DOWAGIAC — Imogene Diamond, 83, of Dowagiac sat in her room at The Timbers of Cass County and visited with her granddaughter, Stephanie Pinkowski. On a bed, sat a stack of newspapers from The Dowagiac Daily News. Some are dated back to the 1940s, some from the ‘70s. The dates range, but the reasons for keeping them stay the same. Diamond has saved the papers throughout the years to help her remember.

In the background, a television played the local news, Diamond sipped a McDonald’s shake brought to her by Pinkowski and on her tray sat Thursday’s paper from The Dowagiac Daily News. Even after all these years, Diamond remains a loyal reader of the newspaper, which her father received before she was even born and when her family still lived in Decatur.

Now, when Pinkowski visits her grandmother, which is at least once a week, they look through the pages of the newspapers and are transported back in time, Pinkowski said. She makes it a priority to read Diamond the headlines from Diamond’s “good old days.”

“You can go through here, and it reminds her of stuff,” Pinkowski said. “You don’t know how important that is. She was so social, out in the community for years, and you start to lose touch with that.”

After looking through the stacks, Pinkowski pulled out a Dowagiac Daily News from the 1970s. Her mother, Deborah, is on one of the pages pictured ice skating at Justice Gage Elementary School. Pinkowski picked up another paper from 1948 with a photo of downtown Dowagiac on the front. She showed it to Diamond, who began discussing the theatres in town.

“One time, we had three theaters in Dowagiac,” Diamond said, as Pinkowski pointed out how much Diamond remembers from all those years ago.

“I don’t know about that,” Diamond said with a laugh.

The stack presented is only a small portion of the newspapers Diamond has saved. Some seem obvious, like a paper from the year Deborah graduated and the newspaper that had a picture of Pinkowski that Diamond had submitted for a Valentine’s Day Grandchildren piece published in 1977.

“We come in, and then we have more to chat about,” Pinkowski said. “It jogs her memory, and she feels better.”

Diamond has remained dedicated to the Dowagiac community in several areas of her life. She lived on Jones Street for her whole life, welcoming an abundance of grandchildren into her home. She worked at Sealed Power for 22 years, starting work on the day Pinkowski was born in 1975. Diamond attended mass at Calvary Bible Church and Victory Tabernacle for years. She also visited the same hairdresser at The Hairitage, 124 S. Front St., which was located in town until last year.

“She got her hair done every Thursday since literally I was born,” Pinkowski said. “Grandma always had her hair done.”

Diamond also worked as a waitress at Caruso’s Candy and Soda Shop for four years in high school. A picture of her posing with the owners is still on the wall. Pinkowski recalled how Diamond used to take all the grandchildren to Caruso’s every week for a green river and a toasted tuna sandwich.

When Pinkowski found the stash of newspapers, she posted three of them on a Facebook page, “You know you grew up in Dowagiac Michigan if…” Many people commented on the Facebook post bringing up fond memories they had of Grandma Jean.

“That Dowagiac page has been amazing,” Pinkowski said. “She was so social. She went visiting all the time. When her legs quit working, she had to come in here. You lose touch with everybody. Not everyone can make it here. Not even everybody knows you’ve moved here.”

An old friend of Diamond’s saw the Facebook post and made a plan to visit her at the Timbers. Diamond was so happy to have seen an old friend, Pinkowski said. 

“It was all about a Dowagiac Daily News article, and it brought all these things to my grandmother,” Pinkowski said.

Diamond is a creature of habit who looks forward to two things every day: watching “The Young and the Restless,” which she has done now for 31 years, and reading that day’s edition of The Dowagiac Daily News.

Before putting down a paper from the Dowagiac Daily News, Diamond always used to read the Ann Landers’ advice column, although now some things have changed.

“I always look at the obituaries,” Diamond said.

It allows her to keep in touch with what is going on with friends and updated on who has passed away. After Diamond reads the paper, she passes it across the hall to another resident, Sharon.

Diamond used to get the paper delivered to her house, and on some days faithfully picked it up at the Manor Mini-Mart in Dowagiac on her way to a 3 to 11 p.m. shift at work. 

“I always got the paper before work,” she said. “I was always telling everybody what was going on.”

Now at Timbers, Diamond has a rotating door of visitors including Pinkowski, Deborah, who visits every day, and Pinkowski’s aunt and cousin, who also live in town.

Finding the saved and well-kept newspapers from The Dowagiac Daily News has allowed Diamond and Pinkowski to share stories. Diamond said she will continue to read the Dowagiac Daily News for as long as she can and Pinkowski agreed.

“It’s kind of our thing,” Pinkowski said. “We like it. It’s still the base of the city. It’s a conversation piece that gives us a lot to chat about.”