OLD PAPERS: Wednesday morning, November 13, 1918.

That’s the date of the paper that Assistant Managing Editor Marcie Schellhammer received in the mail from her former brother-in-law, Dr. Richard Schellhammer, a longtime history professor at University of West Alabama, who recently retired.

Rich specialized in World War II, and over the years, received lots of “goodies” from well-meaning folks who wanted a chance to preserve history. He sent some on to The Era.

In this copy of The Era, news of the armistice of World War I was shared.

“Germany Begs For Bread And Peace at Earliest Moment — Huge Guns Everywhere Mute.”

“Hostilities give place to peace preparations. Foe prepares to evacuate invaded territory. Will Feed Germans. In doing so, however, Allies will take care that undue privation is not visited upon peoples of Allied Nations. Mutinous sailors of Northern German fleet said to be preparing to resist carrying out terms of Armistice relating to Navy.”

All of that was just the headline.

“The guns everywhere are mute. Hostilities have given way to preparations by the defeated enemy to evacuate all invaded territory in accordance with the terms of the armistice and by the Entente forces to take up the strategic positions assigned them in order that the foe may be unable to resume fighting.”

The Allies have stacked arms, the story said, and are on the alert, and “will remain until the peace which will make the world safe for democracy has arrived.”

Some other headlines seldom change — “High taxes for several years” expected to pay off war debts. At least four billion was being sought. In 1918. Wow.