(AP) – The State Journal-Register reported a box made from a tree stump on which Abraham Lincoln purportedly gave one of his earliest political speeches was given to the Rochester Historical Preservation Society last week. According to the paper, Lincoln delivered a speech in the town in 1832, when he campaigned for the State House.
The goal of the four- to eight-page weekly paper, which was distributed via the classroom, was to bring awareness to children of what was happening in the world, so that one day they might become daily newspaper readers.
The weekly was distributed on Friday afternoons, and must have offered a welcome relief to teachers who were ready for something to fill the final afternoon before the weekend. The first issue, published September 21, 1928
The idea of creating a newspaper for children has been largely attributed to Eleanor M. Johnson, who had been an educator in York, PA. before taking over as long-time editor in 1934.
In 2007, Weekly Reader Corporation became part of The Readers Digest Association. That company tried to create a viable online version but was unsuccessful. In February of 2012, Weekly Reader was acquired by its competitor, Scholastic. The publications have joined forces and are now re-branded as Scholastic News/Weekly Reader.
On this day in 1962, President Kennedy went on radio and television to inform the United States about his order to send U.S.forces to blockade Cuba. The blockade was in response to the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.
On this day in 1979, the ousted Shah of Iran, Mohammad Riza Pahlavi (below), was allowed into the U.S. for medical treatment.
It was on this day in 1931.
The body of gangster Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd is shown propped on a slab in the county morgue in East Liverpool, Ohio.
On this day in 2002, bus driver Conrad Johnson was shot at 5:56 a.m. while standing on the steps of his bus at the 14100 block of Grand Pre Road in Aspen Hill, Maryland. He was the last victim in the D.C. Sniper shootings.
The snipers
Pablo Casals (Pau Casals i Defilló) (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973)
Pablo Casals was a cellist, composer, and conductor from Catalonia, Spain. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time. He made many recordings throughout his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy.