If, as it has been said, that journalism is the first draft of history, then newspapers are the original history books. Americans, then and now, learned about their world, exercised their democratic rights, discovered what was happening in their community, and planned their weekly shopping trips all from the same source at the same time. And when the headlines faded from memory, it was the historians who continued to value and use these newspapers for their own purposes.
This informative exhibit on loan from the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University will be featured in the Norbert Gits Family Gallery with additions from the LHS collection highlighting local newspapers and printing press artifacts from the Leelanau Peninsula.
Make a stop at the research desk to explore first-hand the eleven digitized titles of local newspapers and more, available through CMU’s Digital Michigan newspaper portal. digmichnews.cmich.edu. The digitization of newspapers featuring Leelanau County, MI history has been an ongoing project of the Leelanau Historical Society since 2017. This project has been made possible through generous donations by LHS donors and community members (Thank You!). Learn tips and tricks for searching this free resource and have fun taking a step back in time!
