Happening at the museum

The Woodland News

By Jennifer Smart, Assistant Director

The Wake Forest Historical Museum

At the museum we have all sorts of historic publications, everything from old maps to antique scrapbooks and high school annuals. It’s virtually impossible to say which is most important to the collection. But it’s easy to say which is the most adorable. That title goes to the 1940s Wake Forest newspaper written, printed, and distributed by a group of little girls.

The Woodland News was a weekly mimeographed sheet that started in the summer of 1944. The girls, all about nine years old, were the daughters of Wake Forest College faculty members. Margaret Brown, Alice Speas, Melinda Speas, Virginia-Knight Cocke, and Virginia Chilton Pearson loved reporting, editing, and distributing their paper. They even made a little pocket money. But they had no idea how far-reaching their simple newsletter would be.

When they first came up with the idea, the girls were living through one of the worst polio outbreaks in national history. Cases spiked during the summer months, and communities took drastic measures. Leaders shut down public swimming pools and libraries. Parents kept their children away from parks and movie theaters. The nature of summer vacation changed completely. Bored and with nothing to do, the girls began gathering tidbits of local gossip and typing them into a one-page newsletter. The first edition featured a paragraph explaining their business plan.

“This is our first copy of The Woodland News. It is news of the neighborhood that will interest the children. Melinda Speas will deliver The Woodland News. If you have any news of the neighborhood that you would like to send in we would be glad to have it. It must be sent to Margaret Brown or it will not be put in this newspaper.”

The children’s writing gave new and unique insight into town life, and within weeks the little newspaper became a big hit! Its innocent and charming articles focused on the sorts of happenings that children regularly notice but adults ordinarily miss. By 1947 it had more than one-hundred subscribers. These homes were both inside and outside town limits, and most issues were delivered by bicycle. The paper also had gained a measure of regional fame. The Old Gold & Black, the Raleigh Times, the Zebulon Record, Charity and Children, and Our State magazine published stories about the enterprising young reporters.

We are proud to say the museum’s collection of The Woodland News covers its full print run from 1944-1948. Every issue is valuable. And no report on this delightful publication would be complete without original excerpts. From literally thousands of articles and blurbs, these are some of our favorites. We hope you enjoy them!

Wednesday, August 16, 1944

Saturday night the Parkers came and played bridge with the Speas. About eleven o’clock the fire whistle blew. It woke Frances up. She ran down the stairs as fast as she could. At first she thought it was a train. Then Mrs. Speas explained that it was the new fire whistle. Then Frances said “Poor fire whistle. It must have a headache.”

Wednesday, September 5, 1945

Tinky and Beverly Lake have a lot of nice pets. They have a dog named Dave. He is very gentle and little children can play with him. He likes to be patted and when you quit he paws you and begs you to pat him some more. He has a rocking chair on the side porch and he sits and rocks in it. They have a terrapin in a cage. He eats roaches, July bugs, meat, and mice. They have some very pretty goldfish. There are two snakes in jars. One is a rattlesnake and they think the other one is a ground moccasin. They have some chickens, too. One time Beverly was lying down and one of the chickens walked up on him and pecked out his loose tooth.

October 11, 1946

Wednesday night about 2:00 o’clock Mrs. Speas heard the coal in her back yard being moved around. She got up to see what was happening and saw that someone was taking the coal. As soon as she reached the window the prowler picked up the bucket he was carrying and ran. The next morning Mrs. Speas drove downtown. As soon as she got off the dirt road she heard a clanking sound in the car. When she parked in front of the grocery store Mrs. Mackie, who was standing across the street, said, “What are you doing with chains on your axles?” Mrs. Speas looked and sure enough someone had put chains on the axles. Mrs. Speas decided that someone planned to tow the car off and take the tires off or steal the car. The next day Mrs. Speas heard Dr. Reid say that someone had been prowling around in his backyard because his dog had barked loudly for about 15 minutes. Also, Mr. Clonts had been missing some of his coal.

November 14, 1947

The Herrings have a very collegiate dog. When Mrs. Earnshaw goes by the house the dog, instead of saying “Woof, woof,” or “Bow, wow,” says, “Rah, rah, rah!” Mrs. Earnshaw says, “Beat State!” and the dog says, “Rah! Rah! Rah, rah, rah!”

(The Wake Forest Historical Museum, 919-556-2911, is at 414 North Main Street, Wake Forest. Admission is free. The museum is open from 10 to 12 and from 1:30 to 4:30 Tuesday through Friday, and from 2 to 5 on Sundays if there are volunteers to staff it.)

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