# "Shitload of snow" in a newspaper - how do I find the source? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206 "2003-08-05T21:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/1 "2003-08-05T21:31:46Z")
Dopers, how can I track down the origin of a xerox I have of a Morning Herald (?) newspaper photo with a caption that says, “Though a shitload of snow fell Saturday, snowplow crews had most major streets cleared by Sunday.”… I don’t know where it came from. It looks totally authentic, but I never knew the source. Could be 20 years old. Any ideas on determining provenance? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/2 "2003-08-05T21:38:27Z")
Are you sure it’s not a gag newspaper article someone had made up? That sort of thing can be printed just about everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/3 "2003-08-05T22:16:28Z")
What QED said. You can get newspapers with gag headlines at lots of boardwalk variety/amusement shops. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/4 "2003-08-05T22:16:28Z")
What QED said. You can get newspapers with gag headlines at lots of boardwalk variety/amusement shops. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/5 "2003-08-05T22:39:10Z")
This is a photo with a caption, more complete than my quote. It shows people shoveling snow, it has a photographer attribution, and it looks for all the world like a legitimate newspaper product. I have thought that it may have been a dummy made up as a gag in a newsroom someplace, that somehow slipped past editors. Definitely not a gag headline. So - any ideas on how to track it down? ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/6 "2003-08-05T22:47:36Z")
More info needed. Morning Herald? Which country, city? Is there a date? Have you googled and phonebook searched the photographers name? Contacted the Morning Herald and asked if they have heard about this? Etc. Was the term “shitload” used 20 years ago? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/7 "2003-08-05T22:51:32Z")
It only says Morning Herald. No city. No date. Photographer’s name is very common, maybe Joe Young, or Jon Young. Lots of Morning Herald’s. Yep. “Shitload”'s been used a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/8 "2003-08-05T22:54:01Z")
Have you tried searching by the photographer’s name? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/9 "2003-08-05T22:54:48Z")
Gee, does it look more realistic than [this](http://www.trixiepixgraphics.com/scanshtm/c-70.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/10 "2003-08-05T23:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Achernar \* > \*\*Gee, does it look more realistic than [this](http://www.trixiepixgraphics.com/scanshtm/c-70.html)? \*\* Christ, you couldn’t find a slightly less eye-searing page to link to? I think my retinas are scalded now. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/11 "2003-08-05T23:22:26Z")
Wow, that was a slow reply on my part. I did read the thread first, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/12 "2003-08-06T01:51:21Z")
I don’t care how “realistic” it looks. I can make up a newspaper that looks more realistic than some “real” papers I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/13 "2003-08-06T02:59:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > Christ, you couldn’t find a slightly less eye-searing page to link to? I think my retinas are scalded now. Oh come on. How seriously would people have taken me if I’d said, “Warning: page is green.” ---
**Author:** ![ooga\_booga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@ooga\_booga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ooga_booga)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/14 "2003-08-06T06:29:57Z")
Newspaper photographer here. I have no doubt that the photocopy **CC** describes is authentic. Every now and then some bored staffer will write a joke caption, or a designer will type out something humorous to fit a space in their layout, and for whatever reason nobody catches it until it gets into print. I’ve never witnessed it first-hand, but I’ve seen enough examples to make me think the one described here is real. As for the Morning Herald, my guess would be that it came from the [Hagerstown (Md.) Morning Herald](http://www.herald-mail.com) - aside from a Morning Herald in Titusville, Pa., that may or may not still exist, it was the only Morning Herald I could find in the US. There is the [Sydney Morning Herald](http://www.smh.com.au), but I don’t think they’ve ever gotten a “shitload of snow” in Sydney. ---
**Author:** ![ooga\_booga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@ooga\_booga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ooga_booga)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/15 "2003-08-06T06:31:16Z")
I should add that if it’s 20 years old, it may have come from one of the many many small-town newspapers that have folded in the last couple of decades. In which case, good luck trying to track it down. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/16 "2003-08-06T10:16:37Z")
CC - any chance of putting a scan of the paper up anywhere? Don’t rule out the Sydney Morning Herald - although snow in Sydney might not be that common they do get plenty in the (duh) Snowy Mountains in southwest NSW. Although if the spelling used is “snowplow” I think it’s more likely to be a US paper. They write “snowplough” in Australia, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/17 "2003-08-06T11:08:47Z")
I think the fact that the lone line “A shitload of snow” gives the impression that it’s real. One would expect a fake article to be littered with untruths and larger-than-life tales. ---
**Author:** ![LeeAnn.atwood\_wellnessplace.or](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f0a364/32.png) [@LeeAnn.atwood\_wellnessplace.or](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeAnn.atwood_wellnessplace.or)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/18 "2011-02-04T02:56:13Z")
The photo/caption you are referring to ran in the (then known as) Crystal Lake Herald, March, 1984…Crystal Lake Illinois. This was not a hoax–rather, a prank pulled by a former copy editor who assumed the person coming behind them would catch the creative caption and edit back. Obviously it was missed and ran as is–lending to local lore and lots of laughs since. This message board was active in 2003–not sure if you are still looking for the information but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/19 "2011-02-04T03:04:46Z")
> [@LeeAnn.atwood\_wellnessplace.or](#): > > The photo/caption you are referring to ran in the (then known as) Crystal Lake Herald, March, 1984…Crystal Lake Illinois. This was not a hoax–rather, a prank pulled by a former copy editor who assumed the person coming behind them would catch the creative caption and edit back. Obviously it was missed and ran as is–lending to local lore and lots of laughs since. This message board was active in 2003–not sure if you are still looking for the information but there you go. So if that’s true, do we have only your word for it, or can you provide a link to a source? Especially since no one has come forward in 8 years with the information you just supplied. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206/20 "2011-02-04T03:38:11Z")
No hits on Google News Archive, Google Images, or Google Books that match that. However, Google came up with a [Facebook discussion page](http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=37182527980&topic=6134) with old newsies reminiscing. They remember a Crystal Lake Morning Herald prank and the photographer who did it. > [@](#): > > Good call, Joe. It was Jon Young. He actually took me out one afternoon and showed me how to take community pictures. Really good, soft spoken guy. > > One of the great things the CL Morning Herald did was shortly after the picture was published and the initial outcry led to Jon’s suspension, the Herald ran an entire page of letters to the editor saying how much they loved the photo and the cut line. It was pretty cool to see. > > This turns up another memory that just came to me. The guys in the photo were Steve Metsch and another guy who worked at the Herald, who I believe left and took a job with Miller Brewing. Not only did Jon get busted for the cut line, but then the bosses found out that he actually just went home and snapped a picture of his friends shoveling snow. Double-whammy, as the kids say. No solid sources or dates. But another search brought [this](http://www.nwherald.com/2011/01/27/wyss-how-much-snow-well-heres-the-thing/cy9eok1/) up, and you can’t ask for more - short of an actual picture, of course. > [@](#): > > If you’ve lived in McHenry County since the 1980s, or know anyone who has, you probably have heard of the snowstorm description that once published in the Crystal Lake Morning Herald, a Northwest Herald predecessor. I’d heard of it, certainly, but never before Thursday did I actually put eyes on a copy of it – complete with the image of the shoveling duo to whom the caption referred – right below a story about the now-deceased Dick Klemm running unopposed for re-election to his 63rd District state house seat. > > The year was 1984, long enough ago that it’s hilarious even to an editor, although I’m sure at the time it was no laughing matter, at least not for those who allowed the inside joke to slip into the printed product. > > The full caption? Enjoy: “Arthur Loy, foreground, and his mother, Judy, used teamwork Sunday to clear their sidewalk of nearly seven inches of snow that fell Saturday evening. Though a sh–load of snow fell Saturday, snowplow crews had most major streets cleared by Sunday. Warmer temperatures should be accompanied by rain the next several days.” > > The original contained no hyphens. Dopers are the most skeptical, “Show Me” folks on the Internet, which is why a mere assertion automatically gets doubted. But the answer appears to be exactly right and we thank you, Lee Ann, for clearing up this old dangling mystery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shitload-of-snow-in-a-newspaper-how-do-i-find-the-source/193206.md?page=2)