Readers find fun with old Vindys

Richard Price has been a fan of Idora Park since his dad’s company picnics.

Mary Komsa’s grandparents owned Christoff Quality Meat Market on Federal Street.

Mike Kupec is the media man for area Boy Scouts and was eyeing the 1919 opening of Camp Stambaugh.

Kay and Harold Wilson just love the Mahoning Valley and its history.

Those five folks are among the many people who have descended upon The Vindicator these past two weeks to buy a part of our history and the Valley’s history.

We save copies of all of The Vindicator.

Every. One. Our stash dates back to 1877.

Click here to order Vindicator Historical Bound Volumes

In saving every paper, some years we saved duplicates. We don’t know why, because some go back to 1915 or so.

Those duplicates have now been made available for folks to buy – and bought them they have.

Mind you, buying these old papers is not like buying a single copy of a paper today.

The sheer size of what we’re selling is what stunned Richard Price.

“These books are intimidating in size. You can’t open these on a lap. These are kitchen-table books,” he laughed.

The old editions are bound (“binded”?) like books. Some of the books are two weeks of Vindys; some are a full month of Vindys.

These are full editions back when newspapers were almost double in size than they are now.

When you leave the office with these, you are essentially carrying a 30-pound sheet cake-size item.

I had fun helping one couple carry their Vindy book to their car. As heavy as it was, I pondered following them home to be sure they could get it out of the car.

“No matter where you put these books, they will stand out. It screams when you walk into the room,” Price said.

He bought the April 1984 and October 1984 volumes of The Vindicator seeking neat clips on the Idora Park fire and auction.

Mary Komsa hadn’t had a chance to peel through her 1917 and 1930 editions.

Her late father was born in 1930, and she was eager to find his birth notice. The 1917 editions were for the family meat market business.

Her biggest amusement so far: “I read an article on the Socialist Party back then. That’s funny – knowing what is going on now [with socialism politics].”

If you were to pop by the Wilson home this week, you would see Harold huddled with his old Vindys.

In fact – Kay sent in a photo.

“Sgt. York and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ were playing at local theaters. And the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., was nearing completion,” she said.

They’re also eager to read up Harold’s great-grandfather, Youngstown Mayor Charles Scheible, who was involved in interesting city politics back in 1944.

“It was sort of a taboo subject growing up decades later, so he really wasn’t told much about it,” she said.

Mike Kupec will be hunting this weekend for all the Boy Scouts news he can – seeking the new idea in 1919 called Camp Stambaugh.

Those are some of the stories happening over and over as hundreds of these books walk out our door for $30 each.

If you want to see what is left, get to Vindy.com and look for our ad on the home page called “Vindy Bound Volumes.” On that page is a list of what we have left to sell.

It’s a project that found favor with Price.

“I’m really glad you took the time to get these into some good homes,” he said.

Thank you.

Todd Franko is editor of The Vindicator. He likes emails about stories and our newspaper. Email him at tfranko@vindy.com. Tweet him, too, at @tfranko.