Facebook Revealed In 1931 Newspaper

Mayor Steve Terrell and his wife Sally spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Allen Americans hockey game this past week. Mayor Terrell would agree that this is not worthy of newspaper dispatch, especially since they can be found at most Allen hockey games. 

Eighty years ago the mayor's social calendar would have made good reading for subscribers to the Daily Courier-Gazette. The McKinney newspaper devoted pages to social news around the county and once a week Allen was highlighted. 

The Daily Courier-Gazette of January 1931 included these breaking news items. "Miss Jean Boone is a guest of her aunt Mrs. Van Hill of Dallas. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Green of Plano were Allen visitors on Thursday and Mrs. Sullie Holland and Miss Leslie Ozle have returned from a visit to relatives in Justin. Mr. and Mrs. A.R. Ereckson of Texarkana were guests of J.W. Bridges and family last Wednesday." At a time when Allen was too small to support a newspaper, the column was about the only source of local news. Beyond listing the travels of local residents, the column also included important club and church news such as this: "The regular meeting of the T.E.D. class was held Tuesday at the home of J.A. Clarke. A huge crowd was present. Also, an unusally good meeting of the PTA was held Thursday afternoon. The succeeding meetings will be held in the primary room of the school building." The personals as they were called could be mailed to the newspaper or those with access to a modern telephone could call the office by dialing 65. 

 While they seem silly at first reading, the personals offer us a glimpse of how small of a town Allen was in 1931. This was the only way to keep others informed of church and farm and social happenings. How else would we know that Mr. and Mrs. Luther Bolin spent Sunday with Plano relatives or that Mr. Kent Perry and his family have returned from Colorado. There was important news mixed in with the society postings. "Masters Henry Nelson Bush and John Milton Whisenant were guests of Master Edwin Lee Ereckson of Lovejoy Tuesday and Mrs. M.F. Sims and Mr. T.C. Rose were taken to the Baptist sanitarium in Dallas for treatment." The personals also served as the obituary column. The most interesting one explains that "funeral services were held for Robert C. Armstrong at the Methodist Church on Thursday. Bob Armstrong leaves a heartbroken wife, two sisters and two brothers....The following friends served as pall bearers: M Whisenant, W.R. Taylor, E.L. Leach, Bailey Whisenant, and W.G. Cundiff." 

 Last week I used my phone to "check in" on Facebook. I posted that I was outside the Super Bowl watching my daughter Susan and the Allen HS Tallenettes perform. (No we didn't get tickets). I posted it because I was proud that my daughter was out there and wanted people to know. That is all the McKinney Courier-Gazette personals were - an early version of Facebook. Why else would the community need to know that Miss Doyce Beene is attending North Texas State teachers College in Denton or that Mr. Otis Weaver and his family have moved to the Weaver homeplace southeast of town. If you have the time, stop by the main McKinney library where newspapers dating as far back as the 1870's are available on microfiche. Until then, pass it along that "Mr. J.B. Cate lost a valuable milk cow Sunday and is seeking a suitable replacement."