Darke County Boy Newspapers (SC-360)

“The Darke County Boy” was a non-traditional newspaper in Greenville, Ohio during the early 20th century. Calderwood wrote on page 4 in the April 1911 issue, “the ‘Boy’ is not a newspaper… neither is it a magazine.” The paper came out monthly and Calderwood admitted in that same April issue, on page 5, “this paper must live on its merits. I haven’t time to interview people, [and] hunt up photographs…” The paper was based on what local people sent to Calderwood and the kind of stories he wanted to tell. This was a paper, controlled by Calderwood, that allowed citizens of Greenville to socially network and stay up to date on the actions of notable members of the community.

This collection contains several issues of “The Darke County Boy” monthly newspaper, dating from December 1910 to March 1912. There are 20 total items in the collection, accounting for 14 unique issues. (The collection contains multiple copies for a few of the issues.) The collection is lacking the issues for January 1911 and February 1912.

George Washingtion Calderwood was the sole writer and editor of these papers, with additional stories being based on material sent straight to Calderwood from local community members for publication. Much of the paper is Calderwood’s opinions, retelling of local stories, and promoting products he likes. Additionally, there are sports reports, government actions, political news and commentary, local events, public announcements, published letters sent to Calderwood, historical reminiscing, local advertisements, and photographs of notable individuals. The paper contains an extremely diverse range of topics as Calderwood was able to publish anything he wanted.

One of the most notable topics is Calderwood’s personal history of the 40th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Beginning in the November 1911 issue, and continued into the December 1911 and January 1912 issues, George Calderwood and Capt. A. S. Matchette detail their experiences serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Calderwood and Matchette describe camps, clothing, procedures, army movement, food, enemy engagement, and the dates in which events took place. They also list the names of army band members, officers, and other notable individuals.