Colton Museum Houses Historical Documents

Members of the Colton Museum and Historical Society gathered on Saturday, March 11, for a speech on the history of City News Group, Inc. Margie Miller, current owner and publisher of the Colton City News, spoke at length on the history of the paper and how it currently serves the community of Colton. City News Group, is an adjudicated newspaper and historical document which began in 1993 and started with only three cities: Colton, Grand Terrace and Loma Linda. The Colton Area Museum first opened in 1908, when the local public library was relocated to a new building. Following the formation of the Colton Area Museum association, it was soon decided that the former library would be converted into a museum dedicated to preserving Colton’s history. The Colton Area Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve and display historical artifacts for public viewing. The museum also holds historical interest meetings every second Saturday of the month. The Colton Area Museum is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2. Come rain or shine, all are invited to learn about Colton’s history. As Miller continued her presentation, she explained that Marty Bachman, then owner/publisher, approached Miller, who was teaching real estate classes at the time, about writing real estate related articles for the newspaper. By acquiring information that was not readily available to the public, Bachman had established a reputation for the paper that was “exceptional” and “exciting”. The City News Group journalist had developed techniques that obtained information from closed sessions of the city council. This information was then printed in the paper and readers loved this aspect of city news and felt as though they were receiving fresh news. “The newspaper was very popular and changed the political climate,” explained Miller. Bachman expanded his paper to include Grand Terrace in 1995 and Loma Linda in 1996, but after 1996, things a turn for the worst. The most expensive part of keeping a newspaper up and running is the printing cost. So, sometime after 1996, Bachman relinquished the paper to Linda Garber and her husband who owned the printing house that Bachman used to print his paper. Then in 2006, Miller learned the paper was for sale; little did she know it would change her life. Shortly after buying the paper, Miller discovered that the papers skepticism with regard to local government intimidated many members of the community. “The first thing we needed to fix was the distribution," Miller explained. She started by throwing papers into the driveways of peoples’ homes at night with her husband, and things went from there. Over the next few years, Miller changed the whole direction of the paper. The paper turned its focus to charitable work, things happening in the community and it was published in color. When Miller first began with the paper, one of the first changes she made was to radically alter the way in which the papers were distributed. “Distribution is the most important part of running a newspaper," Miller said. Papers were being delivered to less than 10 locations and city staff was instructed to remove and recycle the papers as soon as possible. To fix this, Miller and her husband started doing driveway deliveries, tossing papers out of car windows by hand. On her second edition of publication, Miller changed the format of the paper, adding black and white photos to the pages. Later she would go on to add color pictures. “It was like turning a ship in the night,” Miller said. While it took some years to get the paper on track, she and her staff managed to turn things around. The paper now publishes in 6 cities: Colton, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, San Bernardino, Redlands and Moreno Valley. In the future, Miller said she hopes to bring even more changes to City News Group. While it is hard to let go of the concept of printed paper, Miller acknowledges that if the paper is to survive it will have to go completely digital. She understands that this change may alarm some longtime readers, so she said she is making every effort to ease the transition. In fact, the current website has been made to look exactly like the newspaper. Miller hopes to further incorporate social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter in gathering information. At the end of Miller’s speech, Council Member Dr. Luis Gonzalez presented Miller with a Colton Centennial 1887 – 1987 Commemorative silver coin from the Colton Museum. Miller said of the event, “Newspapers have always been historical documents and chronicle the facts and events of any given time. It’s an honor to have CNG be a part of Colton’s history, and to see it here at the Colton Area Museum.” The Colton Area Museum hosts monthly meetings on the second Saturday of each month, inviting speakers to be present. On Saturday, March 11, Jim Wood will be conducting a presentation titled “A Story of Early Settlement of Agua Mansa and La Placita.”