First Babies of 1946, 1956 and 1966

I like to start off a new year with a roll call of First Babies – in this case, 1946, 1956 and 1966.

First up is 1946. Here's the front page of the Lorain Journal for January 2, 1946 – 80 years ago today.

There's a lot of tragedy on that page, including a headline story about the large number of violent deaths that occurred during the holiday. Other stories of a somber nature include the ongoing War Trials at Nuremberg and the impending hanging of Lord Haw Haw for treason.

But there's also the happy story of the first baby born in Lorain. The proud parents of the "lusty, six-and-a-half pound baby boy" were Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Palumbo.

Exactly ten years later on January 2, 1956 this was the front page of the Lorain Journal.

Janet Louise Becker was the First Baby of 1956, with Mr. and Mrs. Herman Becker of F Street the proud parents. Other interesting stories on the front page include the sad passing of Mrs. Isabel Teemer on the eve of her 91st birthday; and the sale of Johnson's Island, which was a Civil War prison for Confederate soldiers and still has a Federal cemetery for prisoners who died from wounds or illness.

Lastly, the First Baby of 1966 was Noel Figueroa, son of Mr. and Mrs. Luis Figueroa of E. 34th Street. 

From the Jan. 3, 1966 Journal

Here's the spread listing the goodies for Noel and his parents, which ran in the Journal on January 4, 1966.

There's some great gifts, including five 'guest cards' for Free All American Meals at McDonald's. which would certainly be welcomed today.

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I'm a little concerned. When I tried to access the Lorain Journal online archives today, the issues of the newspaper from 1922 to 1999 were no longer listed as being available. I'm not sure what's going on and if it is just a temporary thing. If access to those years is no longer a possibility, that would severely affect this blog and my ability to create posts in a timely manner. We'll see what happens.