Future Research Needs

Updated February 2026: Four new years

The research never ceases, which is a good thing!

There are several gaps in the overall history timeline – many discovered in the switch to WordPress – which we hope to start filling in 2026. Much will be dependent upon our ability to access Bacon Library in Wyandotte (which is currently undergoing a much-needed renovation), as well as researching AI and local newspapers for headlines from 2024-2025, which were missed due to the former site being under “legacy” status.

​Our future areas we hope to cover, including the years needed to fill our timeline gaps, will be: The 1880s, 1910s, 1940-1944, 1951-1952, 1956, 1964, 1970 (part of), 1971-72, 1974-75, 1981-82, and 2014.

Close observers will note that in February, 2026, we added four different years to the “needs” list, while subtracting 2002-2004 and 2024 to the present day. In combing through for the new-style history blog on WordPress, there was not enough information to compile stories for those years. The opposite holds true for present-day material; I seem to have been one of the last “holdouts” in discovering the power of AI, which has helped tremendously in extending our storyline past the original 2023 ending.

Researching early years presents a challenge for a couple reasons. The original News Herald editions, as was the case with all newspapers of that era, were all small print with no photos, and very few graphics. The condition of the microfilm prints of these early papers make reading them especially difficult. Progress in the 1880s, therefore, promises to be laborious.

The same can be said with the 1910s. Additionally during wartime, most stories published were of the national scale, with very few articles devoted to local happenings. The News-Herald also slanted on a national focus during World War II, though the quality of the prints were noticeably better.

Secondly, through no fault of their own, The News-Herald was based in Wyandotte, so many stories outside of the jurisdiction were not reported on. If the early part of the history timeline takes a Wyandotte theme, this would be the reason why. Lastly, The News-Herald headquarters in downtown Wyandotte was destroyed by fire in the early part of the 20th century, with all records lost up to that point.

​It is the challenge in researching these gaps, however, that brings out the charm in the task and makes it so fun when an important event is discovered.