The Creston Museum is hoping to make nearly 45 years’ worth of newspapers available online around this time next year.
Manager Tammy Bradford said they have just applied for funding to digitize the Creston Review between 1936 and 1980. Editions from 1909 and 1936 are already available online through the UBC historic newspapers site.
Bradford said the missing issues represent a “huge gap in the local information record.”
“The newspapers are so full of that information, who’s doing what and why, and how is it shaping the community,” she said.
The museum has the original editions as well as microfilm copies. Bradford said while looking through the papers is a lot of fun, it can also be very time consuming if you’re trying to track down something specific.
Once the papers are online, they will be searchable by keyword, “so it’s a dream come true for genealogists or local historians.”
Bradford said when they receive requests about things that happened prior to 1936, they are able to search the papers quickly and easily and provide “phenomenal” amounts of information.
Recently, she discovered a woman’s grandfather had gone to university for engineering. The woman was unaware her grandfather had ever been to university, and what’s more, her son is now entering UBC to take engineering.
“So there was an interesting family connection they had no idea was there,” Bradford said. “It’s very powerful when you can do that and make those connections with people.”
She said as time marches on, they are starting to see more inquiries about much more recent events, so this batch of newspapers will be a great help in answering them.
The grant they have applied for will cover about half of the $12,000 project cost, so Bradford said they will have to raise the rest. It will be several months before they hear whether they are successful in their application, but if all goes well, work will start in May and the papers will be online by the end of December 2026.
The museum will provide microfilm to the University of BC, which will hire a student to do the work over two semesters.
Bradford said they have also resolved the issue of copyright. Herb Legg Sr., who ran the now-defunct newspaper for many years, eventually turned it over to his son and a consortium of local businessmen. One of them, Jimmy Karountzos, signed a release form for the museum, allowing the papers to be digitized and shared.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyCrestonNowNews Alerts.
