Fifty-ish tried-and-true locals gathered at the Carbondale Library on Thursday, Oct. 29, to reminisce about the “quirky” and “fun” days of The Valley Journal, two words Becky Young, the co-founder of the Journal along with Pat Noel, chose to describe the ragtag paper of humble origins that grew up to be bought out, and eventually tanked, by corporate media.
Tales of the Journal stretched from when it was nickel and dimed together in the early days, literally costing a dime. Those modest proceeds all depended on trust, as the newspaper boxes were made of wood and it’d have been a cinch to cheat the honor system, Young recalled. When the pair decided to attend their first Colorado Press Association Convention in Denver, they drove around and emptied whatever dimes were deposited to cover gas.
After Young and Noel shared some memories — including when Noel was “abused” by his readers for suggesting to change the name of Carbondale, soliciting names for a contest in the Journal — folks formed a large circle and organically piped in their two cents, filling in some gaps of the in-between years.
John Stroud shared that on Christmas Eve 2008, they were notified that it would be the final issue of the Journal. It was an abrupt end but they had one hell of an adventure.
But it didn’t stop there …
Former Valley Journalians and locals banded together to make the first Sopris Sun rise on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, and, other than that brief lull in between, neither of the papers ever missed a week.