Here we have an exceedingly fine example of the check-passing genre of newspaper photography—a staple of small-town papers across the country.

This is from the Oct. 12, 1977 Observer when Rick Guss (right), manager of Don’s Market, presented a check for $48.63 to Ron Rothfuss (left), athletic director, and Dave Moyer, football coach.

Check-passing photos don’t appear in some papers because they’re so silly. At a paper to the northwest where a former Observer editor serves as editor, there’s a sliding scale of check-passing. It takes a thousand bucks or something to make the front page, $500 inside, etc. I don’t think $48.63 would cut it.