Graffiti.

It's been going on since the days of the pharaohs and the time of the caesars.

Of course, if someone got caught writing "Ramases licks his sphinx" or "Caesar takes it up the Rubicon," chances are the penalties would be far greater than what happens to contemporary vandals.

One of my favorite stories I published when I was managing editor of the News-Star and Booster newspapers involved a Chicago police graffiti sting.

The cops staked out a nice virgin wall for an entire evening and, one by one, arrested 25 or 30 miscreants ranging in age from juveniles to adults well into their 30s and 40s who just couldn't resist symbolically lifting a leg and peeing on somebody else's property.

The cops gave us a list of those 17 and older who'd been arrested and I ran the list on the front page under the headline: Do You See Any of Your Neighbors' Names Here? I expected to get complaints from the folks whose names appeared in the paper, but nobody called or wrote.

That's when I realized that these punks probably creamed their shorts over the publicity.

The losing battle over graffiti is being fought here in Jefferson Park, just as it is elsewhere in the city of Chicago.

This desecration isn't confined to urban areas, even. During a recent train trip on Amtrak's Southwest Chief, I saw graffiti spray-painted on walls and viaducts all over the place. They've even tagged rocks out in the middle of nowhere. 

PHOTOS -- Top: Pedestrian tunnel and steps leading from North Milwaukee Avenue to the Metra platform. Middle: Graffiti on door of unoccupied retail space just north of Nadig Newspapers. Bottom: Back door of Jefferson Park's CVS drugstore.

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The idea of social media allowing friends, family and total strangers to glimpse tantalizing tidbits of your personal business is nothing new. Something very similar would have been familiar to anybody who picked up a small-town newspaper in days gone by.

That's exactly the thought that struck me recently while doing research at the Jefferson County Public Library's Standley Lake Branch in Arvada, Colorado. As I reeled my way through the library's microfilm back records of long-ago newspapers, I realized that much -- if not all -- of the small-town news familiar to generations of readers is not that different from the purported blathering on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the like.

Although few folks probably sought to have domestic-violence arrests and drunken-driven convictions printed in the local newspaper, the remainder of personal local news undoubtedly made its way into print at the insistence of those involved. Bridal showers, weddings, graduations, out-of-town visitors and a surprisingly detailed account of medical problems all are presented with a candor that would astound many contemporary blab-it-alls and busybodies.

A bygone-day's example of TMI is on full view in the May 12, 1938, edition of the East Jefferson Sentinel, a weekly newspaper that focused on the city of Edgewater, as well as areas of Jefferson County that decades later would incorporate as Wheat Ridge and Lakewood.

Disclosure: In the late 1970s, I briefly worked for Sentinel Newspapers, which by then had grown into a powerhouse serving Denver and its suburbs.

As you view highlights of the hometown bits of tid that East Jefferson Sentinel subscribers were reading 72 years ago, keep in mind that effective antibiotic treatments were still years away, pneumonia often was deadly, and even the most minor surgeries could be invasive and life-threatening.

A sampling from the Sentinel's "Neighborhood News" column:

David, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Haley, is sick with pneumonia.

C.M. Drundidge of 2523 Eaton St. is sick with pneumonia.

Herman Schlemann's mother, whose home is in Barnum, is recuperating at St. Anthony's Hospital from a gall bladder operation performed Friday morning.

Mrs. C.W. Francis has been confined to her bed for the past week threatened with pneumonia.

Mrs. George Dalton remains desperately sick at her home on Gray Street and shows very slight signs of improvement.

Mary Anna, 3-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Eldridge, is up and playing after a critically sick spell since the day before Christmas. It was necessary to have both of her ears lanced and she barely averted having bronchial pneumonia.

Frank Wind has gone to California for an indefinite stay.

Mrs. Ed Kaden of West 32nd Avenue near Wadsworth Boulevard was made very ill by the fumes from her gas stove one day last week. She was found on the kitchen floor by her husband.

Mary-Emma Gelvin was unable to attend school on Friday owing to her foot giving her a deal deal of pain. Quite some time ago, she had her heel frosted and occasionally the foot swells and causes her trouble.

Then there's this unusual pair of reports that make you wonder what exactly went on. Do the two items describe the same woman or is this a case of mother-daughter gastrointestinal distress?

May Starr, daughter of Mrs. Mary Starr of 2425 Gray St., was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital on Friday suffering with a stomach ailment and nervous disorder.

Mrs. John Starr was taken to St. Anthony's Hospital with a spell of indigestion. It was thought that it might be appendicitis but only proved to be a serious indigestion spell. She was brought home the next day.

Here's an item that would have generated guffaws, even in 1938:

Mr. Harold Earsom has been quite ill with the flu and was unable to go with his delivery truck.

Finally, here's an example of a poignant hometown news item that we can only hope had a happy ending:

The many Edgewater friends of Mrs. Pearl Chandler were grieved to learn that on account of her mental condition it was necessary to have her committed to the State Hospital in Pueblo on January 11.

What happened to Mrs. Chandler? Did she recover and come back to Edgewater? She probably suffered from a condition that these days would be cured by talking therapy or psychiatric medication. But that was then, and this is now.

Just imagine what people in the seemingly distant year of 2082 will think of what we're tweeting now.

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You know, I can't think of anybody better to explain about social media than Paul Swansen. Paul is a journalist, traditional radio broadcast guy, tech guru and Internet radio entrepreneur -- and, appropriately enough, we became acquiainted through social media.

I first "met" Paul through Flickr because I enjoyed his photo documentation project for my hometown of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. I especially like "Gas in 80033," in which Paul keeps tabs of fluctuating prices at local pumps.

Turns out Paul also knows a former colleague of mine, Len Edgerly, whom I worked with some years back at the Casper Star-Tribune. It's a small social media world, after all.

Paul and I chatted about social media as I drove my rented GMC Canyon (above) from Wheat Ridge up to Idaho Springs. We also tracked down the location of the Steve Canyon statue up there.

I don't think the statue looks anything like Milton Caniff's famous comic strip character. And those buttons on his shirt are way too big.

Check out Random Access Radio.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com

During a recent trip to Colorado, I spoke with my cousin Brian Hague about the latest "Star Trek" movie -- which managed to upset one of our younger relatives.

Specifically, we discuss whether it was really necessary for director J.J. Abrams to kill off Spock's mother.

By the way, Brian proves to have a wealth of information about all things "Trek" -- including an interesting connection between the series and "M*A*S*H."

(Photo: startrekmovie.com)

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