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Historical Pursuit

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By LYNN ROTHMAN, Tribune correspondent

Published: October 2, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - There's nothing as fleeting as today's newspaper or as useless as yesterday's - unless, of course, you collect history, like Mike Long.

Few people cherish yesterday's newspapers as much as Long, an assistant professor of history and political science at Pasco-Hernando Community College. He has been collecting these crumbling print icons of the past since he was a teenager in Charleston, W.Va.

Long is displaying part of his collection, assembled during a lifetime of saving and searching through antique stores, at the college through Monday. The exhibit includes 29 newspaper front pages, historic magazines, lithographs and photographs, spanning 1803 through 2001.

Long's collection reflects his roots and interests as a historian: the history of the South, the Civil War, military history, and United States presidents, especially those who served as Civil War officers, such as James Garfield, William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes.

'I started collecting with the acquisition of World War II-era newspapers, given to me by friends of my mom and dad when I was about 13,' he said.

Long, 57, packed the papers in brown mailing envelopes and toted them along for countless moves through college, the military and, finally, to Florida in 1999. Along the way, he collected front pages marking key events in his own lifetime - from President Kennedy's assassination through the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

It wasn't until Long moved to Florida, though, that he got serious about collecting. He bought his first pre-World War II 'artifact' for $20 on eBay: a 'mourning poster' printed after McKinley's 1901 assassination. Since then, he's spent much of his spare time scavenging though antique stores and searching online to build his collection of newspapers, magazines and old books.

Pouring through a cardboard box of junk papers one weekend, he discovered a real treasure: Bill Mauldin's classic 1963 cartoon, published in the Chicago Sun-Times, of the Lincoln Memorial weeping after Kennedy's death. The newspaper had been discarded in the dark corners of an antique store. Price: $5.

Although the newspapers may come cheap, framing them isn't. Because aging newspapers are so fragile, acid-free paper, mats and special ultraviolet glass must be used to preserve them.

So far, Long has framed 29 items - everything represented in his exhibit - though not all are newspapers. That includes reports from both world wars, the assassinations of Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, the fall of Saigon, The Washington Post's report of President Nixon's resignation, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a New York newspaper from 1803 - the oldest in his collection.

Long also has 25 or 30 more newspapers in storage, waiting to be framed.

He frames and mounts the newspapers as he can afford to, but at an average cost of $325 a pop, framing them all will take time.

Long's collection isn't extensive by the standards of many serious collectors. That's because he's very specific in what he saves. You won't, for example, find all the important moments of history that Long has lived through reflected in his collection.

What you do find is more personal - a glimpse of history through the eyes of a man who's passionate about it.

His collection also reflects the contexts in which history takes place and the evolution of newspapers. Just look, for instance, at how newspapers covered Lincoln's assassination in 1865 - no screaming headlines, the news wedged in among tightly packed columns of text reporting other items - versus the way Kennedy's death was handled in 1963, when the shock and horror of the moment was splashed across front pages throughout the country.

Long continues his search for old newspapers and historic artifacts as he builds his collection. Several vintage Civil War abolitionist publications represent the Holy Grail in his quest for primary source materials. Despite how quickly today's newspapers become tomorrow's trash, they represent historical treasure for Long.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Exhibit of newspapers and items chronicling historic events

WHERE: Pasco-Hernando Community College gallery, in the New Port Richey campus library, 10230 Ridge Road

WHEN: Through Monday during normal library hours: Monday though Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

CALL: (727) 816-3229 for information about private viewing hours or to schedule a group tour. Call Mike Long at (727) 816-3255 to schedule a personal tour.

Lynn Rothman can be reached at rothmal@phcc.edu.

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