Many Uses for Newspapers by Your Ancestors
For many decades your ancestors have enjoyed reading the daily (sometime twice a day) newspapers. Learning what was happening in the community, town, state, nation or the world. With no local radio or TV news yet, this was important. Of course with the 21st century that would change, paper print papers are nearly gone, people get digital editions or just news from online sources or TV.
But years ago the newspaper could also serve other purposes after everyone had read the daily paper.
Newspapers were good to use at home for the following purposes. They would be placed on top of the bed mattress as a protector; especially children’s beds.
Foods could be wrapped in newspaper, leftovers at home or getting something to eat from a street vendor.
Some homes were just clapboard construction and any gaps in the boards allowed cold air to come in. So families used layers of newspaper as insulation on the boards.
In lawn gardens, papers could be placed to end weeds growing or used cut up as mulch for a garden.
Newspapers were always used when in training puppies where to do their ‘business.’
To protect the family table, newspapers would be laid out when a messy chore was going to be done on the table.
Steak-free clean windows came from using wadded-up newspapers to clean the windows.
Newspapers could be used as shelf liners in the kitchen.
To get a fire started in a fireplace newspapers could be used as kindling.
If the family had a musty closet, chest, drawers, desk, etc. after cleaning it, people put newspapers in the locations for a few days. The paper absorbed musty smells.
For many of the ladies who sewed if they needed paper to make a pattern, the newspaper was very handy.
So having the newspapers did serve many purposes years ago. With fewer print newspapers, those items have changed.
Photo: Cleaning windows with newspapers.
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