Google undertook an ambitious project a few years ago to digitalize newspaper archives of papers throughout the country. The project has been discontinued but you can still access many stories from the past by googling "News archives." Last night I scrolled through the Spokane Daily Chronicle on my birthdate in 1955 and though much has changed in 56 years -- news of weddings, engagements and society events took up several pages, and the worry about polio is no longer -- many of the issues remain similar. The stock market was tumbling up and down, Congress was arguing over the cost of Social Security benefits, city leaders were debating about changes in parking meter times downtown and Judge Carl Quackenbush scolded a woman on trial for passing bad checks. Ah, the circle of life.

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