In 2021 many Americans are concerned about a preponderance of so-called “fake news.” A news brief that appeared in the Aug. 30, 1912 edition of The Allentown Democrat, however, proves that misinformation of a newsy nature has been around for many years.
In a section of the paper devoted to news reports from “Hellertown and Saucon Valley,” under the heading “A False Rumor,” the newspaper reported on an incident involving a local man who was falsely accused of murdering his wife and then committing suicide:
The citizens of Lower Saucon and Hellertown were thrown into quite an excitement on Wednesday afternoon, when some one circulated a report that John Frantz of Lower Saucon had shot his wife and afterwards hanged himself. When the excitement subsided it was found that Mr. Frantz had been employed on the public highway all day and that the story was false.
-The Allentown Democrat, Aug. 30, 1912
Below is the clipping that contains the titular tidbit.
In 1912, Saucon Valley was atwitter over a murder-suicide tale that turned out to be false. It is doubtful that such a rumor would be reported by mainstream media today, however social media is frequently used to spread gossip and “fake news.”
The shocking news stands in stark contrast to the other news of the day in August 1912, which include updates about a family reunion, visits to relatives and “church notes.”
As was typical in that era, the newspaper reported on many minor occurrences, such as this social call by local residents on a former schoolteacher:
“Mrs. Andrew Uhler, Mrs. T.E. Hinkel, Mrs. D.W. Hinkel and children, Dorothy and Floyd, Mrs. J.H. Shimer and children, Mildred and Sterling, Mrs. H.J. Weber and son, Walter, and Miss Hannah Transue, all of Lower Saucon, on Wednesday visited Lawrence Kelchner in Fleetwood. Mr. Kelchner was the former teacher at the Franklin School of Lower Saucon where he was held in high esteem by his numerous associates.”
Why the editor of the paper saw fit to report on a rumor that had already been proven untrue is difficult to understand from a modern journalism perspective. While the ethics of the report may seem questionable today, at the time the editorial staff may have felt it necessary to squelch continued talk of a misdeed by reporting that the rumor was untrue.
The Allentown Democrat was a newspaper published in Allentown, Pa., from 1859 to 1919, according to U.S. Library of Congress records.
About this column: Olden Days is a new Saucon Source series in which we will use newspaper clippings in the public domain to highlight news of the Saucon Valley area from days gone by.