Courier-Standard-Enterprise

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There is much history to what is today called the Courier-Standard Enterprise. As the C-S-E serves the western region of Montgomery County, with the editorial focus on the villages of Fort Plain, Canajoharie and St. Johnsville, people old enough to remember will refer to the Courier-Standard-Enterprise as individual and separate newspapers. The Courier was Canajoharie, the Standard was Fort Plain and the Enterprise was St. Johnsville. As one could hear a resident referring to an article in the Standard, you can guess where in part, his or her roots were planted.

Fort Plain's first newspaper, the Watchtower, traced its beginnings to 1827, five years before the incorporation of the village. The Watchtower became the Mohawk Valley Register in 1854. Two other weeklies emerged, the Fort Plain Standard in 1876 and the Fort Plain Free Press in 1883. All of these continued to survive into the 20th century in a part of town known as "Newspaper Row". The first to succumb was the Register, soon after the death of its publisher, David Hackney. It became part of the Free Press, afterwards know as the Free Press-Register. The O'Conner brothers, George, a master printer and Walter, purchased the Standard. Walter passed on in 1922 and a decade later his brother George Passed, leaving the operations to George's daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Lindemann. In 1939, the newspaper and plant was purchased by Donald Christie of Slingerlands, and subsequently purchased the Canajoharie Radii in 1940 from Charles Ryder of Cobleskill.

The same year Christie purchased the merged FreePress-Register from Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Dievendorf. The following year (1941) Christie purchased the Canajoharie Courier from Mrs. William (Edith)Forman and the papers' printing was moved to Fort Plain with business offices remaining in Canajoharie. The Courier continued as a separate publication until January 1943, when it was merged with the Standard for the duration of World War II. The "Combined for the duration" became forever as the result of general public acceptance of the publication.

The Courier-Standard continued for two decades until August 1, 1969, when Roger and Phyllis Scofield, owners of the St. Johnsville Enterprise and News purchased it from the Fort Plain Standard, Inc. It became the now, Courier-Standard-Enterprise in 1970. The Fort Plain Standard, Inc. a commercial printing plant was continued until about a year later when, the commercial business was sold to its employee's as it continues today as the Fort Plain Printing Inc.

The Courier-Standard-Enterprise was acquired by the Tri-Village Publishers in May 1970. Today a business office is maintained in Fort Plain with production and printing of the paper being done by The Recorder in Amsterdam.

Today you can get your subscriptions, advertising and submission of area information handles in the Fort Plain office located at 81 Canal Street on the corner of the Clock Building. Stop by and see our staff and help us carry on the long tradition of serving our community with community news or just call or fax us. Phone (518) 993.2321, fax (518) 993.4919.

Article by Dennis Horton.

Ray Leavitt, sales rep.

Tri-Village Publishers; Kevin McClary - General Manager

06.14.2007

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