LOOKING BACK: Shades of ’95 Herald sale in Times Shamrock news

Looking Back is a historical column diving into the pages of Shenandoah area history.

SHENANDOAH – Two years from now will mark 30 years since Shenandoah lost its daily newspaper, the Evening Herald, and Thursday’s news came just as, if not more, suddenly.

If you missed it, the Pottsville Republican Herald was sold alongside its sister papers in Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Tunkhannock, to MediaNews Group, a media conglomerate owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital with a reputation of deep cuts and to the chagrin of some members of the Lynett family, former owners of the sold papers.

Until the past few years, their nearest papers were a cluster of weeklies in Berks County, including the Hamburg Item and Kutztown Patriot, along with the Pottstown Mercury and a handful of dailies in suburban Philadelphia. They’ve since acquired the Reading Eagle, the South Schuylkill News, and the Morning Call in Allentown.

Thursday’s news apparently came suddenly, through an all-staff zoom call after all was said and done with the sale.

Today’s front page above-the-fold headline reads “Republican Herald sold.”

MediaNews Group, based in Denver, Colorado, says they will keep “virtually” all employees and have not commented otherwise on their plans after the sale, but their newsrooms typically are thinly staffed.

The gravity and onset of Thursday’s news led me to the topic of today’s column and the similarities thereof.

Goodbye…

The Shenandoah Evening Herald, published on Ringtown Boulevard from their offices next to the entrance into Shenandoah Heights, was typically in black-and-white with a single color for certain trim elements or advertising copy.

Blue, red, green, and yellow were typical colors for the trim elements and rarely, if ever, were headlines in color.

The Saturday, July 29, 1995 edition, though, was different. The trim, purple, and the above-the-fold headline was too, reading “Goodbye…” with a staff photo spanning the width of the paper underneath.

“It’s been a pleasure to have served you!” was underneath.

The staffers found out the prior Tuesday, the 25th, that Saturday’s edition would be the end of the line for what was then Schuylkill County’s oldest daily newspaper, which was in its 120th year.

The Goodson Newspaper Group — owned by prolific television producer Mark Goodson, whose production firm developed The Price is Right and Family Feud, among others — owned the Herald and had sold the paper to J.H. Zerbey Newspapers, publishers of the Pottsville Republican.

How the sale itself was covered in the Herald earlier in the week, I do not know, because I have yet to find archives of it for 1981 to 1995. But, I have a complete copy of the final edition published in Shenandoah on July 29.

This, unfortunately, is a eulogy; the journey is over

The July 29 edition included some of the typical news centered on the northern Schuylkill area, including Helen Frye’s Ringtown notes — including the top hoagie sellers for the Ringtown Little League, Melissa Enders, Jennifer Hughes, and Brian Stravinsky, accompanied by Dave Briggs, then-president of the Ringtown Athletic Club — and Deborah Zeluskey’s Mount Carmel notes, highlighting an upcoming rabies clinic in Marion Heights and a pig roast in Kulpmont.

It also included memories shared by Herald staffers.

Judy Souders wrote a column, writing “This, unfortunately, is a eulogy.”

“I have written this article three times and just can’t seem to find the right words to convey my feelings about the Evening Herald employees and standards,” Souders wrote. “Ed the editor, Andy, Ruth Ann, Rose, these are some of the finest people I have ever had the good fortune to work with. They are good people, not interested in the sensationalism of reporting. Good, truthful reporting was their goal.”

“Thank you to the many people who have opened their homes to me, assisted me with stories, and called me at home with a hot tip,” Souders continued. “It was with your help that the Evening Herald maintained the neighborhood newspaper ideal.”

Ruth Ann Humpf’s final Small Talk column was titled “Evening Herald: The journey is over.”

She wrote, deflecting complaints that the column was typically “nit-picking”, that it would “include words of praise for a group of people who believed in a down-to-earth newspaper, a group of people who strived day after day to give the subscribers what they wanted — that special local touch.”

“I never thought things would end like this,” Humpf wrote. “They say all good things must come to an end — the Evening Herald is no more and most, if not all of the dedicated people who have been a part of the newspaper have decided to ‘go down with the ship and its captain.’ The journey is over.”

“As I watched my friends, the crew of the Evening Herald on Tuesday, July 25, when it was announced that the last edition would be published on Saturday, July 29, I saw proud and dedicated people hang their heads and cry,” Humpf wrote. “I really don’t think they were crying because they were out of jobs — I believe the initial tears were for the Evening Herald — the community newspaper that served this county for the past 120 years.”

“When we walk through the back door (the front door has already been locked) for the last time on Saturday — I know a part of our hearts will remain in that building,” Humpf added. “It was our home away from home for many years and for that reason most of us will not be able to pass by the old Herald office without a pang of sorrow.”

“We gave our best, we tried to please the people who depended on us and we will leave here knowing ‘no one could have done it better,'” Humpf continued. “It’s been a pleasure serving the people of this area. I only wish the journey had not ended.”

The late Sports Editor Babe Conroy’s final Conroy’s Corner column reflected on his memories in the building, from his first day in 1971 to office functions and hijinks to the final days of the Herald.

“As a sports editor, I was glad that I never became so jaded that I didn’t realize how much it meant to a kid to see his name in the paper,” Conroy wrote. “I know I missed some of you, but, trust me, any oversight was not intentional.”

“Listen, if you can drive two miles to work every day and get paid to do something you like, you have been extremely fortunate,” Conroy continued. “It is a sad day when we vacate this building. Sure we had our fights and disagreements; no workplace is free from them. But, all in all, we were a pretty tight bunch and we enjoyed what we did.

“We enjoyed each other,” Conroy added. “If you check the picture on the front page, you will get that feeling.”

Our goal is ‘better together’

On Monday, July 31, Evening Herald subscribers still received an “Evening Herald.” An edition of the Pottsville Republican with the Evening Herald logo atop, and a line beneath nothing it was “Your Community Edition of The Pottsville Republican.”

Uzal H. Martz, penned a column, which ran on the front page of both the “Herald” and the Republican, welcoming Herald readers and noting their “goal is ‘better together.'” The first edition of the Republican-published “Herald” is also not archived anywhere, at least not that I have found, and I was lucky enough to secure a full copy.

“The Evening Herald… will continue to emphasize community news, while keeping readers fully informed about developments in the rest of the county, state, and nation,” Martz said.

The majority of the Herald’s staff left for neighboring publications, namely the Shamokin News-Item and Hazleton Standard~Speaker, which both attempted to fill the void left by the Herald to a certain extent.

The Ringtown Boulevard offices were closed and a satellite office was opened on North Main Street. That office closed in 2017.

The separate “Herald” edition only lasted a few years, ending around 1997 when the paper published as the Republican & Herald. In 2009, the & was dropped.

Today

I make it no secret that the Herald’s community coverage of our area — of the area I have always called home — inspires the work of the Sentinel every day.

That sort of coverage is something we haven’t had since 1995, before my time, nor do I have the resources to perform to the same level of their newsroom, but I still try my best.

Thursday’s news is not only reminiscent of what led to that loss for our area, but also could be a precursor to further losses in coverage.

I do hope that is not the case, but MediaNews Group and Alden Global Capital have blazed a clear trail.

About Author