Chapter 14- Tom's Own Newspaper

Chapter Summary-

It is now the fall of 1861. The Civil War is underway and the people are hungry for the news. The papers Tom and James are selling on the train are more popular than ever! But Tom notices a problem. The telegraph operators get the latest news, but by the time the printers of The Detroit Free Press and other newspapers get the information and print it, the news is already old. Tom decides to solve the problem,. He finds an old second hand printing press for sale and buys it, along with some ink and metal type. Then he buys some paper from his friend at the Free Press office. Now he is ready to print his own newspaper!

Tom decides he can stop by the telegraph office in Port Huron each morning, gather the latest news reports on the war and prints news paper on the way to Detroit. Tom decides to call his paper The Weekly Herald and sell it for 3 cents a copy. Tom knows what people want to read. He includes the latest news on the war, names of the fathers and sons who have joined the Union Army, the market prices of things like eggs and chickens each week, and much more. Tom's Weekly Herald is a success! Some people even want to buy a year subscription.

One day, Tom is so busy selling his papers with the latest news of the battle of Shiloh, that he doesn't hear the train pulling out. The conductor reaches down to pull Tom up onto the train, and grabs Tom by the ears. Toms hears a popping sound but doesn't stop to notice. From then on, however, Tom Edison was partially deaf. The popping sound he'd heard was something being injured in his ear canal.

What we will cover in this chapter-
History and Geography:Gutenberg Press
Science- Human Anatomy: ear
Fine arts: Printing / handwriting


History and Geography: Gutenberg press
Tom buys an old printing press to use for his news paper(page 150). The press was antiqued but still functional. Lily and Aj learned that Johannes Gutenberg from Mainz, Germany invented the printing press previously.  When we went to Washington Dc last fall the children had the opportunity to see the first Bible that was printed on the Gutenberg Press at The Library of Congress.. We took this time to review what the children have learned about Gutenberg in the past by reading a book and having a discussion.

Fine Arts- Printing/ Handwriting
We learned that there was a short period during the introduction of printing where parchment and paper were used at the same time, parchment was the more expensive luxury option, preferred by rich and conservative customers. Although most copies of the Gutenberg Bible are on paper, some were printed on parchment; 12 of the 48 surviving copies, with most incomplete. Lily and Aj decides to write using a parchment Stationary set. The set included parchment paper that "looks and feels old" a quill pen, Ink bottle and dry ink. They enjoyed printing in this method but also found it difficult to control the ink in the quill pen

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