Loyal readers of the Herald for a long, long time

Avid Reader: Laurie Bowman has been reading the Newcastle Herald since the days of World War II.

Charlestown's Laurie Bowman, 83, has been reading the Newcastle Herald since he was five.

"I can recall when I was quite young, reading parts of the Herald," Laurie said.

"I remember reading the Herald out loud and my parents saying, 'Wow, you're going good now'."

He recalls reading the Herald when his dad went away to World War II.

"I was about five," he said.

"We've been getting the paper since then."

He fondly recalled the paper being delivered and "chucked over the fence". At the time, Reg from the Adamstown newsagents had an "open white Coupe Vauxhall".

"Pretty well everyone in the street at Adamstown would watch him chuck it right, left and centre. It was good to watch actually," Laurie said.

Many years later, Reg died in an accident at the BHP steelworks. The Herald reported it at the time.

"The number two ore bridge collapsed. Reg was the driver killed in that crash. I was an apprentice at the time and part of our morning maintenance was to service the ore bridges," he said.

"It was a sad morning that day, circa 1954."

Laurie shared his Herald routine.

"I get it of a morning, pull the crossword out and work out as many of those words as I can. Once I get a few of them, I read the comics.

"Mate, I get the giggles out of Zits. He's a typical bloomin' teenager - I love that. Then I start on the cryptic crossword. Then I browse through the paper, reading from cover to cover."

We reported on Wednesday that Bill Cox, 98, had been reading the Herald since he was nine. Bill wondered if anyone else had been reading the Herald for that long.

Laurie said he gets the paper for his next-door neighbour John McDermott, who's also 98.

Another Herald Devotee

East Maitland's Stan Spink said his 98-year-old mum, Esther Spink, still reads the Herald.

"She is currently in the Kurri Kurri Masonic Village. Everyday the paper is delivered to her room. In fact, one of the first questions she asked management was, 'Does the Herald get delivered here?'

"She was ecstatic when the response was 'yes'. She has been a reader of the Newcastle Herald and Miners' Advocate since she could read and at 98 that's a long long time."