September 14, 2005

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Publication Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Cover story: Forty years of local news

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Remember 1965? There was no freeway slashing the Peninsula foothills. Silicon Valley was still a dream. You could buy a house in Lindenwood for $85,000.

As growth crawled relentlessly into the hills, residents of the rural communities mobilized to protect the lands they loved. Woodside incorporated in 1956 to control land use. Portola Valley followed in 1964.

As new city councils struggled to develop zoning rules, and schools rallied to accommodate more kids, residents needed ways to talk about close-to-home issues.

Peninsula newspapers such as the Palo Alto Times and Redwood City Tribune covered major issues, controversies, and stories that would engage their flatland readers. Local meetings, school drives, neighborhood worries drew a big ho-hum.

Then Portola Valley lost a school bond election, partly because supporters couldn't get the word out. Betty Fry, first publisher of the Country Almanac recalls, "The school superintendent said if we had a paper like the Los Altos Town Crier, we could have passed the bond."

Three young mothers filled the void. The next day, Jean Heflin, a member of the Portola Valley Conservation Committee introduced Mrs. Fry, who had business experience, to Hedy Boissevain, a former women's page editor for the Palo Alto Times.

After an April lunch in a eucalyptus grove on Stanford campus, their project for a community newspaper took off. "We thought it was such a good idea we had to move on it," says Mrs. Fry, who now lives in Nevada City. "We all had small children."

The founding mothers enlisted the support of husbands, held more meetings, made plans, networked in the community, and rounded up financial backing from Al Schreck and John Wilson of Portola Valley, and Pete Pond of Woodside.

On September 8, 1965, Volume 1, No. 1 of the Country Almanac appeared in mailboxes all over Portola Valley and Woodside.

Just like last week's Almanac, that first paper was a back-to-school issue. It featured a big picture of starry-eyed Susie Brown getting ready for her first day of kindergarten. True, the front-page had no color, and the lead article was carefully typed, double-spaced with a ragged right edge; but that four-page first edition marked the annual ritual of local children returning to school -- as The Almanac still does.

Since that September, the Midpeninsula communities have grown and changed, and so has the Almanac. Silicon Valley has become a world engine of growth, rural ambiance has been preserved in Woodside and Portola Valley -- and indeed much of San Mateo County. And house prices have taken off.

The Almanac has also grown. It has published more than 2,000 issues and never missed a deadline -- although there have been a few near misses. Circulation has grown from some 3,000 homes in Woodside and Portola Valley to approximately 17,000 in South San Mateo County, including Menlo Park and Atherton.

Al Schreck of Portola Valley, one of the original backers of the paper, reflects: "The Almanac has come of age. It's very sophisticated, something we should all be proud of."

The paper still hews to its original mission to provide local news that tells people what is going on in their own communities -- and also helps connect these communities to larger issues and the outside world.

Eleanor Boushey, a member of Portola Valley's original Town Council, says: "We needed the Almanac to keep the community together, and it did.

"And it still does."
1965 to 1980: Hedy and Betty

For 15 years the Country Almanac grew in the mold established by the late Hedy Boissevain and Mrs. Fry. The paper presented community announcements, followed local sports and school activities, and tracked government issues. But it never printed an editorial.

"We tried hard to present facts and let people make up their own minds," Mrs. Boissevain once said.

For the first months, the paper was put out in classic Silicon Valley startup style -- on the founders' kitchen counters and dining room tables, spilling into garages. Their teenage kids enlisted their friends to help tie and address piles of newspapers. "It was fun," Mrs. Fry recalls.

By 1966, the paper moved to a real office under the Woodside Post Office. For several years it moved up and down stairs in "Pub Row." Finally, it got its own building; it occupied the old telephone building at the corner of Woodside and Canada roads from 1974 until it moved to Menlo Park in 1985.

Those first four-page issues featured a major article, at least one big picture, school and church notes, a bulletin board, and a column by a local writer, plus some small advertisements. Portola Valley's beloved naturalist Herb Dengler wrote the first column.

In 1966, the paper published its first major profile of a local personality, along with a handsome picture. Richard Crooks of Portola Valley, known around the world as the golden "Voice of Firestone," was interviewed with his wife, Mildred.

The first big expansion of the paper came on November 30, 1965, when Long's grocery store in Ladera ran a full page ad, and the paper jumped from four to eight pages. At that time, T-bone steaks were $1.19 per pound, bananas were seven for $1, and Best Foods mayonnaise set you back 49 cents for a quart.

Mrs. Fry recalls her delight when the late George Roberts -- father of the current owner of the same name -- came in to take out a full-page ad for Roberts of Woodside. "I was thrilled," she says. "It broke down financial barriers. Once we picked up a market, real estate ads began coming in."

Advertising, the financial base of the newspaper, got a big boost in 1971 when Mardell Ward, former editor of the Menlo Park Recorder, took over advertising, a position she held for 18 years. "I see advertising as a help to business," she says. "I used to say, 'There's no sense in having a party if you don't send out invitations.'"

As the paper gained local support from readers, it also gained advertising support from local businesses. Mrs. Fry especially credits Kip Pond and Jane Coladarci of Woodside for building business. For years, "Kip's Corner" invited people to see local specialty shops. Mrs. Coladarci, who turned up on the doorstep one day in 1974, became the powerhouse of the advertising department until she retired last year.

"We started getting support," Mrs. Fry says. "We knew we'd arrived when we were made marshals of the Woodside May Day Parade."

On the editorial side, the Almanac covered local and regional news of increasing complexity. Cities kept having burning issues, such as new subdivisions and the extension of Sand Hill Road (now under construction after 30-plus years of argument).

Political reporting moved into high gear with the nationally watched election in 1967, when Pete McCloskey beat Shirley Temple Black and nine other candidates to win a seat in Congress.

Starting in 1969, the paper began hiring more young mothers to cover local news part-time. Marion Softky, Marjorie Mader, and Jane Knoerle have been writing about government, environment, schools, people, history, and community lifestyle events ever since.

Also in 1969, Ray Spangler, publisher and editor of the Redwood City Tribune, retired, and couldn't give up reporting. He offered his services to the Country Almanac to cover San Mateo County government -- which he knew better than most people involved.

For years he attended every meeting of the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission; he reported them in detail in "Under the Courthouse Dome."

"Ray had a very keen love of news and getting the word out," says his wife, Nita, who also covered the Sequoia Union High School District for the Almanac in the 1970s. "He knew everybody; he knew what had happened. It was an ideal retirement job."

"Getting Ray Spangler, that was a real coup," says Mrs. Fry. "He was tremendously respected in the industry. That helped us tremendously."

Meanwhile, the part-timers, plus a series of young reporters faithfully attended meetings of city councils, planning commissions, and school boards, and meticulously reported all the actions taken.

Pam Jones, who came in 1975 as the first full-time employee in the news department, remembers, "I've had city officials tell me they had to read the Almanac to find out what went on at a meeting."

Bigger issues swept the Peninsula during the 1970s and duly appeared in the Almanac. It wrote about the environmental movement, the local impacts of Proposition 13, the big drought, and tensions in the schools.

In July 1976, Portola Valley became an epicenter of a national story with the Chowchilla kidnapping. When three local young men abducted a busload of school children and hid them in a quarry, police and the national press descended on Portola Valley, where Fred Woods (one of the kidnappers) lived. It was easy to tell the cops, the Almanac reported, because local observers noticed, "They're all dressed in suits and polished shoes."

As the 1970s waned, so did the commitment of the editor and publisher. Al Boissevain had retired and wanted to grow wine grapes in the Gold Country; Mrs. Fry didn't want to run a newspaper alone.

Mort and Elaine Levine, who had built a chain of 16 local papers in Santa Clara County, proved ideal buyers. They had sold their chain, and then found they weren't ready to retire. "It just got boring," says Mrs. Levine.

Al Boissevain still remembers a defining moment when Mrs. Boissevain realized she had achieved her goal. It was at a Portola Valley meeting when the council was discussing some local "kerfuffle." Mayor Bob Brown opened the meeting by saying, "We're here to discuss the problem. We do not have to discuss the facts because the Almanac has printed them."
1980 to 1993: Mort and Elaine

Even as Silicon Valley was taking off, the Levines modernized and expanded the Country Almanac.

By 1985, they had closed the Redwood City Almanac, bought the dying Menlo Park Recorder, expanded circulation to cover Menlo Park, and moved offices from Woodside to downtown Menlo Park.

The Levines also modernized production. By the time the paper was sold again in 1993, reporters wrote on Mac computers, soon to be PCs.

"When we expanded into covering the two cities (Menlo Park and Atherton), it made better economic sense," Mr. Levine says. "Advertisers saw the benefit of a cohesive market. The community responded very well."

As the staff tried to cover four cities, each with a city council and planning commission, plus five school districts, San Mateo County, and two fire districts, meeting coverage became more focused and less detailed. Reporters could no longer cover every meeting and record every decision.

While the Levines moved cautiously in changing the paper, they did join mainstream newspapers in writing editorials -- where editors give their opinion on issues -- something Mrs. Boissevain never allowed. "The paper was almost a customized product, Making changes had to be done very gingerly," Mr. Levine comments.

For a while, the Levines put out two editions tailored to the different communities. Menlo Park's Almanac went to residents of Menlo Park, and the Country Almanac continued to land in mailboxes in Woodside, Portola Valley and Atherton.

"I don't think Portola Valley and Woodside coverage suffered. We didn't miss many stories," Mr. Levine says. "We turned out a lot of good stuff."

The biggest story of the Levines' era was the Loma Prieta earthquake October 17, 1989. It shook people up, knocked lots of things down, but did relatively little damage on the Midpeninsula. After a lot of scurrying, it was the Almanac's cover story for October 25.

Mrs. Levine, who edited the Almanac for 13 years, remembers the endless disputes over land use -- development of St. Patriclk's Seminary land in Menlo Park, the Gilbert Center in Woodside, and Joan Targ's organic garden in Portola Valley. "The disputes go on and on over land use. People get very fussed," she says.

Mrs. Levine also chuckles at the characters and cantankerous people who livened the local scene. And the funny issues. Like the roosters that disturbed some people's peace in Woodside. After much excitement, the town eventually ordered an environmental assessment. Can anyone remember the upshot?

As the 1990s surged in, the Levines got ready to retire again. This time, they sold it to Embarcadero Publishing Co., which was founded in 1979 to publish the Palo Alto Weekly.

"The Almanac was a good comprehensive community paper that people valued," Mr. Levine reflects. "It was a totally satisfying time in our lives."
1993 to present

In a sense, purchase of the Almanac by the Palo Alto Weekly represents the closing of a circle.

Weekly publisher Bill Johnson grew up in the neighborhood of the Frys, and went to school with Peter Fry. "To have the mother of a friend start a newspaper and have it succeed was one of my inspirations for a career in journalism," he says. Even better, in the eighth grade, "I had my picture in the Almanac for winning a prize in a science fair."

Later, when he decided to start a local weekly in Palo Alto, Mr. Johnson consulted Mrs. Fry. Her advice included, "This isn't going to make you a lot of money," he recalls.

While many of the old guard at the Almanac have stayed on, the new management under Tom Gibboney brought in modern computer systems, coordinated advertising and production, and put out a bunch of new publications.

And the paper dropped the "Country" from its name. Now it's "The Almanac."

In 1995, the lease in Menlo Park expired, and the Almanac moved to larger quarters in a new building at 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas in West Menlo Park, next to Lutticken's deli.

On a balcony, the design and production staff does more than lay out Almanac pages on their Mac computers. They also produce the Mountain View Voice, special sections, and several new publications. These include Info Menlo, a guide to government and community resources in South San Mateo County, and a guide to neighborhoods.

"My goal is to keep the soul and spirit of the Almanac as a community newspaper -- local government, education, news of the day," says publisher Tom Gibboney, who came from being editor of the Palo Alto Weekly, and before that 10 years editing a daily newspaper in Alaska.

The new management has also endeavored to make the Almanac more professional to keep up with its busy communities. "We've tried to bring improved design and better photography, more organized and thorough news reporting about our communities," Mr. Gibboney says. "And we've tried to take a deeper look at major issues."

Under Managing Editor Richard Hine and Design Director (until recently) Bill Murray, the Almanac has won a number of statewide awards for reporting and design.

Among the Almanac's advantages are the amazing people in its area, says Mr. Gibboney. Over the years it has covered Nobel Prize winners, television and movie stars, colorful old-timers, CEOs, school teachers, scientists, Eagle Scouts, historical figures, and Koko, the gorilla who communicates in sign language.

Is there a future of for a community newspaper in the age of mega-chains and the Internet?

Yes, replies Mr. Gibboney. "We provide the kind of reporting and news that's not available anywhere else. We bring the common denominator of neighborhood, school district, city and county," he says. "Others are not doing that kind of reporting, and it's not available online."

Mr. Johnson adds: "Small local papers are less vulnerable to the effects of the Internet. No one else can afford to come in and do what the Almanac does."

The Almanac and the Palo Alto Weekly will continue to expand their regular services onto the Internet, Mr. Johnson says. "We have to look at ourselves as not just a newspaper, but as the primary source of information for the community -- whether online or in print."

Almanac timeline

1965: First Country Almanac (four pages) is delivered to some 3,000 homes in Woodside and Portola Valley

1966: Country Almanac moves to an office under the Woodside post office, the first of several offices in "Pub Row."

1966: Katherine Smith of Woodside is the first employee. She types the paper on an IBM Selectric typewriter when she wasn't home baking bread.

1969: Ray Spangler, retired editor and publisher of the Redwood City Tribune, begins covering San Mateo County for the Country Almanac in a column called "Under the Courthouse Dome." Nita Spangler covers the Sequoia Union High School District.

About 1970, Country Almanac expands, first into Sharon Heights and the Las Lomitas School District. In 1978 it expands into Atherton.

1974: Country Almanac moves to its own building, the old telephone exchange building at the corner of Woodside and Canada roads in Woodside Town Center.

1978: The County Almanac starts publishing the Redwood City Almanac covering Redwood City, following closure of the Redwood City Tribune.

1980: Mort and Elaine Levine buy the Country Almanac from the Boisevains and Frys, who moved away. The Heflins had left the area shortly after the paper began. Mr. Levine is publisher, and Mrs. Levine, editor.

1983: The Redwood City Almanac is sold; it was never successful.

1984: The Country Almanac buys the Menlo Park Recorder, and expands Almanac's coverage to the rest of Menlo Park.

1985: The Woodside building is sold; the Country Almanac moves to larger quarters at 855 Oak Grove Ave. in downtown Menlo Park.

1990: All of the reporters get Mac computers. Later they change to PCs.

1993: The Levines sell the Almanac to Embarcadero Publishing Co., which publishes the Palo Alto Weekly. Tom Gibboney takes over as editor and publisher.

1995: The Almanac moves to new and larger quarters at 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas in West Menlo Park.

1998: The Almanac goes on the Internet. See AlmanacNews.com.

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