Today I came across a hidden gem of a story, an unbylined piece that ran on page 6A of The Anniston Star in Alabama on October 9, 1972. I present it here, in its entirety, until the Star makes me take it down.
Article About Lonely Man Results In Birthday Party
T. W. Laine was not alone on his 67th birthday Sunday. Nineteen people attended a birthday party for the man whose profile in The Star Oct. 1 revealed him to have been lonely and almost friendless since he moved to Anniston.
Sue Freeman, Linda Carmichael, Ann Williams and others organized the party, and the American Host Inn donated a party room for the people who expressed concern about Laine.
They brought gifts — socks, handkerchiefs, groceries, a painting, a basket of fruit, a wallet , a plant, a rug, magazines, some money, candy, stationery, and a season ticket to the Anniston Little Theatre.
A woman from Laine’s hometown of Turku, Finland, attended, and a group of children sang for him. Others furnished a cake and punch. Miss Carmichael said Laine was told by the partygivers, “You are not alone. People do care about you — now that we know you are here.”
“Fantastic,” she said. “He was so sweet. He was really, really touched.”
“The tears just came, rolling down,” Evelyn Pope said.
Laine may not have to worry about feeling useless and lonely again. There is a possibility of a job offer, and Mrs. Pope says she intends to get him involved in local senior citizens’ activities.
Laine said he got so many birthday cards from Baptist churches that now he considers himself a Baptist and plans to attend church.
During the party Sunday, Laine was quoted as saying, “I never thought that anyone would think this much of me.”
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