Okay, we get all that .... but why 2009?

Text Size: A | A | A

Print this Article Email this Article

If you look at the fine print at the bottom of Page 1A, you'll notice it says the Mail Tribune is in its 104th year.

So why are we celebrating our 100th anniversary today?

Since you asked (to coin a phrase), a centennial celebration originally was set for 2006, but research showed the Medford Mail and the Medford Tribune actually merged in 1909. True, the Ashland Tribune did move to Medford and became the Medford Tribune early in 1906. The two papers competed with each other for three and a half years, then merged.

Whoever set up the count back then decided to go with the first issue of the Medford Tribune, not the Medford Mail Tribune. Why? We'll probably never know.

So, in 2006, the decision was made to wait three and a half years to celebrate the Mail Tribune's 100th.

Why didn't we change the volume number on Page 1A to reflect the more accurate history? Not a good idea, since it would mean three and a half years of duplicated edition numbers, which would drive historians, librarians and archivists crazy.

Print this Article Email this Article