SUMMERS COUNTY W.Va. (Hinton News) – This week’s piece kind of writes itself. The papers you see here are a collection of only the front pages of the Hinton Daily News throughout the years. This was done for a special 75th anniversary edition of the paper, showcasing some of the most memorable local, national, and international news stories and headlines.
As for a local story of interest, the Wednesday, January 14, 1942 headline was “DRAVO AWARDED BLUESTONE DAM CONTRACT.” The first paragraph of the story reads… ”the amount was approximately $10,000,000.” With inflation, that equates to $206.403,821.66 today.
On Tuesday, June 6, 1944, the headline was “INVASION BEGINS Landings Made In Northern France; Nazis Acknowledge Penetrations At Cherbourg”. Tuesday, May 8, 1945, reads “VICTORY Truman Announces Surrender; Warns Japanese To End War.” Monday, August 6, 1945, “New Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan. Tuesday, August 14, 1945, “WAR ENDED Allied Forces Ordered To Cease Firing.”
A local story that made national headlines at the time, Thursday, March 1949, “Bluestone Bridge Section Falls; Five Dead”. Wednesday, June 10, 1953 “3 Crewmen Die When Engine Explodes.” Of national or rather international interest; May, July 21, 1969 “MAN WALKS ON MOON.”
Wednesday, May 4, 1960 “Senator John Kennedy Visits In Hinton Today”. Then, only three years later, on Friday, November 22, 1963, “President Kennedy Assassinated”. Thursday, June 27, 1929, “Preparation and Building of Bridge Interesting Story” and then several individual stories about the local bridge follow.
International news again: Thursday, December 10, 1935 “Abdication of King is Announced.” Sunday, December 7, 1941 “WAR WAR Declared by Japanese on U.S., Britain”. Wednesday, April 18, 1906 “Earthquake Destroys San Francisco.” Wednesday, April 8, 1912 “Roosevelt Pays Hinton Short Visit.”
One section was just articles of local interest, such as “Telephone Makes Debut Here In 1887 Between Offices In Court House.” “200,000 Feet of Pipe Required To Serve Gas Construction Here”. The great many local ads and photographs are simply fascinating. There are 25 front pages included in this series. And for a local history enthusiast like me, it is an absolute treasure to have in my collection.
