THE WONDERFUL U.S. CENSUS TAKER

As we approach the U.S. Census 2010 operations, we are reminded of the importance that the decennial Census has upon our country each time it is conducted. The primary purpose, to conduct an accurate population count in order to determine the number of representatives for the U.S. House of Representatives, is just one aspect of how the gathered statistics are used.

The distribution of millions of tax dollars to state and local municipalities is another major ramification of the decennial count. That is why an accurate count is so critical, and the U.S. Census Bureau will be training U.S. Census 2010 workers in the coming months to successfully accomplish that goal.

The effects that the U.S. Census results have upon a community can be very profound. Such was the case in the 1950 decennial concerning the city of Denver, Colorado. The Denver metropolitan area experienced a 46% increase in population between 1940 and 1950-- from 383,373 to 560,309 persons.

The ramifications were so profound, that the Denver Post newspaper published a full page feature “ad” in late 1950 thanking the U.S. Census Bureau for their fine work, and especially the Census taker himself. The illustration shows the blushing male Census taker with ledger and pencil in hand. He is being showered with: roses, a handshake, a tip of the hat, candy, a hug, and a photograph. Gosh, don’t you wish we were treated like that all the time to make our job easier? At least the candy.

The text reads, “Some other cities, whose population ‘guesstimates’ were a little optimistic, may be mad at the census taker. But we’re not. We have good reason to think he’s a very nice man. According to preliminary figures released by the Census Bureau, here’s what he found:” which was followed by the comparison statistics.

Perhaps newspapers in our communities ought to bring back “nice ads” like this one. This is certainly a “classic” in Census-related collectibles. We are reproducing it here for our readers to enjoy and marvel at. May it serve as an inspiration for the work that will be done by U.S. Census enumerators in the coming months for U.S. Census 2010.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
	Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints \| Albion Scenes \| Custom Cards \| Zazzle Gifts
	AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net \| Albion Blog \| Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net
	General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community \| General Guide — Outdoors
	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981 \| Advertise on AlbionMich.com