With a titch of technology and support from the community, The Valley Journal lives on! The Sopris Sun’s predecessor and Carbondale’s 33-years-strong newspaper no longer prints issues, but its treasured archive has now been fully digitized. Carbondale Branch Library Manager Tracy Kallassy started the digitization process, funded by the library district, three years ago with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Digitally preserving this newspaper means more people can access cornerstone stories from half a century ago.
The Valley Journal was founded in 1974 by Becky Young, the newspaper’s black and white portrait photographer, and Pat Noel, the editor, when they were in their twenties.
“The Valley Journal covers this piece of history that nobody would believe if we told them,” Young stated. “Nobody would believe what Carbondale was like in 1974, and we were extraordinarily lucky to live through that time. It was really special, and we were just smart enough to know it.”
The Valley Journal cradles the deep history of Roaring Fork Valley residents in its pages.
“I remember us doing a story on this lady who ran the Catherine Store –– which actually hasn’t changed too much, and that fig tree is still growing –– and she made dolls out of dried apples,” Young said. “She would dry the whole apple and they would get all wrinkly and she would paint their faces on them and make dolls out of them. Apple Dolls, she called them. It was absolutely unique.”
Both Young and Noel felt Carbondale’s magical pull. Young had visited the area when she was in high school on a ski trip and Noel had never stepped foot into Carbondale before they moved. Carbondale, which Young and Noel explained had dirt roads and a population of 1,500, was ready for its own newspaper. Young mentioned that the Arts Council, founded by Laurie Loeb, was only three years old when they started the paper.
“Carbondale seemed to like the paper and we had a lot of local subscribers,” Noel said. “We were fortunate. Hit town at the right time and there were some wonderful people here: old timers, coal miners, hippies, cowboys and ranchers. It was a different time.”
Noel felt that the blend of identities fostered a well of talent and resources and Young noted that The Valley Journal reflected the quirky people who created the Valley’s vibrant culture. These two spearheaded the newspaper, but many more skilled people came into the fray over the years. John Stroud, who writes with the Sopris Sun today, was one such person. He joined The Valley Journal in 1996, but his relationship with The Valley Journal began long before.
“When I was growing up in Illinois a couple of my older siblings had already moved out here to Carbondale. My sister-in-law at the time worked for The Valley Journal. And so she would send a subscription to us back in Illinois. So I grew up reading The Valley Journal even though I wasn’t from Carbondale at that point in time. I would say it really kind of pushed me into journalism,” Stroud said.
The Valley Journal began as a two person show, but Young and Noel were quick to state that they were never truly alone in their endeavor. From the beginning, it took a village to get the newspaper going.
“We had, right from the get-go, people like Cindy Shepherd [as] part of the crew. Gale Blinde, who was a friend of ours from Fort Collins, came over and was part of the crew,” Young stated. “And then over the years, as should happen with a newspaper, all of these people came and went and contributed and held it together and perpetuated it and put their own stamp on it.”
Noel said the same, “We had a big composing staff, which produced some great graphic artists, like Mindy Miller, probably one of the best graphic artists I’ve ever seen.”
The Valley Journal was a vital organ to the Carbondale community and its impact is still felt today. Young and Noel paid homage to Bil Dunaway, who was the publisher of the Aspen Times and eventually a publisher at The Valley Journal, for inspiring them.
“The Aspen Times was, at that point in time, the most fabulous newspaper you ever saw. Everybody wanted to be The Aspen Times,” Young stated.
“I mean a slew of creative people came out of [the Aspen Times] and that’s what we’d hoped The Valley Journal might become,” Noel said. “And we were lucky; we had great writers, we had great photographers. Becky’s the best black and white photographer I’ve ever seen.”
Both Young and Noel noted how different the technology was when they first began, especially with photography and printing in color. They were pleased to hear that their newspaper would be more accessible with the digitization.
“The bound volumes. They were such a trip,” Young said. “We would scrupulously save them and then send them to Denver to be bound, and that’s what’s in the library, but they sure don’t last forever.”
Archiving the local newspaper in this way provides the community access to history, the backbone of this town. Before the volumes were scanned and uploaded, Kallassy spent around six hours searching for specific information.
“Shortly before they were digitized, I had someone reach out asking to find her father’s obituary,” Kallassy said. “I spent hours flipping through looking for obituaries in all of these huge volumes until I finally found it.”
She noted that once digitized, she was able to find the obituary immediately. Digitization cost almost $43,000, but Kallassy said it was well worth it in the grand scheme of preserving this precious history.
The newspaper reflects the heart of the community, as Young stated, and it should be a place for everyone in a community to feel seen.
“I think [Young’s] goal, and Carbondale was small enough back then, was to put everyone in town on the cover so that for a week they’d be a star,” Noel said.
“You know, where else are people gonna get their local news other than the local newspaper or local radio station?” Stroud said. “I feel for the communities that don’t have that because they don’t have that connection to their local government, their local schools, their libraries and all those things that make a community.”
When The Valley Journal did transition ownership, a bit after Stroud took the helm as editor, there was still heart in the paper, but ultimately corporate decisions closed it down.
“We were a much smaller staff then. At the time that it closed, we were basically just a staff of two,” Stroud stated.
Though The Valley Journal printed its last issue abruptly, Young noted that Carbondale went a matter of weeks without a paper before The Sopris Sun was up and running.
“I’m really proud of The Sun,” Young stated. “All the people, once again, put their skills into it.”
“The Sopris Sun is the last newspaper that can be said to be independently owned; the other newspapers are doing the best they can, too,” Noel said.
“It just made a lot of sense for The Sopris Sun to rise out of the ashes of The Valley Journal, but in a nonprofit format because I think that’s probably the future of small-town, community journalism,” Stroud said. “At the same time, The Sopris Sun carried on that same spirit The Valley Journal had.”
Join the celebration of The Valley Journal’s legacy at the Carbondale Branch Library on Oct. 29 from 5 to 6:30pm. Visit the digital archives of The Valley Journal online through the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection website, Katalina Villarreal
Sopris Sun Correspondent
With a titch of technology and support from the community, The Valley Journal lives on! The Sopris Sun’s predecessor and Carbondale’s 33-years-strong newspaper no longer prints issues, but its treasured archive has now been fully digitized. Carbondale Branch Library Manager Tracy Kallassy started the digitization process, funded by the library district, three years ago with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Digitally preserving this newspaper means more people can access cornerstone stories from half a century ago.
The Valley Journal was founded in 1974 by Becky Young, the newspaper’s black and white portrait photographer, and Pat Noel, the editor, when they were in their twenties.
“The Valley Journal covers this piece of history that nobody would believe if we told them,” Young stated. “Nobody would believe what Carbondale was like in 1974, and we were extraordinarily lucky to live through that time. It was really special, and we were just smart enough to know it.”
The Valley Journal cradles the deep history of Roaring Fork Valley residents in its pages.
“I remember us doing a story on this lady who ran the Catherine Store –– which actually hasn’t changed too much, and that fig tree is still growing –– and she made dolls out of dried apples,” Young said. “She would dry the whole apple and they would get all wrinkly and she would paint their faces on them and make dolls out of them. Apple Dolls, she called them. It was absolutely unique.”
Both Young and Noel felt Carbondale’s magical pull. Young had visited the area when she was in high school on a ski trip and Noel had never stepped foot into Carbondale before they moved. Carbondale, which Young and Noel explained had dirt roads and a population of 1,500, was ready for its own newspaper. Young mentioned that the Arts Council, founded by Laurie Loeb, was only three years old when they started the paper.
“Carbondale seemed to like the paper and we had a lot of local subscribers,” Noel said. “We were fortunate. Hit town at the right time and there were some wonderful people here: old timers, coal miners, hippies, cowboys and ranchers. It was a different time.”
Noel felt that the blend of identities fostered a well of talent and resources and Young noted that The Valley Journal reflected the quirky people who created the Valley’s vibrant culture. These two spearheaded the newspaper, but many more skilled people came into the fray over the years. John Stroud, who writes with the Sopris Sun today, was one such person. He joined The Valley Journal in 1996, but his relationship with The Valley Journal began long before.
“When I was growing up in Illinois a couple of my older siblings had already moved out here to Carbondale. My sister-in-law at the time worked for The Valley Journal. And so she would send a subscription to us back in Illinois. So I grew up reading The Valley Journal even though I wasn’t from Carbondale at that point in time. I would say it really kind of pushed me into journalism,” Stroud said.
The Valley Journal began as a two person show, but Young and Noel were quick to state that they were never truly alone in their endeavor. From the beginning, it took a village to get the newspaper going.
“We had, right from the get-go, people like Cindy Shepherd [as] part of the crew. Gale Blinde, who was a friend of ours from Fort Collins, came over and was part of the crew,” Young stated. “And then over the years, as should happen with a newspaper, all of these people came and went and contributed and held it together and perpetuated it and put their own stamp on it.”
Noel said the same, “We had a big composing staff, which produced some great graphic artists, like Mindy Miller, probably one of the best graphic artists I’ve ever seen.”
The Valley Journal was a vital organ to the Carbondale community and its impact is still felt today. Young and Noel paid homage to Bil Dunaway, who was the publisher of the Aspen Times and eventually a publisher at The Valley Journal, for inspiring them.
“The Aspen Times was, at that point in time, the most fabulous newspaper you ever saw. Everybody wanted to be The Aspen Times,” Young stated.
“I mean a slew of creative people came out of [the Aspen Times] and that’s what we’d hoped The Valley Journal might become,” Noel said. “And we were lucky; we had great writers, we had great photographers. Becky’s the best black and white photographer I’ve ever seen.”
Both Young and Noel noted how different the technology was when they first began, especially with photography and printing in color. They were pleased to hear that their newspaper would be more accessible with the digitization.
“The bound volumes. They were such a trip,” Young said. “We would scrupulously save them and then send them to Denver to be bound, and that’s what’s in the library, but they sure don’t last forever.”
Archiving the local newspaper in this way provides the community access to history, the backbone of this town. Before the volumes were scanned and uploaded, Kallassy spent around six hours searching for specific information.
“Shortly before they were digitized, I had someone reach out asking to find her father’s obituary,” Kallassy said. “I spent hours flipping through looking for obituaries in all of these huge volumes until I finally found it.”
She noted that once digitized, she was able to find the obituary immediately. Digitization cost almost $43,000, but Kallassy said it was well worth it in the grand scheme of preserving this precious history.
The newspaper reflects the heart of the community, as Young stated, and it should be a place for everyone in a community to feel seen.
“I think [Young’s] goal, and Carbondale was small enough back then, was to put everyone in town on the cover so that for a week they’d be a star,” Noel said.
“You know, where else are people gonna get their local news other than the local newspaper or local radio station?” Stroud said. “I feel for the communities that don’t have that because they don’t have that connection to their local government, their local schools, their libraries and all those things that make a community.”
When The Valley Journal did transition ownership, a bit after Stroud took the helm as editor, there was still heart in the paper, but ultimately corporate decisions closed it down.
“We were a much smaller staff then. At the time that it closed, we were basically just a staff of two,” Stroud stated.
Though The Valley Journal printed its last issue abruptly, Young noted that Carbondale went a matter of weeks without a paper before The Sopris Sun was up and running.
“I’m really proud of The Sun,” Young stated. “All the people, once again, put their skills into it.”
“The Sopris Sun is the last newspaper that can be said to be independently owned; the other newspapers are doing the best they can, too,” Noel said.
“It just made a lot of sense for The Sopris Sun to rise out of the ashes of The Valley Journal, but in a nonprofit format because I think that’s probably the future of small-town, community journalism,” Stroud said. “At the same time, The Sopris Sun carried on that same spirit The Valley Journal had.”
Join the celebration of The Valley Journal’s legacy at the Carbondale Branch Library on Oct. 29 from 5 to 6:30pm. Visit the digital archives of The Valley Journal online through the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection website, coloradohistoricnewspapers.org