The Daily Courier celebrates

"Each is a key ingredient to the Courier's continued publication for the next 100," stated Martin.

The first issue of the Daily Courier rolled off the press on Nov. 10, 1902 and has been providing the people of the Fay-West region with a combination of local, national and world news, public opinions and interesting community features ever since. However, to truly trace the history of the Courier, it is necessary to look beyond that date.

The newspaper's history actually began on June 14, 1879, when the Keystone Publishing Company Limited was organized for the purpose of purchasing the Connellsville Tribune, a newspaper decidedly Republican in politics.

A group of local citizens came up with $1,100 and formed the Keystone Publishing Company because none of them wanted to see one of Connellsville's newspapers perish. The original stockholders were Porter S. Newmeyer, James T. Greenland, E.V. Goodchild, Issac W. Rutter, Joseph T. McCormick, Kell Long, Joseph Soisson and Henry P. Snyder.

On July 17, 1879, the first issue of the Keystone Courier came off the press. The Courier, which is eventually what it became known as, was published every Friday and cost $1.50 for a one-year subscription.

The original staff consisted of Goodchild serving as business manager and Snyder working as editor. Snyder, 23 at the time, had little or no experience in the newspaper business and wrote editorial and news items in his spare time while studying law. Eventually, Snyder, a Connellsville native, was compelled to choose one vocation over the other and he chose journalism. He would spend the next 27 years serving as editor of the newspaper.

In 1882, Snyder and Goodchild bought out the other stockholders and formed a partnership. After Goodchild sold his interest in 1885, Snyder saw his partners change three times over the next six years. Snyder became sole proprietor of the paper on April 11, 1891, when he bought out his partner at the time, John L. Gans. He continued to serve as editor/publisher of the paper for 12 more years during which time the Courier expanded in size and content.

The expansion of the Courier coincided with the growth of the coke industry in Connellsville and the surrounding area. The coke trade was made a major feature of the newspaper and Snyder began writing weekly coke reviews in 1883. These reviews and other coke-related copy became an accepted authority in manufacturing circles in Pennsylvania and across the country.

In fact, the newspaper and its coverage of the industry were so respected, it earned a mention in a local history book.

"The local press has labored with devotion and continuous zeal for the expansion and development of Connellsville. Especially is this commendation applicable to the Courier, which is the highest recognized authority in regard to all matters having reference to the coke industry of the Connellsville region," according to "Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Fayette County, Pennsylvania" Volume 1.

On April 1, 1884, the Courier became part of the news when its office was gutted by fire. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the newspaper never missed an issue and acquired better equipment after the fire. The paper purchased two revolution presses and moved into a newly erected building on the corner of Water and West Apple streets.

In 1888, a larger press was installed and the paper expanded from 36 to 56 columns. Because of its high standard of excellence, the paper gained national prominence and generally became recognized as the model country weekly of Pennsylvania.

As Connellsville continued to grow, it became apparent that the newspaper had to grow with it. In 1902, the company launched the Daily Courier to compete with the new Daily News, established earlier that year. The first issue, published on Nov. 10, 1902, was a modest, 5-column quarto, but like its mother weekly, it grew quickly. In less than two years, the Daily Courier became a 7-column, 8-page newspaper with occasional editions numbering 12 to 16 pages.

Although the popularity of the daily continued to grow, it wasn't launched as a replacement for the weekly. The company continued to publish the weekly until 1929. In 1930, the Daily Courier purchased the Daily News and became the only daily newspaper in the Fay-West area.

When the Water Street facility was found to be too small, the newspaper moved its operation to a new building erected on West Main Street. In 1953, the Courier moved again into its current location on Apple Street.

The Driscoll family, which had acquired a majority of the stock and became the sole owner of the paper in 1922, owned the Courier until 1975 when they sold it to the Thomson Newspaper chain.

The newspaper became part of the Greensburg-based Tribune Review Publishing Company (Westminster Media Group), a private corporation owned by Scaife. On Nov. 10, 1998, the paper began printing offsite on the Goss Community press at the Greensburg Tribune Review.

Since becoming a part of the Tribune Review, other significant advances include establishing an online newspaper at www.dailycourier.com and providing the Sunday Tribune Review as part of subscriber packages. Today, the newspaper has a staff of approximately 50 employees dedicated to continuing the long-standing tradition of excellence built over the paper's long history.

As the industry, community and newspaper grew throughout the years, necessary changes have been implemented to improve the overall product. Former employees had a front row seat to witness many of these changes.

June Piasecke, a current Green Thumb worker at the Connellsville Area Historical Society and former employee of the Courier's circulation department for 15 years, admits she wouldn't know the first thing about working at a newspaper today.

Computers, which have become indispensable in every facet of the newspaper business, weren't a part of the newspaper in her day.

"The computers were just coming in just as I was quitting," said Piasecke.

Piasecke said she knows a lot of things have changed since she retired, but the things that count really haven't.

"We were busy all the time. I enjoyed the work," said Piasecke. "I enjoyed working there."

Piasecke shared an office with Marjorie Francis, who became a good friend to her. Even after they both had left the Courier, Piasecke said the two often got together to go shopping.

"We were close friends. We're still close friends," said Piasecke. "We had a great time together."

In circulation, Piasecke's job involved collecting from the paper boys who came into the office to pay their bills, depositing those payments at the bank every day and answering questions regarding subscriptions on the telephone.

"The carriers would come in and we'd collect their money and count it," said Piasecke.

Carriers have played a big part in the success of the Courier from the early days to today. Brothers Patsy and Tony Fao spent several years in the 1940s delivering the Daily Courier to residents on the West Side.

Born in Star Junction, the Faos moved to Connellsville in 1932 because of their father's job. The brothers worked for Paul "Pop" Irvin out of the West Side News and delivered 167 papers to subscribers between 9th and 12th streets.

Patsy, who graduated in 1942, said delivering papers was a tough job, but it had its perks.

"Money was very tough to come by more or less. It was nice to be able to sustain ourselves and buy our own clothes," said Patsy.

His brother remembers spending his money on more entertaining pursuits.

"We would collect weekly. We made enough to pay our bill and then go to the Paramount Theater to watch western serials," said Tony.

He added that in addition to the movies, they would go across the street to a local restaurant to have a bowl of soup for 10 cents.

In addition to the material values, Patsy said the job had other benefits as well.

"I enjoyed it. It was a livelihood. It was something important. We got to meet people and broadened our perspective on life. It helped me grow from a young man into an adult," said Patsy.

Delivering papers was hard work at times. Tony recalled lugging the old, heavy canvas bags around and especially remembered delivering extra papers when World War II started.

Although there were a lot of memories, Tony said his most memorable moment was when his boss and brother fired him because he couldn't remember if one particular customer had paid or not. Patsy remembers it differently.

"He irritated me for some reason. I gave him his job back the next day," said Patsy.

Lee Elby, former managing editor of the Courier, remembers that the best part of working at the Courier in the "old days" was the people.

"I worked here from 1973 to 1991. We had a lot of fun. A lot of good people went through here," said Elby.

Although planning the 100th anniversary is a big deal, it isn't the first time the Courier has celebrated a landmark in its history. In 1952, the paper celebrated its 50th anniversary in grand style with a special edition on Nov. 17, a week after the actual anniversary.

Ray Egnot, a former employee of the Courier, remembers it well because he worked on the Golden Jubilee Edition. Over the years, Egnot has built quite a collection of old Daily Couriers, including the anniversary edition.

An extra 2,500 copies of the paper were printed and available on a first come, first serve basis. An original copy of the paper cost 5 cents and additional copies were 25 cents each with 10 cents added if it required mailing.

The edition included a bold front page headline of "Courier Marks Golden Birthday" and several special anniversary-related features. The 100-page edition was the largest to date every printed under Daily Courier masthead.

One of the signature features of the edition was a replica of the original 1902 front page, which ran in Section A of the Golden Jubilee Edition. The replica front page ran again in the Courier's 75th anniversary edition published on June 24, 1977.

For its centennial celebration, the Courier is planning a series of special pages, features and events dedicated to the paper's heritage and continued success.

On Nov. 9, a special centennial section will be published. It will include a replica front page of the original 1902 edition.