Summer of ’69 digital special to brighten Sunday’s edition
The El Dorado News-Times will present a special section this weekend centered around the worldshaking events of 1969.
The section, which is exclusive to News-Times subscribers, will be available in the digital replica of Sunday’s edition. Subscribers can access the digital replica on the El Dorado News-Times app, free in the Apple and Google Play stores, or at the News-Times website, eldoradonews.com.
“The News-Times is excited to be able to present these digital-only special sections,” said Rita Haldeman, News-Times general manager. “It gives us a platform to provide so much more detail on any given topic and
provide every page in full color. These are definitely exciting times for our industry.”
Starting with the Cuyahoga River’s catching fire in June, leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and spanning the summer through to the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, the section takes readers through the summer of ’69 and beyond.
The section also covers other major events that occurred that year. From the Zodiac Killer’s cryptic letters to San Francisco newspapers to the ‘Miracle Mets’ World Series upset against the Baltimore Orioles, the first draft lottery since World War II to the revelation of the My Lai massacre, the section is comprehensive.
“I admit, I was alive during the summer of 1969, albeit at only 13 yearsold. One of the things I remember most about this particular summer were the family gatherings and the heated debates over things like the Vietnam War, Nixon’s swearingin, the craziness of Woodstock and the tragedy of Chappaquiddick,” Haldeman said. “I remember sitting in the living room watching the first man on the moon, Ed Sullivan and the Brady Bunch. For a 13 year-old, my priorities centered more around music, with artists like the Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, the Temptations, Supremes and Bob Dylan — even back then my musical tastes were eclectic.”
In full color and with sharp detail, historical photographs bring the summer of ’69 to life. Subscribers will travel back in time as they see Buzz Aldrin removing a seismometer from the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander on the moon’s surface, LGBTQ demonstrations at the Stonewall Inn, antiVietnam war protests at college campuses around the country and more.
The section also covers United States milestones and innovation, with a special spread on the Saturn V rocket, Apollo 11 astronauts’ flight path to the moon and other elements of the first-ever manned moon landing.
Major shifts in American culture took place throughout 1969. “Star Trek,” “Scooby-Doo,” “Sesame Street” and more television favorites got their start or ended that year; westerns dominated the box offices; Maya Angelou released her literary, autobiographical masterpiece “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings;” and anti-war protests abounded across the states as war raged on in Vietnam.
The section is part of the News-Times’ drive toward increased digital content. To subscribe to the News-Times, contact our circulation department at 870-8626611 or circulation@ eldoradonews.com or visit eldoradonews.com and click Subscribe. All print subscriptions come with a complimentary digital subscription.
“I’m looking forward to grabbing my iPad on Sunday morning and taking a look back at both the highs and lows that took place in our country 50 years ago,” Haldeman said.