Posted on 05/08/2011 1:40:30 PM PDT by djf
I figured there was a good chance FReepers from Western New York might be interested in this.
Some guy (well, some guy and an ARMY) decided to scan in and digitize various local newspapers and flyers from the region. He has over 15,000,000 PDFs, digitized and searchable. You can search for names or events or locations or whatever.
I found a picture of me when I was ten!
And mentions from local papers in the early 1940's that my father had made the honor roll!
It's extraordinarily interesting to look back and see the old ads, (the PRICES!!), the flavors and textures of the times.
I have no idea how big the server is, so please don't hammer it to smithereens.
Our main library in Rochester NY has a history section cross referencing names and old articles in the old newspapers. Everyone has access.
My mother is going to love this. There are a bunch of references to her family in there. Thanks! :)
I found a couple short blurbs that talked about my cub scout troop.
I was ten years old!
Kinda hard to believe now that I was ever ten years old...
I would definitely pay a subscription cost for access to all this info. No brainer.
But yes please don't overload the server :) It can run pretty slowly as it is.
I found a reference to myself when I was 8 years old attending a Boys Club summer day camp in 1960 in Owego, NY. Woot!
Well as a son of Buffalo now living in Rochester, I’ve found a lot of interesting family stuff on that site. My grandfather getting bitten by a dog in 1911...my great-grandfather getting some kid arrested for stealing a pastry out of his butcher shop in an area you’d barely dare show your face in now... Amazing and interesting stuff. But a VERY slow site, probably always loaded.
Ha, found my old track times from high school in 1978. Two thirds and a second at sectionals. Thanks!!! What a treat.
Found my own birth announcement in the Niagara Falls area. (I was actually born hundreds of miles away in another city.) The work of my grandparents.
Also found my grandmother’s death announcement.
Fascinating, eh?
Has this time-capsule time-machine quality to it.
One heck of a lot of work, I bet!
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