Delano Record

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Delano Record
TypeSemi-weekly newspaper
FounderFranklin H. Austin
Founded1908 (as the Delano Holograph)
Ceased publication2017
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersDelano, California
OCLC number33944043
Websitebakersfield.com/delano-record

The Delano Record was a semi-weekly newspaper serving Delano, California and surrounding area.[1][2] It ceased publication in 2017 as an individual publication, but reemerged as a subsection of the Bakersfield.com website.

History

[edit]

In June 1908, Franklin H. Austin published the first edition of the Delano Holograph.[3][4][5] A month later Austin sold the paper to W.T. Boone and O.O. Robertson, two Delano real estate men.[6] The name was then changed to the Delano Record.[7] Austin retained the rights to the old name and used it for another publication called Austin's Illustrated Holograph.[8]

In March 1909, R.K. Brundage bought the paper.[9] Brundage wanted to devote more time to his real estate business, so a month later he leased the paper to Charles H. Seiders and Charles K. Seeber.[10] Seeber left at some point and Selders edited the Record until his sudden death in November 1913.[11] Seiders died from drinking lye, a chemical used to clean type metal. It is unknown whether his death was an intentional suicide or an accident. Seiders recently failed to secure a loan to expand his plant, which could have induced depression. However, he could have mistaken the poison for the second glass in his office, which was filled with water.[12] At that time Seeber returned to operate the Record.[13]

In November 1915, J.V. Van Eaton, former staffer at The Fresno Herald, purchased the Record.[14] In January 1917, Van Eaton sold the business to Walter A. Wyatt.[15] Wyatt became editor and L. Boyd Baker, son of Rev. A.L. Baker, was named secretary-treasurer.[16] In April 1917, Joseph C. Norwood bought the paper.[17] In October 1917, A.W. Thresher, publisher of the Wasco News, purchased the interest of Norwood. Rev. A.L. Baker remained a minority owner.[18] Norwood soon launched a rival weekly paper in town called the Delano News. At that time Delano had a population of 500.[19]

The Record was acquired by Larry A. Freeman of Los Angeles in 1942,[20] followed by George B. Keyzers of San Gabriel in 1950.[21] Three decades later, Keyzers sold the paper to Reed Print Co. in 1985.[22] In 2011, Schafter Press, which printed the Record, caught fire.[23] The fire destroyed the paper news archives, causing the loss of any material that had not previously been stored on microfiche.[24] The newspaper closed its doors in December 2017 after Reed Print folded.[25] The Bakersfield Californian soon added a weekly section titled the Delano Record.[26]

Cesar Chavez Coverage

[edit]

During the late 1960s it was known for supporting grape growers over workers during the Delano grape strike.[27] Cesar Chavez recalled that the Record accused him of using "vicious dogs" to scare workers into signing up for the newly formed union.[28] In fact, the FBI file compiled on Chavez when he was considered for an appointment in the Johnson administration contained an editorial from the Record arguing that such an appointment would be a "cruel hoax":[29][30]

We agree with David Fairbairn . . . that this proposed appointment is an absurdity, but we go further. We submit this is a cynical and cruel hoax that in the long run can only undermine and make a mockery of the legitimate aspirations of our citizens of Mexican ancestry for the recognition by officialdom to which they are entitled...

References

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  1. ^ "Delano Record". Mondo Times.
  2. ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the. "About Delano record". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.
  3. ^ "Delano's Newspaper". Porterville Recorder. June 9, 1908. p. 2.
  4. ^ "Newspaper Again Started in Delano". The Selma Enterprise. June 20, 1908. p. 6.
  5. ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the. "About The Delano holograph". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.
  6. ^ "Delano Newspaper Changes Hands". Bakersfield Morning Echo. July 26, 1908. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Wants Jobs as Editor". Tulare County Times. Visalia, California. August 6, 1908. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Austin To Publish Another Holograph". Bakersfield Morning Echo. August 15, 1908. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Has Bought the Delano Paper". Visalia Daily Times. March 4, 1909. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Leases Delano Record". Hanford Morning Journal. Apr 23, 1909. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Delano Record Editor Comes To Sudden Death". Porterville Recorder. November 12, 1913. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Delano Editor Dies From Drinking Lye | Whether Accidental of Suicidal Is Not Known; Body Found By Daughter". The Fresno Morning Republican. November 13, 1913. p. 18.
  13. ^ "City Brevities And Personals". Bakersfield Morning Echo. November 18, 1913. p. 4.
  14. ^ "J.V. Van Eaton, Former Editor Here, Buys Delano Record". Fresno Herald. November 1, 1915. p. 8.
  15. ^ "Delano Brevities". The Fresno Morning Republican. January 20, 1917. p. 14.
  16. ^ "Delano Record Changes Hands |". Bakersfield Morning Echo. January 21, 1917. p. 5.
  17. ^ "J.C. Norwood Buys Delano Record | Well Known Bakersfield Typo to Assume Role of Editor and Manager". Bakersfield Morning Echo. April 29, 1917. p. 12.
  18. ^ "Delano Record Sold". Porterville Recorder. October 8, 1917. p. 3.
  19. ^ "Delano Now Has Two Weeklies". Bakersfield Morning Echo. October 13, 1917. p. 6.
  20. ^ "Delano Record Sold to Los Angeles Man". The Bakersfield Californian. February 6, 1942. p. 9.
  21. ^ "Delano Record Sold To San Gabriel Man". Visalia Times-Delta. Associated Press. March 6, 1950. p. 6.
  22. ^ "Publisher of Delano Record dies". The San Bernardino County Sun. January 2, 1992. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Fire At Shafter Press May Have Destroyed City's History". KERO-TV. February 25, 2011. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  24. ^ Burger, James (February 11, 2011). "Community mourns loss of history in Shafter Press blaze". The Bakersfield Californian. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  25. ^ Mayer, Steven (December 18, 2017). "Publisher of small community newspapers to fold after decades of coverage". The Bakersfield Californian. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  26. ^ "The Record". Bakersfield.com.
  27. ^ Dunne, John Gregory (2007-10-04). Delano: The Story of the California Grape Strike. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520254336.
  28. ^ Chavez, Cesar (2007). Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9781452913544.
  29. ^ Street, Richard Steven (1996). "The FBI's Secret File on César Chávez". Southern California Quarterly. 78 (4): 347–384. doi:10.2307/41171831. JSTOR 41171831.
  30. ^ "FBI Vault (Cesar Chavez)".