IT’S TODAY: We don’t want to claim any record but Round the
Square is 60 years old today — and may be the longest-running daily
front-page column of any newspaper in the country. Well, that’s the
legend any way.
Today and Monday, we wanted to share a bit of RTS to mark this
special birthday. Our thanks to Clayt Vecellio for saving them and
passing along to us.
Joe Cleary, longtime executive at The Era, is the man who
started this column and wrote it for many years until his illness
and death about ten years ago. We’ll tell you more about him on
Monday.
Here’s a sampling of that first column Dec. 19, 1949:
“BRADFORD BOUND: A restaurant operator in Saratoga Springs,
N.Y., Robert L. Quinn, is proving himself to be an honest and
enterprising man. Mr. Quinn found a Zippo lighter in his place with
the inscription, ‘Second place winner in all-age open, Bradford,
Pa.’ Mr. Quinn promptly wrote a note to the local Board of Commerce
office seeking the identify of the owner. Ray Still contacted Ken
Lorch who now is checking prize winners in recent canine
competitions. Soon, the lighter should be back with its owner.”
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Chief of Police Ed Edmonds and his wife,
Frances, last week quietly observed their 39th wedding
anniversary.”
HOLIDAY HEADLINES: Mary Lou Vickery and Harriet Olson, Bradford
Senior High School students, have painted a typical Christmas scene
on the window at the McKean County Motor Club office … That
interesting mosaic-like arrangement of Christmas Seals with
additions every year since 1933 is on display in the windows of the
General Garage … Santa will broadcast from the children’s ward at
Bradford Hospital next Wednesday afternoon … Tom Little and the
American Legion Christmas toy committee are hard at work readying
toys for needy kiddies of the area. Have you turned in any used
toys to Tom?”
FINAL NOTE: Round the Square was a lot longer 60 years ago and
we have a lot more items from that first day’s column! We have to
laugh that the very first item of the very first day was a Zippo
sighting! Figures!
