Newspapers have commonly been referred to as “the first draft of history,” so you can imagine our delight to see organizations taking steps to preserve these documents for future generations.
The Boothbay Register, the other independently owned newspaper tasked with covering goings-on within Lincoln County, announced recently that it is partnering with the Boothbay Region Historical Society to digitize its 7,000-plus editions from 1876-2013 and create an easily searchable, electronic catalog. You can read more about the project and its need for volunteers on page 3A.
Meanwhile, down a different peninsula, the Old Bristol Historical Society is seeking copies of the Pemaquid Messenger, which was in publication from 1886-1897 after a private donor volunteered to fund the digitization of those editions.
We cannot say enough how much appreciate the efforts of these organizations, as this is no small undertaking.
In 2018, The Lincoln County News partnered with Skidompha Library in Damariscotta to digitize the editions of the LCN as well as any predecessor papers available. Primarily funded through grants and private donors, the digital archive went live in late 2019, giving the public access to our (almost) complete archive for the first time.
While a great resource to readers, genealogists, and researchers, the digital archive is also utilized by our staff. At least once a week, someone in this building is searching the archive to learn more about a legacy business’s opening, a toppled school record, or a long-running community concern.
Members of the newsroom occasionally joke some issues recur in towns every 10 years or so. Our archives show that is not too far off.
More importantly, the archives preserve pieces of local history that would otherwise be lost to time. Larger newspapers may cover the state basketball games, but they likely aren’t covering the quadruple-overtime game between cross-county rivals. Over time, this would become a distant memory for a select few people. Now it’s something anyone can learn about with a simple search.
There are still gaps, of course. We’re missing editions of our newspaper and predecessor papers Sheepscot Echo, The Village Herald, and the Damariscotta Herald. If anyone happens to have issues of these papers or others hanging around, we’d gladly make sure they are digitally archived, just like our friends at the Boothbay Register and Old Bristol Historical Society would be grateful for any of their old editions.
Newspapers are a critical resource to the communities they serve. We congratulate the Boothbay Register for undertaking this endeavor and thank the individual volunteers and groups that are helping make this project possible.
