Fortunate of the forgotten

Morgan Rooney
MSMU Class of 2020

(6/2018) In 2018, each and every person may receive their news in a variety of different ways. You may receive your news through the television, a car radio, smartphone news apps, or perhaps even a newspaper, like you are reading right now. Although newspapers remain in existence across the world, they don’t have as big of an effect as they used to because of the variety of different news sources to choose from. Even those who still frequently read their local Sunday papers could easily find another way to get their news if the newspaper were to suddenly fall completely out of existence. However, this wasn’t the case in Emmitsburg 100 years ago. In June 1918, the Emmitsburg Chronicle was discontinued after 40 years of print, leaving Emmitsburg without a newspaper in the throes of World War I.

Losing a paper in this way, I imagine, was a great loss for the town of Emmitsburg. Even though a discontinuation of the sort would not be so devastating today because of the ready availability of other ways of communication, when the Chronicle went out of print, decades of important information were lost and people forgotten. Word of mouth isn’t always the most effective way to get news across, and our memories come, go, and eventually die with us. Ink, however, makes those memories permanent.

One of those gaps in the history of Emmitsburg is the soldiers the town lost in the war. By the time that this particular article is published, I will have traveled overseas to study in Tours, France where I will remain for over a month in an attempt to improve my French language skills and take in the French culture. This is an amazing opportunity that I am very fortunate to have, yet I wouldn’t have this amazing opportunity if it hadn’t been for those who fought for this country, many losing their lives along the way.

With the records of time lost after the discontinuation of the Chronicle, the men of Emmitsburg who lost their lives during the first world war did not get the recognition that they so rightfully deserved. Names include Frances Xavier Elder, Charles F. Gelwicks, Martin Luther Hahn, John Reading Schley, and Henry Higbee. It is rather unfortunate that these men could not have been recognized in the local newspaper for the sake of keeping their names in history, and immortalizing the sacrifice they made for the US military.

Very little is known about the circumstances of their deaths, although they all died in France, where I will be spending the next month of my life. All that is said about Captain Henry Higbee, who was 24 at the time of his death, was that he died "somewhere in France."

These are just a few of the men who died fighting for our liberty. Because they died in France, I am able to travel there shortly to study and learn another culture in the world. This is something I am very grateful for and these men deserve some recognition for aiding in giving me, and many others, the opportunities we have today that we often take for granted.

Thinking back to everything I ever learned in history classes, both in high school and college, much, if not all, of history, science, let alone literature, would have been forgotten if it weren’t for the written word. There is so much that is unknown about history because it was not written down. So many holes are left unfilled. We wouldn’t know nearly as much about past empires and civilizations. Their written records open the door to understanding their entire culture, and why they fell. We learn from history every day, and our past writings helps us do that. Our recordings of philosophy, science, and mathematics are crucial to expand upon. Without writing, so much of our development would be lost. Writers are the ones who hold history together.

For our generation, and later down the road, and for the generations after us, the written words hold many of our most important stories and the outlines of our lives. Although not everything we experience can be expressed through ink, ink keeps much longer than our memories do. To put our memories on ink and pass it to the next generation makes a big difference, even if it is just a local news article for a local event.

This newspaper has also given me powerful insight into the community here in Emmitsburg. As someone who came from a large city in Texas, I hadn’t even seen a community paper quite like this before. It is something that a small town can benefit from much more than a large city can. It preserves the town better than anything else. A newspaper seems to be a form of establishment for any town. There are some things that every great town has, like a post office and a library. Without these things, a town wouldn’t feel like a town. I think that a newspaper has the same effect as a post office or a library does. The archives of a town newspaper show the growth and development of the town (check out the 100 Years Ago column for proof!). The growth and downfalls are a part of each and every developing city, and it is important for the citizens to know of it.

Although many years were lost when the Chronicle was discontinued, it still had a great effect on the town. For example, this newspaper, the Emmitsburg News-Journal would not be the same had the Emmitsburg Chronicle never been in existence, as it is one of the newspapers that the News-Journal is modeled upon. Yes, it is unfortunate it didn’t carry on through those years, but the paper you’re reading now could almost be thought of as the child of the Emmitsburg Chronicle, therefore, it will always have its place in Emmitsburg.

Read other articles by Morgan Rooney