On My Day of Birth

While going through a number of things handed down to me by my parents recently, I came across the first page of The Baltimore Morning Sun dated August 13, 1950. (My date of birth.) I had to smile at the fact my parents went to the trouble of preserving this paper so that I might have a sense of what was going on in the world on this particular Sunday when I entered the world. I was born and raised in Baltimore, so it made sense my parents would turn to the biggest newspaper in their town. Of course, looking back, I say in all modesty and without equivocation that the most important thing that happened that day was my birth. But looking at the headlines on this day, it would seem those in the news business did not share my opinion.

One interesting piece of news that did make the front page was the fact town officials of Denton, Texas, voted to set aside August 15 as Old Maids Day. Apparently, as a result of heavy lobbying by Miss Dorothy Babb, a local educator, this decision was made to recognize unmarried ladies who have spent years of their lives buying wedding gifts for friends but had received nothing in return. Near the end of the story it was reported that one of Miss Babb's students, in recognition of her efforts and status as an "old maid," bought her a watermelon. I wonder if Denton still celebrates Old Maids Day?

Much of the front page news that day was dominated by the growing conflict in Korean. In fact, of the eleven stories on the Sun's front page, nine were related to the Korean conflict. In one item, General Douglas MacArthur called for President Truman and the U.S. government to censor all news coming out of Korea. In another, the American military's lack of readiness in this part of the world was highlighted. Joining the Denton, Texas, piece as the only non-Korean related story was one pertaining to efforts by Republican Congressional leaders to obtain passage of an economic controls bill.

Back then our country and the world had much on its plate to contemplate and grapple with. That, of course, is not any different than how it is today. But sprinkled in with those serious matters were items of whimsy to give people something to smile about as they read of dispute, conflict and violence. That, too, is how much of life is today as well. For communicators, it is important to provide the public with accurate information, even if it is grim and "not fun." At the same time, as is appropriate, it helps to make warmth and humor as much apart of the package as possible to help make the harder stuff more palatable.