The Valley Sun celebrates 70 years of covering La Cañada Flintridge
The year was 1946 and the small town of La Cañada — its name meaning “mountain valley” to describe an area surrounded on all sides by foothill ridges, canyons and the deep Arroyo Seco — was experiencing a post-World War II boom.
Its school system, begun more than six decades earlier, was on the brink of expansion as more young families clamored to buy properties that afforded them magnificent, pristine views within a stone’s throw of a burgeoning Los Angeles.
As the La Cañada township began its transition from rural farmland to a metropolitan suburb and its population hit the 5,000 mark, resident Dixi Gail Hall began to see a critical need growing just as quickly as the local census.
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Citizens wanted to stay informed of new developments pertaining to schools, businesses and the important work being done by community organizations. But a serious lack of news coverage about what was happening in their town left many La Cañadans in the dark.
So Hall, then working as a young artist, set to work. In one of the bedrooms of the family’s modest farmhouse, located on the northeast corner of Craig and Commonwealth avenues, he helped coordinate a handful of articles and notices, laying out what was to become the town’s first newspaper, a semimonthly publication.
On April 3, 1946, the first issue of the La Cañada Valley Sun hit the streets at the subscription cost of $1 per year. In it, Frank Lanterman — grandson of town founder Jacob Lanterman and soon-to-be state Assembly member — wrote an article edifying readers on the town’s storied past, dating back to the last quarter of the 18th century.
“This is the living history of the community; it’s enormously important ... the fact that it’s been around 70 years and is still publishing is a neat thing.”
— Melissa Patton, executive director of the Lanterman House museum
“La Cañada … was first used as a name for this area by the Verdugo family in 1776-78. The Verdugos were the original owners of Rancho San Rafael, a grant of 40,000 acres of which La Cañada was a part. Later Rancho La Cañada became a separate grant comprising 5,835 acres,” Lanterman wrote.
“The area east of Pickens Wash to the eastern boundary of the Rancho at the Arroyo Seco, was officially named the settlement of La Cañada, and the La Cañada U.S. Post office was established. Thus in 1880 La Cañada became the official name of the community in which we live … a name that is rich in historic tradition and the romantic heritage of early California legends,” he continued.
The inaugural issue of the La Cañada Valley Sun also included articles about activities of the local library and Red Cross chapter, school PTA and chamber of commerce, as well as school and church notes, letters to the editor and a calendar of events. A school survey report, issued by UCLA Education Professor Dr. Lloyd Morrisett, indicated the population at La Cañada School (today La Cañada Elementary School) had increased 66% in the previous decade.
“La Cañada’s most pressing educational requirement at the present moment is obviously additional building facilities. The citizens of La Cañada should not only make provision for school housing for their children; they should adopt the policy of establishing and maintaining in La Cañada the highest level of educational opportunity to be found anywhere,” Morrisett surmised.
Longtime La Cañada resident and current Valley Sun Managing Editor Carol Cormaci, reflecting upon the publication’s long history of maintaining the public record, said that the tradition of service that began in Hall’s home in 1946 is still going strong 70 years later.
Since its inception, the newspaper hasn’t missed a single publication date. Given the direction to “cover La Cañada like a blanket,” Valley Sun reporters have used any and all available tools to bring readers ongoing coverage of local events and public meetings, writing on-the-spot breaking news as well as longer trend pieces.
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“So many people at the Valley Sun have worked so hard over the years to document local happenings,” Cormaci said in a recent interview. “We’ve been bringing good news, and sad news, to our readers. We’ve covered stories without prejudice — we’re all very proud at taking a balanced approach to community journalism here, and I look forward to continuing that tradition.”
Melissa Patton, executive director of the city’s historic museum Lanterman House, called the La Cañada Valley Sun “the most important paper in the Crescenta-Cañada Valley” for its continuous coverage of local issues, events and citizens.
“This is the living history of the community; it’s enormously important,” Patton said. “(And) the fact that it’s been around 70 years and is still publishing is a neat thing.”
The museum currently maintains an archive of Valley Sun editions dating all the way back to Hall’s first efforts, which is available for viewing by the public.
On Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m, the Valley Sun welcomes locals to join staff members past and present at a free 70th anniversary celebration at Lanterman House, 4420 Encinas Drive, in La Cañada. In addition to a brief presentation by speakers, participants can peruse seven decades of news coverage, eat birthday cake and leave “Notes to the Editor” for possible inclusion in the April 7 issue.
“It would be just great to see the community come out and support this local institution,” Cormaci said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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