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thedrifter
11-27-05, 07:25 AM
Article published Nov 27, 2005
Tommy Toy Fund part of Bulletin's legacy
By Bill Stanley
For the Norwich Bulletin

Once upon a time, at year end, the Norwich Bulletin would print a beautiful color calendar.

The art was stunning. In fact, this morning's picture is an example of that art. There was such detail in all of the calendars. The artist painted realism. The paintings looked like photographs.

In publishing our new book, "The 9-Mile Square," the legendary Dr. Christopher Glenney offered for publication his treasured collection of old Bulletin calendars.

It was our intention to print them all, but when the cost of color became prohibitive, that section, unfortunately, had to eliminated. Those calendars, given away every year, ended up on every kitchen wall or taped to the old refrigerators.

The Norwich Bulletin was always the morning paper, and for many years, the Norwich Record was the afternoon paper.

It was in the 1930s and '40s, before the years of television and even before Norwich had its own radio station, that I speak of today. The two papers were our only way to get news.

Radio was big nationally with NBC, CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting Company, WOR. Except for the radio newscasts of Gabriel Heeter, Lowell Thomas and, during the World War II years, Edward R. Murrow, newspapers were our primary source of world news.

The Bulletin, in years gone by, was owned locally by the Oats and the Noyeses. It was a partnership that would be passed down to the sons in every generation.
Major influence

During the years, the Bulletin has had such influence on this area's communities.

The Bulletin has been so much a part of Norwich for so long, it almost seems it might have reported the deeding of the 9-mile square at the time of Uncas, John Mason, Thomas Leffingwell, et al. But, of course, the Bulletin isn't quite that old, although it dates back to 1791, when George Washington was president.

In those wonderful days, Norwich had two newspapers, and downtown was so busy that newsboys actually sold papers in Franklin Square. After school, we would all go to the Bulletin to get our Norwich Record papers.

We would count our papers and, occasionally, the Bulletin would make a mistake and we would get a couple of extras. We would then go into busy Franklin Square and actually peddle our papers on the street.

My paper route went up Cliff Street, along North Cliff Street and down Roath Street; 78 customers. We carried our papers in white canvas bags, and the paper cost 2 cents. The New York Times, in those days, sold for 3 cents. Now it's $5 a copy on Sunday.

Years ago, the Bulletin sold as many papers in New London and Groton as it did in all of Windham County. The New London Day, now known as The Day, was an afternoon paper for years, but, in time, the Bulletin stopped publication of the afternoon Record, and The Day switched to morning publication.

Television came into prominence, and in the 1940s, Norwich had its own radio voice known as WNOC. They would always say, "WNOC, broadcasting from the heart of beautiful downtown Norwich."

WNOC was on the second floor of the old Porteous Mitchell Building, over the Sears Roebuck mail order store and the Western Union office.

Norwich was indeed quite beautiful and busy. Downtown Norwich was the financial, transportation and shopping center of Eastern Connecticut.

The shops were full. The streets were busy, and the stores were open Thursday and Saturday nights until 9 p.m. At Christmastime and on Saturday nights, the sidewalks would be so crowded shoppers had to walk in the streets. There was no problem because there weren't many cars. Everyone came to town by trolley and, later, bus.

The automobile, I guess, is what killed downtown Norwich and every other small town in America. Mobility and the turnpike took the shopping from Main Street to the shopping centers and, later, the malls. That was followed by the big chain stores: Caldor's, Ames, Kmart, Bradlee's, and now, of course, the 300-pound gorilla is Wal-Mart.
Learning young

My memory goes back to Jimmy Pedace, Scoop Cramer, Bill Cruickshank, George Meyer, Myles Standish and Charlie Whitney. In years gone by, young boys could serve apprenticeships. That was how children learned carpentry, plumbing, electricity and, for that matter, journalism.

Would you believe I went to work at the Norwich Bulletin when I was 11 years old? I didn't get paid, and I wasn't truly an employee. I was an apprentice. I learned photography from a wonderful man who was like a second father to me, Myles Standish, who was a direct descendant of Captain Myles Standish of the Mayflower.

I became the official Bulletin photographer when I was at NFA, and I worked there until my brother and I joined the Marines for the Korean War.

After our tour of duty, we went to work as the morning team on WICH. Jim and I woke the town for many years in the 1950s.

The Bulletin has done so many wonderful things. I fear, too often people criticize and don't consider how very important the Bulletin has been.

In 1952, when my brother and I conducted a clothing and financial drive for the orphans in Korea, it was the Bulletin and Jimmy Pedace, then city editor, that made it possible, as did WICH.

After the Spaulding Pond Dam Flood, the resources of the Bulletin carried our message nationwide and helped us raise the money to put all of those businesses that were uninsured back together again; 37 in all.

Now, at this time of year, consider the good the Bulletin has done with the Tommy Toy Fund. They have been doing it every Christmas since 1973.

It started when a little girl wrote a letter to the editor and said her mother didn't have enough money for Christmas gifts. She wrote, "I don't mind, but my little brother, Tommy, is too young to understand."

That launched a drive for toys when Mal Morse was editor and told the story of Tommy on the editorial pages.

We all wake up every day to the Bulletin and always call on it when we have to reach the public.

I do hope all my readers will contribute this year to the Tommy Toy Fund. It makes Christmas merry for a lot of children who would otherwise have no Christmas.

Toys have been delivered these past 32 years as the Bulletin plays Santa in response to one little girl's letter to the editor so many years ago.

The Tommy Toy Fund captures the true message of Christmas, which is giving in celebration of another child so many years ago who had nothing, but whose birth would change the world.

Ellie