• Beyond Chevy Chase

    Beyond Chevy Chase:
    Exploring the World with the Young Reporters

    Children love to explore, be it their own backyard, or a faraway land. Many neighbors in Chevy Chase in the 1930s and 1970s gave the young reporters plenty of opportunity to learn about new places and cultures. These Neighbors embraced the same opportunity to share their own stories and cultures in the newspapers, encouraging openness and diversity within the community. Whether a news story was about travel or world events, the editors of these newspapers displayed an awareness and appreciation for other cultures and global events.

    Travel

    Reports of vacations and business trips provided a good deal of content for the newspapers. With many of the residents working for government or non-profit organizations, business travel to many different parts of the world occurred often and enabled families to take vacations to destinations around the United States and abroad.

    “Mr. Lloyd is going again to Paris for a business trip dealing with UNESCO. He will be gone a week”
    The Leland Street Sunday News, April 27, 1975. CCHS 2010.1015.02.

    “Susan Patch is going to Vienna, Austria for six weeks to study music, where she will visit the former homes of some of the great masters and attend many symphonies in addition to her studying there.”
    The Leland Street Sunday News, April 13, 1975. CCHS 2010.1015.02.

    “Mrs. Lloyd will be leading a group in a tour of Russia this summer. It is sponsored by the Friends of the Smithsonian.”
    The Leland Street Sunday News, April 13, 1975. CCHS 2010.1015.02.

    “The Johnson's came back Aug. 4th at 3 P.M. They went to Bethany Beach. They also went to Playland and Frontier Town. They ate at Phillips twice.”
    The Shepherd Street News, August 11, 1972. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    Although such trips were often listed as announcements, the editors would sometimes enlist neighbors as "foreign correspondents", giving detailed reports of their journey in stories that would be featured over the course of several issues.

    The world also came to Chevy Chase. Friends and family members visiting Chevy Chase households were new sources of information, and often were portrayed as ambassadors from the world beyond Chevy Chase.
     

    “Indian has Dinner in Chevy Chase: Philip Frazier of North Dakota visited Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence E. Lindley of Summit Avenue for dinner last Tuesday evening. Mr. Frazier is a full blooded Indian, a minister of the Sioux Nation of Indians.”
    The Thornapple Street News, January 4, 1936. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    “The Lloyds have a four year old visitor named Nathaniel and his mother, whose name is Sally and is an excellent weaver. The Lloyds also have a Polish guest who can't speak any English. If anyone who speaks Polish wants to meet her they can.”
    The Leland Street Sunday News, 1973 3rd Issue. CCHS 2010.1015.01.

    “Mr. Bamberger…has a friend here named John, from Micronesia. He (the friend) will challenge anyone in the neighborhood to ping-pong. He was the champion in Micronesia.”
    The Shepherd Street News, August 26, 1972. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    World Events

    The 1930s and 1970s were periods of change for the United States. The young reporters’ proximity to Washington D.C., coupled with the presence of international residents in the neighborhood may have made them more aware of national and global events.

    That said, no one could have escaped an awareness of the impacts of the Great Depression, or the growing hostilities in Europe and Asia in the decade before World War Two. From the beginning of its production, The Thornapple Street News placed its "World News" section on the front page.

    "12000 of unemployed people have come in a parade of trucks to Washington to bother Congress about getting jobs. We hope somebody will pay some attention if they really do want work."
    The Thornapple Street News, January 9, 1932. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    "Japan and China have decided to stop the war. And they have declared peace. We are very glad of that because we were afraid America might join in with them."
    The Thornapple Street News,  December 12. 1931. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    "There is a war between China and Japan. Japan has already bombed Shanghai and captured Manchuria. We hope they don't come over here to fight but keep their war between China and Japan…"
    The Thornapple Street News,February 6, 1932. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    Visiting dignitaries also produced a lot of excitement for The Thornapple Street News. Several of the early issues covered Mahatma Gandhi's trip to London in 1931, which was at the height of his fight for India's independence.
     

    "Mr. Gandhi lives in India. He is trying to get his country free from England, without war, and he has gone over to England to try to free his country. He won't drink anything but goat's milk so he had to take big cans of goat's milk along with him. He knits his own clothes, and he wears nearly nothing.”
    The Thornapple Street News, October 17, 1931. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    "Senor Grandi [Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the Fascist Party] who [Charles] Lindbergh was supposed to fly to Washington with his long whiskers like Mr. Gandhi's goat, Mahatma, has gone home. Mr. Gandhi and his goat are going home to India too."
    The Thornapple Street News, November 28, 1931. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    The Shepherd Street News and the Leland Street Sunday News were produced in a time of political and international tension as well, although the editors generally focused on lighter topics.
     

    "Since it is against LSSN editorial policy to discuss politics, we won't say "Welcome, Pres. Carter."
    The Leland Street Sunday News, January 16, 1977. CCHS 2010.1015.04.

    Still, some events could not avoided, such as the ending of a war and the beginning of the Watergate scandal.

     

    "…one of the longest wars in history the Vietnam War is finally over. Pres. Nixon made the official announcement Tues. night on national T.V. We are glas [glad] such a terrible war is finished."
    The Shepherd Street News, January 27, 1973. CCHS 1989.27.01.

    "12 Down: The President recorded his phone calls on---"
    A crossword puzzle clue from The Leland Street Sunday News, 1973, 3rd Issue. CCHS 2010.1015.01.

     

    The world can be a scary place. How did the parents of The Thornapple Street News editors explain what was happening in China or why Gandhi was an important figure? Did the parents on Shepherd Street discuss Vietnam with their children? The presence of international residents and their willingness to share their traditions and perspectives was essential to building understanding and awareness of others, to look beyond what was in the newspapers and know that the actions of the few did not define entire countries or groups. The stories of fun vacations and traveling also provided food for the imagination, teaching the young reporters to appreciate the beauty of the world.

     

     

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