It’s that time of year again, when we look forward to the beginning of a new year. As usual, I’d like to finish out the old year by looking back at holiday newspaper and magazine items from years gone by. I think it gives us all a sense of the passing of time; of where we’ve been as a society, so perhaps we might get a clearer perspective on where we’re headed.

We in the era of Wal-Mart don’t realize that even Americans were not always able to shop gigantic stores with unlimited product selection. Transportation of goods to market, especially in wintertime when violent weather often kept old wooden sailing ships in port and stranded steam locomotives on their tracks, was often less than reliable. Because of this, a store boasting well-stocked shelves frequently had a big advantage over its competitors.

In the Local Affairs column of the December 21, 1884 issue of the Doylestown Intelligencer, readers were advised “Where to Get Christmas Goods” with the following, in typical post-Civil War reporting style: “On Court Street, opposite Court House Park, Scheetz’s mammoth store. Big store, big stock. Can find almost everything that is made here. Would take columns to enumerate. A half a dozen stores combined in one. Everything to furnish a home. Women delight to shop here. Display of Christmas novelties never been surpassed. Show windows contain more goods than most stores carry in stock. Are sure to buy if you go in. Will be satisfied with what you get there. Can’t help it.

A reminder that this is not advertising, but editorial copy. We all like to believe in the “separation of church and state” that is supposed to go on, but this journalistic tenet is a modern idea. Newspapers in days gone by were expected to be hearty and continual business boosters, and fulfilled this role unabashedly. After all, in young cities and towns still gaining a foothold on commerce, it was in the newspaper’s interest to drive sales for their advertising customers, lest the shops go out of business and they lose those ad dollars.

As we contemplate the daily news from Iraq, let’s look at an ad from another wartime New Year’s Eve: 1861. “Ho! For New Year! Persons contemplating sending BOXES and PACKAGES to their friends at Camp, in and around Washington can have them punctually attended to, at reasonable charges, by calling at SHAW’S EXPRESS OFFICE, at Walton’s Drug Store, Main below State Street, Doylestown.”