Yes indeed, Howie. Our local FHS has microfilm copies of our local Western Australian newspapers going back to the earliest days of settlement. They paint a wonderful picture of what life was like for the pioneers. I find the problem with them to be that I tend to become so absorbed that I forget to look for whatever it is I was hoping to find. <vbg> Geo. The centre for Oxfordshire Studies in Oxford, which I visit most Thursdays to look for answers to correspondents' Family History problems, has an excellent collection on microfilm of local newspapers, some dating from as early as the 18th Century. I get a lot of pleasure in reading the reports of past celebrations or other events. Howie