New Year’s Eve morning at the Rare & Early Newspapers’ archives was busy, but I did find a moment to clean up some issues in the ever-growing pile of “my favorite things”. As I progressed through the task at hand, I discovered the issue shown below and simply had to share it as it is a great reminder of how January 1st isn’t the only day to usher in a new era. Out of the ashes of the Civil War, Joel Chandler Harris captured the moment with whimsical stories [1] gathered from black men and women who were piecing together their own America-rooted culture in the newfound light of freedom. Many years later, these stories were featured in movie & song [2] so a whole new generation could appreciate the wisdom shared by those who had intimately experienced so much hardship decades earlier. Now we can hold tightly to the example of all the brave, overcoming souls who helped our country press forward at one of its most pivotal moments, and we can enter 2025 with boldness, hope and compassion. Happy New Year to everyone from those of us at Rare Early Newspapers. May your step into the new era of 2025 be smooth sailing. 