Retired teacher’s love for Dayton Daily News has lasted decades

Stanley and Bonnie Blum of Kettering are longtime Dayton Daily News subscribers. LISA POWELL / STAFF

Stanley and Bonnie Blum of Kettering are longtime Dayton Daily News subscribers. LISA POWELL / STAFF

From Stanley Blum’s earliest memories, his family subscribed to the Dayton Daily News, and he credits the paper for helping him get through college.

When Blum was a teenager, he was a newsboy for the paper, selling them outside the old Sears store on Monument Avenue. The paper helped his father learn to read and know the English language, Blum said.

“My father died while I was in high school, and a Newsboys Scholarship became part of the financial package that enabled me to attend college,” Blum said.

Blum went on to become a teacher at Colonel White High School in Dayton, where he taught from the 1950s to 1970s. He said he required his students to read the paper daily, clip out three articles that interested them from all topics, prepare a summary of each and submit them for class credit. It helped them keep up with current events.

“As a teacher of seniors, I have been frequently invited to class reunions. Numerous times, former students have told me that it was because of these newspaper assignments that they learned to read the paper, analyze and understand current events, and that these lessons have lasted a lifetime,” Blum said.

When he and his wife Connie were married in 1955 they started their own subscription.

He continues to hold monthly current event discussions in his independent living community, and the Dayton Daily News is the primary source. Blum and Connie are in their 90s.

He said the paper lately has enabled him to have in-depth coverage and balanced editorial views that are critical to real objective thinking.

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