Keeping up with the latest news

Life without iPhones and 24-hour cable news

I recently found a couple of old Standard photos that show how we used to keep up with the news in times of crisis.

The photo on the left shows a crowd standing out in front of the old, original Standard building at 17-21 Queen St. (before it got its modern facade), peering at large sheets of paper hung in one of the first floor windows, offering the latest hand-written updates on the developing situation in Europe. The photo was taken on Aug. 26, 1939, just 10 days before the outbreak of Wothe Second World War.

The photo on the right shows a similar scene in front of the same Standard building (its original appearance now disguised by a more modern facade) on Nov. 22, 1963. The single large sheet of paper in the window is headed: “Kennedy DEAD”, and reports on the latest developments following the assassination of the American president earlier that same day.

This way of offering late-breaking news continues a practice that I’m sure dates back to the 18th century, both here and back in the old country. I suspect that the latest news about the Crimean War or the Lincoln assassination or the outbreak of the First World War was handled in much the same way. And I do recall reading about how, back in the 1927, The Standard at least once set up a elaborate display on Queen Street to offer the latest news about that year’s World Series, inning by inning.

Today, the scene where the Kennedy news was posted in 1963 is barely recognizable. The old Standard building, vacant for the past several years, has been much altered in the past half-century. The window where the Kennedy news was posted is now covered with protective plywood.

Today if we want to catch up with the latest we can just reach for our iPhones and scan the Net, or go home and tune in one of the all-news cable channels.

BOB TYMCZYSZYN THE ST. CATHARINES STANDARD View of the former St. Catharines Standard building on Queen Street.

ST. CATHARINES MUSEUM A crowd stands out in front of the old, original Standard building on Queen Street in 1939 to read the news about the developing situation in Europe posted in the window. War would break out 10 days later.

ST. CATHARINES MUSEUM This photo shows a scene in front of The St. Catharines Standard on Nov. 22, 1963. The single large sheet of paper in the window states: Kennedy DEAD.