News Makes Our Community!

Two free local events on the weekend of April 1 and 2, 2023 will focus on Illinois Valley news and newspapers. It’s all about the news you can read, and hear in the Illinois Valley – why it’s important and who makes it happen.

Meet and greet the folks that manage the news in the Illinois Valley on Saturday April 1, 2023 from 2 pm. – 3 p.m. at the Illinois Valley Branch of Josephine Community Libraries. Dan Mancuso, editor and publisher of the Illinois Valley News, and Phillip Allison, Station Manager of KXCJ Community Radio will be on hand to talk about why news making and reporting keeps our community together.

On Sunday, April 2, 2023, the Kerbyville Museum will host an open house from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. showcasing two historic newspaper presses. Author and raconteur Paul Fattig will serve as moderator for both events, which are free with refreshments. Illinois Valley News editor and publisher, Dan Mancuso will talk about history of the newspaper and how he goes about putting together the newspaper every week. The Illinois Valley News formally began publication in 1937, when the Athey Brothers announced that the Illinois Valley presented a “wonderful opportunity for great development in three of the nation’s basic industries, agriculture, timber and minerals.” Ever since, the Illinois Valley News has kept the community aware of important issues of the day.

Dan and Laura Mancuso bought the paper in 2010 and carried on the great tradition. KXCJ Community Radio has a strong tradition of public service and community news-making. Station Manager Phillip Allison will talk about how a community radio station plays a unique role in keeping the community together and how the Cave Junction station came to be.

Keeping the event on track will be renown author and raconteur, Paul Fattig, who was himself a reporter for several Southern Oregon newspapers. Fattig’s wry wit will amuse and challenge as he engages both the speakers and audience.

The Kerbyville Museum will hold an open house on Sunday April 2, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. where visitors will be amazed at two historic newspaper presses. The presses are immense, but small still in comparison with today’s web printing presses. The Merganthaler linotype machine was donated to the Kerbyville Museum by the Grants Pass Daily Courier, which was used to print local news from the 1880s into the 1960s. The museum also has a Cottrell & Sons cylinder printing press manufactured in 1910, donated to the museum by the Illinois Valley News.

Refreshments will be served and Paul Fattig will be on hand to talk about news-making and news reporting. These two Illinois Valley news-focused events are brought to you by the Southern Oregon Newspaper Project with the support of Southern Oregon University. The Southern Oregon Newspaper Project promotes the availability of our historic newspapers in the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program (ODNP). The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu managed at the University of Oregon, has dozens of Southern Oregon’s historic newspapers available online and at no cost, including the Illinois Valley News and the Grants Pass Daily Courier thanks in part to funding from the State Library of Oregon and the Oregon Heritage Commission. For more information, contact Maureen Flanagan Battistella at battistem@sou.edu or 541-552-0743.