no specific reference to United Helpers contained in the papers, it was decided to gift the papers to the St. Lawrence County Historian Nancy LaFaver for preservation and potential display. 

Joe Finnegan, Alyvia Ronning and Nancy LaFaver

One paper printed in the days following the bombing at Pearl Harbor contained a brief article about Mary Lawrence, a woman from Lisbon, who was working at hospital in Hawaii at that time. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, she would join the military and enjoy a decorated career, Mrs. LaFaver, who also serves as the Lisbon Town Historian said.

In addition to the sensational headlines as it relates to World War II, the papers also offered a unique glimpse into the past. For example, their classified ads offered three classifications of job ads. "Jobs for Men," "Jobs for Women," and "Jobs for Either Men or Women."

Prices contained in the grocery ads were obviously significantly cheaper, however the prices for televisions were not. 

One electronics store, Leonard's TV in Waddington was offering $150 in trade-in value for those looking to purchase a "1968 Westinghouse Color TV," if they traded in their old color tv. If you were trading in a black and white TV, you could have received up to $40. As for how much televisions cost? The ad boasts "Color Starting at $399.95" with "Used Sets Starting at $39.95." 

The papers also contained political cartoons, one of which showed Adolf Hitler wrestling with a Russian Bear.

"We felt like these documents were far more relevant to the history of the region than they were the history of United Helpers," said United Helpers Society Board President Joseph Finnegan. "We wanted to give them to an agency where they could be preserved and appreciated for many more years to come."

Read  more in this week's issue of The Journal.