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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Messenger (Bloomfield, Conn.) 1943-1945

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About The Messenger (Bloomfield, Conn.) 1943-1945

The Messenger (Bloomfield, CT) was “Published Monthly by an Editorial Board of Bloomfield Citizens for the HOME TOWN BOYS in the Armed Services” from 1943 to 1945. The editor wrote in the first issue in May 1943, “Well, fellahs, here it is coming at you,–your first ‘Messenger,’ your own ‘newspaper,’ meant for you, written with you in mind. You’re its inspiration.” The editorial went into detail on how the paper got started, including the origin of its name.

The initial issue included articles on war gardens, selective service, battle news, and a war loan drive, as well as an article on Aircraft Warning Service to spot enemy aircraft. This issue, along with all others, had a very large hometown section of news called “Roadside Chatter,” along with other town news throughout the newspaper such as births, deaths, marriages, farming, elections, and village life.

Issues focused on those in the armed services and included a column called “News About The Boys on the War Front,” which also featured news about women in service. Excerpts of letters sent home from those serving and in captivity, news about those decorated for service, and notices of the missing and dead were all included.

The June 1943 issue had an article on plans to convert Bradley Field, then used for training, deployment, and housing German prisoners, into “a great trans-Atlantic commercial air port terminal and the building of an eight lane parkway from Hartford through Bloomfield…” Today, what is now known as Bradley International Airport is the second largest airport in New England, serving millions of air travelers and contributing billions into the regional economy.

The July 1944 issue had reports of D-Day as well as accounts of the tragic Barnum and Bailey circus fire in Hartford on July 6 that resulted in 162 dead and 222 injured.

December 1945 was the “Farewell Issue.” The staff inserted an appreciation for editor Jack Hoover, without his knowledge, acknowledging his tireless work over the years of the newspaper. The issue also featured names and photos of the “Bloomfield Boys Who Died That Our Nation Might Live.” The last two pages of the issue contain the article, “Bloomfield’s Participation Conspicuous In All Our Wars,” containing lists of Bloomfield citizens known to have served in conflicts from the Pequot War in 1637 up through the two World Wars. Highlighted dates from World War II were also shown on the last page of the issue, as well as a photograph of the entire staff of the Messenger.

Provided By: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Messenger (Bloomfield, Conn.) 1943-1945

Dates of Publication

  • 1943-1945

Created / Published

  • Bloomfield, Conn. : Pub. by an editorial board of Bloomfield Citizens

Headings

  • -  Soldiers--Connecticut--Bloomfield
  • -  World War, 1939-1945--Connecticut--Bloomfield--Newspapers
  • -  Bloomfield (Conn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Soldiers
  • -  Connecticut--Bloomfield
  • -  World War--(1939-1945)
  • -  1939-1945
  • -  United States--Connecticut--Hartford--Bloomfield

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Monthly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (May 1943)-v. 3, no. 8 (Dec. 1945).
  • -  "Published for the home town boys in the Armed Services," 1943-Apr. 1945. "Published for the home town boys and girls in the Armed Services," June-Dec. 1945.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Conn.

Medium

  • 3 volumes

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn94053395

OCLC Number

  • 31757820

ISSN Number

  • 2995-8865

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Messenger Bloomfield, Conn. -1945. (Bloomfield, CT), Jan. 1 1943. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94053395/.

APA citation style:

(1943, January 1) The Messenger Bloomfield, Conn. -1945. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94053395/.

MLA citation style:

The Messenger Bloomfield, Conn. -1945. (Bloomfield, CT) 1 Jan. 1943. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94053395/.