The History of Our Paper!
This story appeared in the January 1, 2008 Similkameen News Leader marking our tenth year in business.
"NEWS LEADER CELEBRATES TEN YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE!"
by Dawn Johnson & George Elliott
As 2008 begins, the News Leader celebrates 10 years in business as one of the few independent newspapers left in Canada. We often say there are no chains on us, because we are not part of anybody's chain of newspapers.
The first edition of the Similkameen News Leader was published on January 6, 1998. We sold more than 1,000 papers that week, and have continued to do so through the past 10 years. The first edition was just 20 pages, but we moved gradually up to 24 pages and now we maintain a steady 28 pages.
The original staff was the two partners, Dawn and Sharon Johnson, with Lori Thomas as advertising manager and Franco Moccia as technical support. Lori Thomas moved on after a year and a half, and Barb Fraser took over her position. Barb wanted to move on to something different, and George Elliott took over as ad manager in 2000 and stayed on. We have had some good stringers, including Patty Harrower and Sue Alton, but our longest running stringers were Joe Schwarz, with his rare brand of humour, and John Sandness, who wrote for us for years about local fishing. We encouraged John to put his articles together in book form, which he did with success.
It is to the credit of the News Leader's way of doing things that there was very little staff turnover during the past 10 years. The biggest change came when Dawn Johnson decided it was time to retire and stay home more to look after her husband. The Johnsons sold to Bengel Publishing Inc., which is George Elliott and Brenda Engel. At that time, they were single, but have since married. Dawn Johnson stayed on as adviser and part time reporter/editor. George was an old hand at both reporting and advertising, but newspaper was all new to Brenda. Our readers may note that Brenda now does some reporting and photography, and does it well.
The News Leader began as an upstart newspaper. The first year was really tough. Dawn Johnson recalls, "We got two big breaks at the start. The first was the result of the hill above Ken Thomas' property on Tulameen Road. A 50 million year old fish fossil was discovered. It was a big fish and all of it was fossilized. It made news. The next big break came a couple of months later when a grapple loader stole the night deposit vault. Out of all of the time I owned the newspaper, the photo of the grapple loader on Bridge Street ranks up there as number one."
"NEWS LEADER CELEBRATES TEN YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE!"
by Dawn Johnson & George Elliott
As 2008 begins, the News Leader celebrates 10 years in business as one of the few independent newspapers left in Canada. We often say there are no chains on us, because we are not part of anybody's chain of newspapers.
The first edition of the Similkameen News Leader was published on January 6, 1998. We sold more than 1,000 papers that week, and have continued to do so through the past 10 years. The first edition was just 20 pages, but we moved gradually up to 24 pages and now we maintain a steady 28 pages.
The original staff was the two partners, Dawn and Sharon Johnson, with Lori Thomas as advertising manager and Franco Moccia as technical support. Lori Thomas moved on after a year and a half, and Barb Fraser took over her position. Barb wanted to move on to something different, and George Elliott took over as ad manager in 2000 and stayed on. We have had some good stringers, including Patty Harrower and Sue Alton, but our longest running stringers were Joe Schwarz, with his rare brand of humour, and John Sandness, who wrote for us for years about local fishing. We encouraged John to put his articles together in book form, which he did with success.
It is to the credit of the News Leader's way of doing things that there was very little staff turnover during the past 10 years. The biggest change came when Dawn Johnson decided it was time to retire and stay home more to look after her husband. The Johnsons sold to Bengel Publishing Inc., which is George Elliott and Brenda Engel. At that time, they were single, but have since married. Dawn Johnson stayed on as adviser and part time reporter/editor. George was an old hand at both reporting and advertising, but newspaper was all new to Brenda. Our readers may note that Brenda now does some reporting and photography, and does it well.
The News Leader began as an upstart newspaper. The first year was really tough. Dawn Johnson recalls, "We got two big breaks at the start. The first was the result of the hill above Ken Thomas' property on Tulameen Road. A 50 million year old fish fossil was discovered. It was a big fish and all of it was fossilized. It made news. The next big break came a couple of months later when a grapple loader stole the night deposit vault. Out of all of the time I owned the newspaper, the photo of the grapple loader on Bridge Street ranks up there as number one."
Photo: Dawn Johnson
The next best photo, according to Dawn, was the photo of Glen Wilkinson's logging truck sitting over empty space on Whipsaw Road. There were other photos that ranked up there, with special notice of some snowmobiling photos and the head on collision of two semis near Whipsaw Bridge.
"We went to almost every serious accident. Sharon would drive to the scene, I would leap out and take the photos while she proceeded with the flow of traffic. Then she would find a place to turn around and would pick me up on the way back," Dawn recalls.
"Photos, do I take a lot of photos," says Elliott. "In 2007 alone I took a total of just over 8,500 photos. Out of those I would say my favourites are sport related. Be it hockey, horse racing, lawnmower races, rodeos I find it interesting to try to stop the action and catch it all in a single frame. My all-time favourite photo so far is a shot I took this past May at the Princeton Rodeo where a contestant is being thrown in the bareback event."
For George, the Princeton Hotel fire had to rank up there as one of the top stories.
"Most definitely," Elliott says, "But one issue that probably impacted me more than anything I've encountered was the coal-fired power plant. I remember being hesitant to get involved by taking sides in the paper, but eventually decided that if we wanted to be believed as a local newspaper dealing with local issues we had to say something. As it turns out, the paper kept pounding at it week after week to a point where it became too easy a target. Then the provincial government killed the power from coal concept and it was over. It was that issue that defined for me what we should or should not do for our community in this paper."
"We went to almost every serious accident. Sharon would drive to the scene, I would leap out and take the photos while she proceeded with the flow of traffic. Then she would find a place to turn around and would pick me up on the way back," Dawn recalls.
"Photos, do I take a lot of photos," says Elliott. "In 2007 alone I took a total of just over 8,500 photos. Out of those I would say my favourites are sport related. Be it hockey, horse racing, lawnmower races, rodeos I find it interesting to try to stop the action and catch it all in a single frame. My all-time favourite photo so far is a shot I took this past May at the Princeton Rodeo where a contestant is being thrown in the bareback event."
For George, the Princeton Hotel fire had to rank up there as one of the top stories.
"Most definitely," Elliott says, "But one issue that probably impacted me more than anything I've encountered was the coal-fired power plant. I remember being hesitant to get involved by taking sides in the paper, but eventually decided that if we wanted to be believed as a local newspaper dealing with local issues we had to say something. As it turns out, the paper kept pounding at it week after week to a point where it became too easy a target. Then the provincial government killed the power from coal concept and it was over. It was that issue that defined for me what we should or should not do for our community in this paper."
Photo: W. George Elliott
The News Leader was established to cover stories in Keremeos, Hedley, Princeton and Tulameen or where stories happened at any point in between. Sometimes the stories took the News Leader to communities outside our regular coverage area.
In 2002, the News Leader travelled to Oroville for the July 4 celebration, which included Herman Edward paddling a dugout canoe into the state park. The News Leader had covered the story from the making of the canoe right through its journey down the lakes. One year, Patty Harrower went all the
way to Nespelem to cover a story about a canoe trek on the rivers. Until the Pony Express rides ceased to be, we travelled to Tonasket.
The Similkameen Indian Bands' news have always been part of the News Leader's interest. The News Leader went to powwows and archaeological events, and the big opening ceremony for Mascot Mine Tours. Sometimes the news was sad, such as the deaths of Barnett Allison, who began the Chopaka
Rodeo, and Edward "Slim" Allison, who did so much to promote Indian Band economic development.
One of the things the News Leader has been able to do is determine editorial content independent of anyone outside our area.
Newspaper chains are often forced to run editorial content that may not mean much to local residents, or may even annoy local residents. The News Leader tries to reflect the perspective of the Similkameen Valley in all of its editorials. At times, our stance was contrary to the major trends, but was right for our valley. Similkameen Valley politics are not necessarily the politics of the world at large, and the News Leader has been quick to spot the differences.
"I think that's why it's so important to be a voice for the valley, when possible," Elliott adds, "Even when the Editorial isn't about any hard news, it's about something local or a local view on something."
The people who own the News Leader live here, and have invested here. Like so many other small business owners, the owners of the News Leader depend on the success of the entire community to protect their investment. If the community thrives, the business thrives.
As a result, the News Leader staff have always been part of community organizations. Whether it is supporting The Posse, the Arts Council, Racing Days, rodeos or Fall Fair, or the Christmas parades, Music Under the K, Hedley Stamp Mill Days, or Tulameen Family Days, the News Leader has had at least one staff member involved, if not all. What is good for the community is good for the success of the News Leader.
Anything making news anywhere in the valley was grist for our mill, including events at the Grist Mill. We went to powwows, reunions, and wedding anniversaries. In fact, our first front page was coverage of the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Doug and Edith Currie.
The News Leader has been there for rodeos in Chopaka, Keremeos and Princeton. We were at the dogsled races and snowmobile races, horse races and truck races, mud bogging and ATV events. The News Leader has been out in the community forest, into the sawmill and post mills and log sorting yard. We have been to trade shows, Lions Auctions, graduation exercises, and Youth Ambassador pageants. We went to countless traffic accidents, some of them horrendous.
We covered forest fires, the Princeton Hotel fire, fires at SBC Firemaster, an apartment building fire and the Belaire fire, bear invasions, troublesome cougars and nuisance deer and marmots. We joined the protest against a coal-fired power plant and supported the concept of a dam on the Similkameen River to control and conserve water. Our environment has been important to us.
The societies that contribute so much to our valley have also been newsmakers, whether it was Lions, Rotary, Golf Club, Curling Club, rodeo associations here and in Keremeos, Legion activities, Fall Fair, and the Sizzle. The Similkameen Sizzle has a special place in News Leader history: George and Brenda were married there.
In 2002, the News Leader travelled to Oroville for the July 4 celebration, which included Herman Edward paddling a dugout canoe into the state park. The News Leader had covered the story from the making of the canoe right through its journey down the lakes. One year, Patty Harrower went all the
way to Nespelem to cover a story about a canoe trek on the rivers. Until the Pony Express rides ceased to be, we travelled to Tonasket.
The Similkameen Indian Bands' news have always been part of the News Leader's interest. The News Leader went to powwows and archaeological events, and the big opening ceremony for Mascot Mine Tours. Sometimes the news was sad, such as the deaths of Barnett Allison, who began the Chopaka
Rodeo, and Edward "Slim" Allison, who did so much to promote Indian Band economic development.
One of the things the News Leader has been able to do is determine editorial content independent of anyone outside our area.
Newspaper chains are often forced to run editorial content that may not mean much to local residents, or may even annoy local residents. The News Leader tries to reflect the perspective of the Similkameen Valley in all of its editorials. At times, our stance was contrary to the major trends, but was right for our valley. Similkameen Valley politics are not necessarily the politics of the world at large, and the News Leader has been quick to spot the differences.
"I think that's why it's so important to be a voice for the valley, when possible," Elliott adds, "Even when the Editorial isn't about any hard news, it's about something local or a local view on something."
The people who own the News Leader live here, and have invested here. Like so many other small business owners, the owners of the News Leader depend on the success of the entire community to protect their investment. If the community thrives, the business thrives.
As a result, the News Leader staff have always been part of community organizations. Whether it is supporting The Posse, the Arts Council, Racing Days, rodeos or Fall Fair, or the Christmas parades, Music Under the K, Hedley Stamp Mill Days, or Tulameen Family Days, the News Leader has had at least one staff member involved, if not all. What is good for the community is good for the success of the News Leader.
Anything making news anywhere in the valley was grist for our mill, including events at the Grist Mill. We went to powwows, reunions, and wedding anniversaries. In fact, our first front page was coverage of the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Doug and Edith Currie.
The News Leader has been there for rodeos in Chopaka, Keremeos and Princeton. We were at the dogsled races and snowmobile races, horse races and truck races, mud bogging and ATV events. The News Leader has been out in the community forest, into the sawmill and post mills and log sorting yard. We have been to trade shows, Lions Auctions, graduation exercises, and Youth Ambassador pageants. We went to countless traffic accidents, some of them horrendous.
We covered forest fires, the Princeton Hotel fire, fires at SBC Firemaster, an apartment building fire and the Belaire fire, bear invasions, troublesome cougars and nuisance deer and marmots. We joined the protest against a coal-fired power plant and supported the concept of a dam on the Similkameen River to control and conserve water. Our environment has been important to us.
The societies that contribute so much to our valley have also been newsmakers, whether it was Lions, Rotary, Golf Club, Curling Club, rodeo associations here and in Keremeos, Legion activities, Fall Fair, and the Sizzle. The Similkameen Sizzle has a special place in News Leader history: George and Brenda were married there.
Photo: Arlene Arlow
"Actually, this came from years of me stringing for the News Leader in Keremeos," Elliott explains, "I ended up doing it when the paper couldn't find anyone else. I was already working for the News Leader by this time and it allowed me to establish contacts that are still in place. I happened to mention the wedding at a Sizzle meeting I was at (I'm on the planning committee) and it was suggested that it would be pretty neat if we got married at Sizzle. That was about all it took and before I knew it plans were in place and Brenda and I basically had to be there for it to happen. We've made some great friends in Keremeos and visit them as often as we can."
The News Leader covered only one murder, that of Josephen Drushka, still unsolved, but we went to Provincial Court every month and recorded the ups and downs of justice in our valley.
The News Leader followed the construction of new buildings, such as the new Valley First Credit Union building and the Ridgewood Lodge expansion. We followed the decline of structures, too, most notably the decline in the number of hospital beds and the loss of doctors and nurses to staff the hospital. This was a major loss to Princeton. We saw Princeton Light and Power become Fortis BC. and the rise and fall of Princeton Area Business and Economic Association. We saw The Bridge move to Riverside School and we saw that same school become a community centre. We saw the Arts Council move to this new site, and a family centre take its place in the old fire hall on Veterans Avenue.
The News Leader covered only one murder, that of Josephen Drushka, still unsolved, but we went to Provincial Court every month and recorded the ups and downs of justice in our valley.
The News Leader followed the construction of new buildings, such as the new Valley First Credit Union building and the Ridgewood Lodge expansion. We followed the decline of structures, too, most notably the decline in the number of hospital beds and the loss of doctors and nurses to staff the hospital. This was a major loss to Princeton. We saw Princeton Light and Power become Fortis BC. and the rise and fall of Princeton Area Business and Economic Association. We saw The Bridge move to Riverside School and we saw that same school become a community centre. We saw the Arts Council move to this new site, and a family centre take its place in the old fire hall on Veterans Avenue.
Photo: W. George Elliott
For a couple of years, we saw the end of horse racing, but we saw it come back again. We saw the rise and fall of snowmobiling and motor sports in Princeton. We saw the rise of Kars Under the K, Music Under the K and the birth and rise of Similkameen Sizzle.
We saw the loss of many residents who had outstanding careers: Kenny McLean, Barnett Allison, Edward "Slim" Allison, and two well-known Curries - Laurie and Doug. Two athletes whose names will be remembered in Princeton died within weeks of each other: Aaron Heuser and Kurt Krenn. There were many others who passed on after leaving their mark on the community, and we shared feelings of loss with the community. We saw others step into the space left and follow in their footsteps.
We reported the growth of Keremeos, where new property was cleared for residential development.
In 2000, we covered all kinds of celebrations, most notably the Trans-Canada Trail and the expan-sion of our museum to accommodate the Joe Pollard collection of minerals and fossils.
We witnessed the birth of The Posse hockey team, and we followed them through their years of development. At the same time, we tried to keep up with Minor Hockey and all of the great kid's teams. We followed minor ball and swim club meets, basketball and volleyball games, soccer games and anything else kids were doing in our community.
The News Leader has been there for many community events, from snowmobiling to dogsled races, pancake breakfasts and duck races, Otter Valley Fish and Game banquets, Rotary and Lions Club din-ners and events, bonspiels, golf tournaments, ball games, swim meets, bowling events and fishing derbies.
We went to Kars Under the K, the Hedley Centennial, Remembrance Day, events at Osprey Lake, and protests against reduction in hospital beds. In short, whatever people in the Similkameen Valley communities thought was important, the News Leader was there.
Ten years is not a long time in the life of a newspaper, but it is amazing how many stories we have covered. There is never any real shortage of news. Something is always going on, whether it is Town Council meetings, school board meetings, bazaars, art shows, or fashion shows.
We saw the loss of many residents who had outstanding careers: Kenny McLean, Barnett Allison, Edward "Slim" Allison, and two well-known Curries - Laurie and Doug. Two athletes whose names will be remembered in Princeton died within weeks of each other: Aaron Heuser and Kurt Krenn. There were many others who passed on after leaving their mark on the community, and we shared feelings of loss with the community. We saw others step into the space left and follow in their footsteps.
We reported the growth of Keremeos, where new property was cleared for residential development.
In 2000, we covered all kinds of celebrations, most notably the Trans-Canada Trail and the expan-sion of our museum to accommodate the Joe Pollard collection of minerals and fossils.
We witnessed the birth of The Posse hockey team, and we followed them through their years of development. At the same time, we tried to keep up with Minor Hockey and all of the great kid's teams. We followed minor ball and swim club meets, basketball and volleyball games, soccer games and anything else kids were doing in our community.
The News Leader has been there for many community events, from snowmobiling to dogsled races, pancake breakfasts and duck races, Otter Valley Fish and Game banquets, Rotary and Lions Club din-ners and events, bonspiels, golf tournaments, ball games, swim meets, bowling events and fishing derbies.
We went to Kars Under the K, the Hedley Centennial, Remembrance Day, events at Osprey Lake, and protests against reduction in hospital beds. In short, whatever people in the Similkameen Valley communities thought was important, the News Leader was there.
Ten years is not a long time in the life of a newspaper, but it is amazing how many stories we have covered. There is never any real shortage of news. Something is always going on, whether it is Town Council meetings, school board meetings, bazaars, art shows, or fashion shows.
Photo: W. George Elliott
When the News Leader first began, Dawn Johnson was told this newspaper was slated for failure. One of the reasons was that internet would take over. That is highly unlikely. A newspaper is a hard copy that can be preserved for a long time.
There are newspapers stored in archives for more than 100 years, even in Princeton. People clip sto-ries from newspapers for their scrapbooks. They send clippings to friends and family members. You can carry a newspaper around in your pocket to read at your own convenience. After the newspaper
is read, they can use it to wrap the garbage, pack the dishes, light the fire, line the bird cage, or put it on the floor for the puppy to pee on. If no other use can be found for it, the newspaper can be recycled to be printed on again someday. You can't do this with internet.
As George Elliott and Brenda Engel took over, the News Leader began to change a bit, but not enough to make us forget who we serve. The valley is still important and what the people do, or experience, is still the main focus of our news.
Life should be celebrated. The News Leader celebrates the rife of people in the Similkameen Valley. Whether it is our free birth announcement or an obituary, a prize winner or an accident victim, a spokesperson or a hockey player: sometime the News Leader will mention a person's name, and that
person's life is celebrated. That is the business we are in, but it is really our advertisers who pay the bills. They advertise in the News Leader because they know people in the Similkameen Valley are going to be reading this newspaper, and whatever service they provide or whatever product they are selling or whatever event they are sponsoring, News Leader readers are going to see it.
The biggest reason the News Leader is still in business is because our advertisers keep coming back and advertising. We are part of their investment in our community, just as they are part of our investment.
There are newspapers stored in archives for more than 100 years, even in Princeton. People clip sto-ries from newspapers for their scrapbooks. They send clippings to friends and family members. You can carry a newspaper around in your pocket to read at your own convenience. After the newspaper
is read, they can use it to wrap the garbage, pack the dishes, light the fire, line the bird cage, or put it on the floor for the puppy to pee on. If no other use can be found for it, the newspaper can be recycled to be printed on again someday. You can't do this with internet.
As George Elliott and Brenda Engel took over, the News Leader began to change a bit, but not enough to make us forget who we serve. The valley is still important and what the people do, or experience, is still the main focus of our news.
Life should be celebrated. The News Leader celebrates the rife of people in the Similkameen Valley. Whether it is our free birth announcement or an obituary, a prize winner or an accident victim, a spokesperson or a hockey player: sometime the News Leader will mention a person's name, and that
person's life is celebrated. That is the business we are in, but it is really our advertisers who pay the bills. They advertise in the News Leader because they know people in the Similkameen Valley are going to be reading this newspaper, and whatever service they provide or whatever product they are selling or whatever event they are sponsoring, News Leader readers are going to see it.
The biggest reason the News Leader is still in business is because our advertisers keep coming back and advertising. We are part of their investment in our community, just as they are part of our investment.