| Type | Semi-weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founder | Franklin H. Austin |
| Founded | 1908 (as the Delano Holograph) |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Delano, California |
| OCLC number | 33944043 |
| Website | bakersfield |
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.
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]
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...