Published: May 30, 2009 01:41 am      

The end of an era: Looking back at 24 years of Saturday newspapers

On Oct. 5, 1985 the Palestine Herald-Press did something it hadn’t done before — print a Saturday edition of the newspaper.

The nearly 24-year run ends today with the last Saturday edition of the Herald-Press.

Much has changed during that time. With the rise of cable news channels and the Internet piping news into homes on an up-to-the-minute basis, newspapers across the country have had to adjust and move forward just as the Herald-Press has had to do.

Still, it is fun to look back at how much has changed since 1985.

“We started the Saturday paper because the local economy was robust and the advertising was healthy,” said retired Herald-Press Publisher Larry Mayo. “We didn’t want a day when we weren’t on the air, so to speak.

“Friday night football was real big in the area, as well. It also was a good automotive vehicle for automotive advertising. Of course we all know what’s happened to the auto industry. It’s understandable.”

And, for the curious minded, Palestine and Westwood each won their respective football games for that first Saturday edition.

The Wildcats got past Crockett, 21-14, while the Panthers defeated White Oak in a shoot-out, 46-35. Elkhart, locked in a defensive struggle, blanked Lovelady, 12-0 — all of which was reported in that first Saturday paper.

Sandra Ham, who spent 35 years working at the Herald-Press in different capacities, recalled when the paper added the Saturday edition.

“They told us we were moving forward,” Ham recalled. “No more waiting around an extra day to find out who won the football game, you would know the next morning.”

And while losing a day of publication is sad for many people, it is just a sign of the times.

“It’s just the times we’re in right now, economically,” said Alex Kobar, who worked 50 years in advertising at the Herald-Press. “We’ve just got to go with the flow.”

Other things have changed beyond the scope of the newspaper in nearly a quarter century.

In 1985 ground beef sold for 87 cents per pound; whole milk was $1.99 a gallon; chicken was 48 cents a pound; and a box of Parkay® margarine cost 39 cents.

For those who stayed at home watching television on Oct. 5, 1985, they could watch Airwolf on CBS; Gimme a Break, The Facts of Life, Golden Girls and 227 followed by Hunter on NBC; and at 9 p.m. on ABC viewers could tune in to Love Boat.

On the independent station viewers could watch Hee Haw, followed by Star Search and a rerun of Gunsmoke.

Those who wanted to take in a movie that day could go to Schulman’s I & II and see Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure or Invasion USA starring Chuck Norris. At the matinee guests could watch Sesame Street’s Follow that Bird. And for the folks who liked a little more edge, they could watch Friday the 13th Part V for the late show.

As for what was on the front page of the Herald-Press in that first Saturday edition, there were two feature stories about the thoroughbred horse industry in the Palestine area, along with a story concerning the murder of a 92-year-old patient at the Villa Inn Nursing Home.

The paper also had a story concerning the sale of the old Anderson County Memorial Hospital and a change request for a community development grant.

As for the future, the Herald-Press will continue to be around, bringing news to the community as it has since 1849.

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Herald-Press News Editor Beth Foley contributed to this report.