Robert Cormier Collection 

SUB-RECORD GROUP 1 NEWSPAPERS/PERIODICALS

Mr.  Cormier is  primarily known as á writer  of  fiction. His various novels  cover  a  variety of  subjects and  age  groups.  However, from  the 1940's until l978,  Mr. Cormier earned  his living by being employed as a reporter and a newspaper  columnist for THE  WORCESTER  TELEGRAM and THE FITCHBURG  SENTINEL (which

merged  with  THE LEOMINSTER ENTERPRISE to form THE FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER  SENTINEL  AND ENTERPRISE).  He also did free lance writing  for various periodicals. He was a columnist  for ST  ANTHONY MESSENGER and he wrote short stories, articles, and book reviews for various other periodicals.

The  items  in  this sub-record group consists of  the  materials written for the newspapers and periodicals. It does not include the short stories.

Series 1 Newspapers

Series 2 Periodicals

Series 1 Newspapers

Containers A1-A5

Arranged  by  type  of  article; title of newspaper. The individual items  are in chronological order. There is a miscellaneous sub-series.

Mr. Cormier worked for THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM from l948-l955.  He

worked  as a columnist and as a reporter, covering the  Fitchburg Leominster area. He wrote "Story from the County", a Saturday human  interest column. He worked for THE  FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER SENTINEL  AND  ENTERPRISE  from  1955-1978. He  held various positions  starting  as a reporter and finishing as an  associate editor.  He was also a columnist. These articles included stories, editorials, advertising copy, etc. He was awarded 1st prize in 1973 for The Best News Story in New England for newspapers with a circulation of 20,000-40,000  by the Associated Press for "The 'Miracle Factory' on

Whitney St."

Mr. Cormier was the author of two newspaper columns. He wrote "Story from the County" for the WORCESTER TELEGRAM and "John Fitch IV" for the FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER SENTINEL AND ENTERPRISE.

The Fitch column was published twice a week, except for vacations from Sept. 9, 1969 until Jan 13, 1978. It was a human interest column in which John Fitch IV (a pseudonym) could pass on his thoughts on various subjects; such as movies, television, scenes from the Fitchburg Leominster area, etc. The author was awarded 1st prize for writing the best column in a contest conducted by the Thompson Newspaper Inc. (owners of the SENTINEL and other newspapers) The award winning column was dated Oct. 30, 1973 and entitled " The Little Things." The unveiling of Mr. Cormier as "John Fitch IV" was made upon presentation of the Award.

The Collection has all the columns that were published. There are approximately 650 columns and are arranged by date. There are also indexes by title, date, and subject. The columns are on microfilm and the collection does include some notes and drafts.

The "Story from the County" column was published every Saturday from July 1949 until March 1954 for the WORCESTER TELEGRAM. It was a human interest column dealing with the people in north Worcester County.

The Collection has dated and undated columns. It also has a few rough drafts.

It does have a copy of the column "Doc Royal Alive in Many Hearts" (Oct. 8, 1949) which was entered into THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD on Oct. 10, 1949 by Congressman Philbin of the district representing Fitchburg and Leominster. The Collection also has a copy of the RECORD for Oct. 10, 1949. The Collection does not have a complete set of columns. They are arranged by date with a separate folder for the undated columns. There is an index by date and title of column. There are a few rough drafts.

Mr. Cormier wrote "The Sentinel Bookman" column for THE FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER SENTINEL AND ENTERPRISE. It began on Oct. 16, 1961 and lasted until Jan. 1978. The columns were a combination announcing tool, book review column, and suggested reading list. The column was published on an irregular basis. Sometimes once a week but on the average once a month.

 The Collection has representative samples only. They include dated and undated items. See index for complete holdings.

As Mr. Cormier became a recognized author he began to write book reviews for other newspapers. These include THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM and THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW MAGAZINE. The items in this series also include samples of his writings from THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM, THE FITCHBURG LEOMINSTER SENTINEL AND ENTERPRISE, AND THE LEOMINSTER ENTERPRISE. The articles include editorials, stories, articles, etc. It also includes the award winning story "The 'Miracle Factory' on Whitney Street."

The articles are arranged by newspaper. See index for complete holdings.

The final sub-series contains miscellaneous items. They include one of Mr. Cormier's reporters note book and a copy of the editor's guidelines for the SENTINEL AND ENTERPRISE.

All drafts have LIMITED access.

Published material has OPEN access.

The reporter's notebook is RESTRICTED.