The Price of a Newspaper Subscription
A high-stakes coupon-clipping race for scholarships and a bicycle reveals the fierce competition behind local journalism.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Statesman's coupon clipping contest came to a close Monday noon. Miss Bessie Sabel won the Whitman College scholarship; Miss Luella Barr the Empire Business College scholarship; and Miss Bertha Anger the Rambler bicycle. Interest in the contest was most keen from the start. Friends of the various contestants took a decided interest in the vote as announced weekly and rustled for coupons almost as hard as the contestants did themselves. The rivalry reached fever heat two weeks ago and continued until the day the contest closed. Owing to irregularities in casting votes, several were thrown out at the final count, though they would not have changed the result.
“Friends of the various contestants took a decided interest in the vote as announced weekly and rustled for coupons almost as hard as the contestants did themselves.”
Newspapers frequently used such contests to boost circulation and foster community engagement. The 'fever heat' described reflects how vital these local publications were to social standing and access to higher education at the time.
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