Time of Reflection

As many of you know who pay attention to such things, the eighth anniversary of CV Weekly was on Sept. 4. Eight years! That means the Station Fire was eight years ago, too; the front cover of the first issue of the Crescenta Valley Weekly was the Station Fire. The design was one that has never been replicated in all the years we’ve produced a paper. The cover was photo-dominant, meaning that a photo was the main feature of the single-story cover. To this day I marvel at that photo, taken by my husband Steve, of a firefighter standing under a gazebo surrounded by flames, his helmet in his hands. It captured the enormity of the fire, which would later be declared the largest in the history of the County of Los Angeles. Though never submitted for any awards (we were way too young to even consider something like that), I’ve always thought that cover and photo were of award quality.

Over these last eight years there have been many changes, and many constants, here at the CV Weekly. I like to think that, from issue one, we have produced a paper that has been a high-quality product, one that “responds to the desire of our community to have its own unique newspaper,” as I wrote in my very first commentary. That’s not to say that everything has always gone perfectly.

For example, when reflecting back I’m so grateful that our readers were forgiving of our typos and grammatical errors … and I’m so very grateful that Anne McNeill has since given her time to look over many of the stories each week, catching more mistakes than I’d like to think about.

The early issues didn’t have the wit of Sue Kilpatrick, either; our in-house “weather girl” has alerted us to many atmospheric changes while giving us a little history of the Crescenta Valley.

Because we love the history of the Crescenta Valley. And who tells it better than Mike Lawler? As a founding member and former president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, Mike has captured our imaginations – and our hearts – with his recounting of events that make the Crescenta Valley the treasure we feel it is.

And if a picture can tell a thousand words, then Leonard Coutin has told countless stories these past eight years. When we started the paper, first at my kitchen table then Mary’s after we were evacuated because of the Station Fire, Leonard was one of the first people to knock on our door, offering his services. Since then, we have relied on his generous nature and photographic talent to enrich this paper.

No doubt I could go on – when considering the people who have given everything to the Crescenta Valley Weekly over the years there isn’t enough newsprint to acknowledge them all. Please suffice it to say that I thank each and every one of them – and all our readers for their ongoing support of this woman’s dream.

  robin goldsworthy