About the Recorder

One of the reasons we're able to have such a good accounting of the last 100 years of Porterville history is, this newspaper's been around for most of it: 94 years, to be exact.

The first issue of The Porterville Recorder was published on May 21, 1908. The lead story introduced readers to staffers such as Percy F. Adelsback, who was pulling double duty as managing editor and publisher, and bragged on the "up-to-the-minute" equipment (like the Linotype typesetting machine) that was being used to produce the new newspaper.

It was evident, at the very start, that The Recorder wanted to be this community's hometown paper. In that first story, Adelsback practically threw open the front doors.

"We will be glad at all times to have our friends call in and inspect the plant," he wrote, adding a special invitation to "our out-of-town friends, especially the farmer people who make only occasional trips to the city."

Feel free, he said, to make The Recorder office your "headquarters" and spend with us your "idle time."

Adelsback was being neighborly, starting a tradition that has continued to this day, says Patrick Canty, a former publisher of The Porterville Recorder.

"When a person reads The Recorder, they know more about their community -- its people and its issues," Canty says. "And in knowing more about these things, these people are more likely to take a personal stake in helping make Porterville a better place. The Recorder is special because it is able to put a human face on Porterville and the rest of southern Tulare County, day in and day out."

Canty is director of training and special projects for Freedom Communications Inc., which has owned The Recorder since 1974. Until the Irvine-based Freedom purchased the paper, it had changed hands quite often:

In 1909, John T. Goodrick Jr. and Leslie McAuliff acquired controlling interest, promising to "give the news accurately and impartially ... without discriminating ... (and) regardless of its effect on friends or enemies."

In 1920, John R. Bell, formerly of Storm Lake, Iowa, bought The Recorder, bringing to Porterville "wide newspaper experience."

In 1923, Will H. Hornibrook, described as a new arrival in the city, became the paper's owner. The announcement heralding his arrival noted that Hornibrook had successfully published afternoon papers in Oregon and Vancouver, Wash., and had "served in the American diplomatic service in the capacity of United States Minister to Siam."

In 1924, The Recorder became the property of C.L. Day, former publisher of the San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram.

In 1927, readers opened their paper to read, "Folks, meet Homer W. Wood." Wood, a lawyer who was said to be the "father of Rotary on the Pacific Coast," had bought The Recorder. He ran the newspaper until 1960.

In 1960, Mr. and Mrs. Graham M. Dean bought The Recorder from Wood. Graham Dean had an extensive background in newspapers and claimed to have once been the youngest managing editor in the country. The Deans ran The Recorder until Freedom Newspapers bought the paper in 1974, at which time Graham Dean retired as its editor and publisher.

Estha Mae Hinton went to work at The Recorder in 1963 as society editor. She was a natural at it.

"In my position, I met people at all the most emotional times of their lives -- births, school events, graduations, engagements, weddings, receptions and the death of loved ones," says the now-retired Hinton, 92. "By being one with the family at the happy, proud and sad times, I became very fond of a wide cross section of Porterville."

She says The Recorder's strength is its emphasis on local news.

"Our paper is the best because it's the only one in position to tell the world what's going on here," Hinton points out. "If we don't toot our own horn, nobody else is going to toot it for us."

The Recorder has an edge over its "big-city" rivals, Canty says, because its associates live in Porterville and "know what's going on."

"Their friends and neighbors know who they work for, and let them know what they think, good and bad," Canty says. "All that breeds a special sort of mutual accountability and connectedness that you simply won't find in larger cities."

One milestone in The Recorder's history was the move into the existing plant at 115 E. Oak Ave. The building was extensively remodeled and had its grand reopening in August 2001. Publisher Tom Conner noted at the time that some visitors said "they could not recognize the place -- the change is that dramatic."

It's a good bet that Percy Adelsback, that first-ever publisher, wouldn't know the place. The Recorder now employs about 60 people, circulates 10,000 copies six days a week, and occupies about 20,000 square feet at Oak Avenue and Third Street.

As for the future, Conner believes The Recorder's success depends on three factors. "We have to know our customers exceedingly well -- we have to know what's important to them," he says. "We have to be recognized as an active, involved and caring member of the community. And we must be recognized as the indispensable source of local news, information and entertainment."

So, Conner says, while much has changed since Adelsback's days, some things remain the same. "We still welcome people to visit with us," Conner says. "We enjoy hearing their thoughts, ideas and suggestions, because we are their hometown newspaper."

Freedom Communications owns these community and metro newspaper including various television stations across the United States:

The Telegraph, Alton, Illinois

Barstow Desert Dispatch , Barstow, California

The Brownsville Herald , Brownsville, Texas

The Times-News , Burlington, North Carolina

The Clovis News-Journal, Clovis, New Mexico

The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Destin Log, Destin, FL

The Northwest Florida Daily News , Ft. Walton Beach Florida

The Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, North Carolina

The Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

Journal-Courier, Jacksonville, Illinois