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.

   

Eleanor M. Johnson (1892-1987)

MIKE GRACIA

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.

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993)

Considered one of the greatest jazz trumpeters in history, Dizzy Gillespie 
was instrumental in the evolution of bebop and modern jazz. His first pro
gig was in 1935 with the Frank Fairfax Orchestra, followed by stints with
the orchestras of Edgar Hayes, Teddy Hill, and Cab Calloway.

“Summertime’’ (1970)

MIKE GRACIA

Thomas Edison invented a workable electric incandescent lamp on this day in
1879. It would last 13 1/2 hours before it would burn out.

Anthrax scare claims first two U.S. Postal workers in Washington,
D.C. on this day in 2001.

The Battle of Trafalgar occurred off the coast of Spain on this day in 1805. The British defeated the French and Spanish fleet.

Smokey Robinson and The Miracles recording of “I Second That Emotion”
peaked for three weeks in the United States at #4 on the Billboard pop
singles chart in December 1967. It became the Miracles highest charting
popular single since "Shop Around".

The song also topped the Billboard Black Singles Chart and was a million-
selling hit for The Miracles, their sixth overall.