Several months ago I got a call from Allen Rich, the publisher, editor, writer, reporter, photographer, etc. of the North Texas e-News in Bonham. The e-News is an electronic daily newspaper and a worthy lineal successor to the late lamented Bonham Daily Favorite.
Allen asked if I would be interested in doing a dual story about Tom Mc Holmes, who puts out the Trenton Tribune each week and Lewis Donaghey the Chairman of the Board of the First National Bank of Trenton. These two gentlemen, whose ties to the two oldest businesses in Trenton span three generations, collectively represent more than 150 years of in the life of their community. I said yes, and the story, titled “Heart and Soul,” ran on June 6.
Over the course of several meetings, Allen and I talked about the importance of small town newspapers and their role as the chronicle of life and recorder of history in the communities they serve. And we agreed that when a town lost its newspaper, it often lost much of its historical identity as well.
Out of those discussions grew the idea for the Red River Scrapbook, a place in an existing and established publication to collect the bits and pieces of history, nostalgia, lore, remembrances, and the like that remind us what came before and serve as bridge to what may come in the future. We officially inaugurated the Scrapbook on July 11 with an article about the Lee-Peacock Feud.
At this time I am adding a story to the Scrapbook each Monday. The pieces run on the front page of the e-News and then go to the section titled Red River Scrapbook. Using this arrangement, the material always will be available and easy to find in one place. Here is a link to the North Texas e-News: http://www.ntxe-news.com and a direct link to the Scrapbook section:
http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/entertainment.shtml
There is a tab below the masthead to go directly to the Scrapbook.
To contact the Scrapbook use: redriverscrapbook@gmail.com
Give the site and the material a look, bookmark the e-News and the Scrapbook pages, and follow what we are doing there. I believe you will like what you read.
This is still a work in progress. In the future we will be changing some of the page settings and connections and redesigning parts of the section. And we encourage readers to submit their stories and memories for consideration in the section as well.
History is not just about big events or distant happenings; it is the myriad of small things that made up everyday life as well. Things that happened a hundred years ago are history, but yesterday is history too if it is new to the discoverer, and in time tomorrow will fit the definition as well.
C. S. Forrester, the author of the Hornblower stories, wrote that an idea was like a log bobbing up and down on the river, each time it went under, it came up with something new attached. So it is with history, with each new piece of information adding to the whole. As this project develops, we want it to include contributions from readers, from both a historical perspective as well as a personal one, as those are the bits and pieces too often lost.
History is a journey to all points of the compass. We hope you will join this Red River expedition and enjoy the trip.
Edward Southerland
Red River Scrapbook