I remember more of these than I care to admit. Oddly, even as a kid I remembered feeling they were a little homely looking for a nationally syndicated publication especially compared to the slick, Readers' Digest-produced Weekly Reader, but they do compile to make an interesting set of documents and there's something nice about their optimism.
Holy shit. Thank you for this. still not happy about Mighty Funny's redesign in the early 80s. posted by jtron at 9:02 PM on March 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
Oh my, I had completely forgotten about this. Thanks for bringing me back to 1978. posted by waitingtoderail at 9:05 PM on March 31, 2011
Odds my bodkins, how I used to love the Mini Page when I was little. Finding the word MINI in all of the Mini Spy puzzles was one of the high points of my week. (I was a simple people back then.) I am convinced that that's how I got so good at finding all of the NINAs in Al Hirschfeld's cartoons.
Miko, you rock. Thank you for posting this. posted by bakerina at 9:18 PM on March 31, 2011
I clicked through on the 1974 link and immediately had a strong flashback to elementary school. I didn't think I remembered this, but there it is. (Also, I remember open classrooms and hands-on science kits). posted by not that girl at 9:18 PM on March 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Chiming in with appreciation. posted by JHarris at 9:19 PM on March 31, 2011
It was years before I realized that the Mini Page was syndicated and not just unique to the Raleigh N+O (although that's where it first appeared.) Sadly, the entire print edition of the N+O today is not much bigger than the Mini Page. posted by Rangeboy at 9:25 PM on March 31, 2011
It is really weirding me out how accurately I remember these. I had no idea they were still lodged in the deep recesses of my brain -- especially that Al Gore one. Thanks for the link! posted by spiderskull at 9:28 PM on March 31, 2011
Oh, wow. I lived for the Mini Page when I was a little kid. We always took the Chronicle, even before the Houston Post folded, and the Mini Page came in Saturday's Lifestyle and religious section.
Like Rangeboy, I didn't realize it was syndicated. What a fabulous product for kids. God bless Betty Debnam.
And Miko, for posting. posted by pineapple at 9:32 PM on March 31, 2011
Yeah, the Mini Spy puzzles were excellent. I remember doing them and reading the articles while sitting next to my mom, every Wednesday, while she read the adult people paper. I had no idea that it was just produced by one person. Thanks for helping me realize that Betty Debnam is awesome. posted by mcmile at 9:36 PM on March 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
I freaking lurve the Minipage! posted by bardic at 9:45 PM on March 31, 2011
Wow. It is a very interesting experience to realize that people all over the world shared a formative childhood reading experience with me, and I'm not the only person who still remembers it. Not that I'd actively thought about The Mini Page in years, but I remember reading it in my local newspaper in the late 80s. posted by Alterscape at 10:33 PM on March 31, 2011
Huh. These aren't even remotely familiar. I guess I kept living in places where they weren't available, or something. posted by rtha at 10:35 PM on March 31, 2011
These aren't even remotely familiar. I guess I kept living in places where they weren't available, or something.
Same here. But no big mystery: I grew up in Alabama, where children reading (as opposed to playing football) was not seen as desirable. posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:45 PM on March 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Which is to say that it's really not a bad thing to be earnest. posted by sonascope at 5:07 AM on April 1, 2011
Not at all. This is something that, if conceived today, could just not be so noncommercial.
I was a Highlights reader, too. My grandmother always subscribed for us. I can recall a few other publications I loved, some of which I'd love to make an FPP about sometime. There was a lot of good kids' media in the 70s and 80s. Not sure what kids are offered to read today. posted by Miko at 10:43 AM on April 1, 2011
1994: The Information Superhighway, featuring Al Gore.
Holy shit! Al Gore did invent the internet! posted by ericbop at 11:45 AM on April 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
as a kid I remembered feeling they were a little homely looking for a nationally syndicated publication
When I was 10, the Long Beach Press-Telegram ran the Mini Page every Wednesday. And then, one day, they decided to reduce it from one one to half a page.
I really loved it, and, with my grandmother's encouragement, wrote a letter to the editor complaining about how they shouldn't cut down the Mini Page because it got more children reading the paper blah blah blah self-important-overly-clever-child nonsense.
They printed it, and then, the next thing I know, I'm invited to the Press-Telegram for a luncheon for the best letters to the editor of the year. There's me, ridiculous little 10-year-old me, and then there are busybodies who obsess over zoning legislation or other such local nonsense.
We got a tour of the entire newspaper, which was as exciting as it could be when you're talking about a 1987 relatively small-time newspaper, and that was my day at the Press-Telegram.
I think I got a certificate, and then, a year later, they cut it down again. But by then, my nerdy passions had moved on to something else (not that I remember what it was - maybe a chemistry set or that Tandy that attached to our TV), and nobody else in the South Bay area took up the banner of childhood nerd fury.
I actually didn't know until now that it was syndicated. I wonder if she knows that I fought to keep it going once. posted by Katemonkey at 4:40 PM on April 1, 2011 [7 favorites]
I loved the Mini Page growing up. Betty Debnam came to speak at my school and was just incredibly lovely to everyone. posted by Pallas Athena at 9:09 AM on April 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
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