Lynden Tribune had humble beginning

Lynden Tribune/FILE PHOTO

Before relocating around the corner to its current office and printing space, the Tribune's home was the much smaller building that now houses the Washington State Liquor Store and The Flying Dutchman Coffee Shop on Front Street, next to the post office.

Lynden Tribune photo courtesy of LYNDEN PIONEER MUSEUM

Printing circa 1888 was done with a hand-operated letter press which, with care, could print a single sheet at a time. Though not documented, this photo is believed to be in the Pioneer Press printing office on Front Street.

     Weekly newspapers have played a part in the history of Lynden since the earliest days of the town. Before the town was incorporated in 1891, the town's newspaper was called The Lynden Pioneer Press. The first publication masthead carried the legend: "Vol. I, Lynden, Washington Territory, Tuesday October 16, 1888."
     W.H. Dobbs owned the paper and L. D. Pangborn was the editor. Early pictures of the town show a small frame building on the south side of Front Street. In later years, this building would become the town hall and, in 1928, a new city hall would be built on the same location.
     The Pioneer Press was published from 1888 to 1900, followed by what appeared to be a two-year hiatus when the town had no established newspaper. The small frame building that had been home to The Pioneer Press was taken into bankruptcy and Lynden later acquired it for a city hall.
     In 1902, W. H. Towner came to Lynden and started The Pacific-Pilot, a sprightly weekly that had one of the finest set-ups for paper of its type anywhere in the country; especially for a town like Lynden, which had been carved out of the wilderness only a few decades earlier.
     The population of Lynden varied from a few hundred to a thousand or more. Economic conditions caused the population to fluctuate. Much of the history of the town can be gleaned from perusing editions of The Pacific-Pilot. The newspaper did an excellent job of reporting the rift in the town when there were two mayors and two city councils vying for the job of administering the town's affairs. The early editors and publishers generally wrote the news as they saw it, making interesting reading for those wanting to pursue the historical information about the town that can only be found in these early newspaper accounts.
     The Pacific-Pilot eventually ceased publication and was succeeded by The Lynden Sun-Pilot. That name was subsequently changed to the Lynden Tribune, and in 1914 Sol Lewis came to Lynden and purchased the newspaper. The Tribune has been operated continuously by the Lewis family since that time. Sol Lewis was the guiding hand in the early days. He gave it a stability that many small town papers did not have. He must have been a good financial manager as well as an editor and publisher. Sol Lewis ran the paper from 1914 until his death on June 12, 1953.
     His two sons were a part of the paper during his later years. William R. Lewis was the eldest and came to work at the Tribune in 1945. He retired in 1984. His younger brother, Julian Lewis, joined the paper in 1948 and retired in 1992 when the third generation took over. Michael Lewis, son of Julian Lewis, came into control of the family enterprise in 1992 and became publisher when his father retired.
     Over the years the paper has grown. The Lynden Tribune is currently published every Wednesday, but the business is not limited only to the paper. The printing and publishing end of the business has expanded to include many other publications, brochures and books as well.
     The Tribune currently employs 35 full-time people and 15 part-time employees.
     Major accomplishments in the past several years include an upgrade to their Goss Community Web newspaper press. The company added a sixth press unit and new folder in early 1994. This allowed the Tribune to increase its color capacity and press speed to meet its growing customer base which reaches into Skagit County to the south and north into British Columbia, Canada.
     In the spring of 1995 the Tribune completed a major computer upgrade in the graphics department, production department and the newsroom. This has allowed for enhanced graphics in the newspaper, more four-color photos -- as now all photo scanning and separations are done in-house -- and computer pagination of the newspaper. In April of 1996 an imagesetter was added in the production department.
     The story of the Lynden Tribune has been chronicled in detail in the publication, "Sage of the Crossroads -- Sol Lewis" by William Lewis.
     It is not often that a family is able to pass down a business from generation to generation. Quite often, a person of great energy will start a business and then turn it over to an offspring, who for some reason or another may be unable or unwilling to keep the business going or adapt to changing circumstances. Often, by the time it gets to the third generation, the business has vanished from the scene.
     Each succeeding generation at the Tribune, however, has managed to build on what the previous generation has accomplished.
     There is no reason not to expect that by the year 2014, the Lewis family will still be in charge of the Tribune and its varied enterprises. The fourth generation is on hand and it may be likely that by the time of the 100th anniversary of the Lewis family at the Tribune, they may be seen working at the newspaper that their great-grandfather started long ago.