06/21/2026
Restoring a Piece of 1918 Today
Today is Father’s Day and I spent my morning restoring old newspapers. There’s something special about holding a newspaper that’s survived more than a century. No, I’m not quite that old, but the pages I’m working on right now are The Pawnee Rock Herald and were printed in 1918—a moment in time when Kansas towns were growing, rail lines were humming, and families were reading these very words by lamplight.
The newspapers I’m restoring today come from the 1918 Pawnee Rock Herald — a weekly paper that served Pawnee Rock from 1904 to 1930. These pages carried the heartbeat of the community: farm reports, local accidents, Red Cross drives, wartime updates, and the everyday stories of Pawnee Rock families. Holding them now is like stepping straight into Kansas life during the final year of World War I.
To restore and preserve them, I’m using a gentle archival process: slowly humidifying the pages so the old folds relax, easing the creases open without cracking the fibers, and pressing everything flat between acid free sheets. No heat, no chemicals, just patience and respect for history in my hands.
Once finished, these papers will be protected and hopefully, ready for display so their stories can be shared again. History deserves to breathe, and we’re proud to help it do just that.
When I get them to the place where they can be viewed, because right now they are in a humidifying environment, I will let you know. These are classic and filled with stories about the Pawnee Rock residents during the 1st World War. Fascinating history.
