What does 120 years really mean?
An editorial from The Sentinel's 120 Years Anniversary edition
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43,830. That is how many days The Sentinel has been covering the Juniata Valley during the past 120 years.
As we acknowledge this milestone, we think about what it means to have reached 120 years of being a part of the community. This column isn't about what's changed over the years in the newspaper industry (a lot). Or the mistakes or typographical errors we've made (plenty over 120 years and an estimated 900,000 plus pages). This column isn't about the awards we've won or the triumphs we've achieved. This editorial isn't a rendering of the history of The Sentinel. This column is written to acknowledge the sheer weight, accomplishment and meaning of 43,830 days of a newspaper being part of the community.
On October 10, 1903, The Sentinel started publishing a newspaper. While we didn't publish each of those 40,000 plus days, The Sentinel doubtless had daily impact during the last 120 years.
How many employees cumulatively worked for the newspaper? It's likely been thousands since 1903. Some of those folks went on to do great things in other fields or communities. Others stayed for many years right here and made a difference for their entire career here at The Sentinel (we're looking at you James "Jimmy" Thompson and Walter "Bud" Olson). Some employees got ink on their hands, clothes and everywhere else, and others never walked into the pressroom, but they all had a part in getting local news into the hands of the good people of Mifflin and Juniata Counties.
But it wasn't just the employees who have been a part of The Sentinel's footprint. It was the business owner who stayed up late to get their advertising copy together for the full-page ad that would make or break their holiday bottom line. Or the student who dashed out of school at 3:01 p.m. sharp so they could get their paper route delivered before dinnertime. Think of the reporter who went out in the dark and cold to get the details of the house fire. And the hauler who was driving in the middle of the night to drop bundles of Sentinels off at stores in McAlisterville or Milroy or McVeytown or Mifflintown or any other local town whether it starts with an "M" or not.
How many Sentinel clippings from 1903 to 2023 are stashed away in shoeboxes, scrapbooks, drawers, attics and closets all over the country? How many Sentinel webpage clicks have there been since our website went live (hint, it's in the tens of millions)? Did you ever proudly say "that's my kid"(or grandkid, niece, nephew, cousin, etc.) when a son or daughter was listed in a Sentinel article? That's because it means something to be mentioned in the local newspaper.
There are four main ways to make the paper. #1- someone did something good/notable. #2 - someone did something not so good. #3 - someone was somehow involved or quoted regarding a newsworthy event. #4 and most sobering - someone's name is in bold on the obituary page. Whichever of the four ways a name makes the paper, you have to admit that it has an impact. We hope that you've got some Sentinel clippings stored away somewhere in your home that bring you joy. And we realize there are possibly some clippings that may bring a tear to your eye. But that will happen when a small town newspaper has been serving a community as long at The Sentinel has been doing so in the Juniata Valley.
And that's the point of this column. 120 years is an accomplishment. There is undoubtedly blood, sweat and tears that go into any business that lasts for a century plus twenty more years. And so today, as we here at The Sentinel mark this milestone achievement, we are proud to have delivered community news, information and advertising messages to the Juniata Valley since 1903. And even as things change in our world, we hope to continue to have the privilege of delivering local news to our community.
Editor’s Note: This editorial was published in The Sentinel’s special 120th anniversary edition on October 10, 2023