After experiencing the vagaries of frost and thaw, Irish citizens may be inclined to envy St. Petersburg, in Florida, a town which rejoices in the name "Sunshine City".
About thirty years ago the editor of the local paper, the Evening Independent, used the term as the title of a poem dealing with the amenities of the town. Rival Florida tourist resorts questioned the claims of fair weather that were made.
In reply - on September 1 , 1910 - the editor made an offer to give away every copy of his paper every day the sun failed to shine before press time. Within six weeks of the offer the editor had to give away the paper for two successive days.
In spite of jeers and criticism, the paper maintained its offer, and during the last twenty-nine years the Evening Independent has been free 135 times, or less than five times a year. Once there was a gap of eighteen months between free papers, eleven times it was given away two days in succession, and once for three days.
As a result of the "sunshine offer" the name of Sunshine City has been firmly fixed on St. Petersburg, and the United States Mail Department delivers letters so addressed.
This helped to make the place known to visitors in search of sunshine, and was a great victory for newspaper enterprise. But I think it will be a long time before an Irish newspaper follows suit.
The Irish Times, February 1st, 1940.