BDN donates ‘morgue’ and more to Historical Society | Local News
BELOIT—The Beloit Historical Society is the recipient of a major donation from the archives of the Beloit Daily News.
The newspaper is moving from its longtime home at 149 State St. to the former location of the Turtle Creek Bookstore at the busy corner of Pleasant Street and Grand Avenue. The 444 E. Grand Ave. newspaper office will be open for business within a few days.
As part of the moving process the Beloit Daily News identified historic materials that will be of importance to the community’s collective memory as the future unfolds.
“As one of the oldest businesses in the region, tracing our roots to 1848, the newspaper had a treasure trove of historical materials,” Editor Bill Barth said. “Preserving that past for scholarship and community use has been one of our prime motivators in planning for the move to new office space.”
The Beloit Daily News saved its journalism in two basic formats. For many years articles were clipped from print editions and stored as files in what news organizations colorfully called “the morgue.” Additionally, the newspaper purchased microfilm reproductions of printed pages from the earliest old Beloit papers through the dawning of the digital age. The donation to the Beloit Historical Society includes “the morgue” and microfilm reels from the mid-1800s through the 1920s. A microfilm reader machine also is part of the gift.
The paper also donated many years of photographs and film negatives from articles that have appeared in the pages of the Beloit Daily News.
And, with a bit of a fun twist, the paper donated its racing go-kart which was used in the downtown Grand Prix contests. Previously, the Historical Society was the recipient of the Beloit Daily News “Soapbox Derby” car, and now will have both vehicles to display.
“We are very cognizant of the fact that no organization in the community has closer ties to Stateline Area history than this newspaper,” Barth said. “The opportunity to preserve that history and make it available to the community is very gratifying to all of us.”
Donna Langford, executive director of the Beloit Historical Society, said the organization is pleased to receive the donation.
“The Beloit Daily News’ recording of local activities has become a community memory in the form of their clipping archive,” she said. “The Beloit Historical Society is honored to continue the preservation of this community memory and to share it.”
Currently closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff and volunteers are answering research requests submitted by phone (608-365-7835) or email to [email protected].
“Our staff is looking forward to incorporating the Beloit Daily News donation into its future activities as we prepare for reopening,” Langford said.
