Published: September 23, 2009 03:24 pm      

Record offers subscription special

Second Looking Back keepsake volume being published

WHITLEY CITY — Christmas has come early for McCreary County residents who want to reacquaint themselves with the county’s oldest serving newspaper – the McCreary County Record.

“As we celebrate our 90 years of presenting fair and balanced news coverage for McCreary County, we’d like to offer a special subscription rate of only $1.99 for the remainder of this year,” said Publisher Jack McNeely. “That’s right, for less than 15 cents per week through December 2009 you can have the most trusted local news source delivered to your mailbox every week.”

While the special only applies to non subscribers in McCreary County, McNeely noted that “our current subscribers can still take advantage of this affordable rate by signing up family and friends as an early Christmas gift.”

But hurry, deadline for this limited 3-month subscription offer ends at 4 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 25th!

Sign up at our downtown office located at 48 North Main St., Whitley City, KY, or call our office today at 606-376-5357.

The Record is also celebrating its 90th anniversary by producing its second volume of “Looking Back: A Pictorial History of McCreary County.” This special keepsake book features 96 pages of our “Looking Back” features over the years. This special slice of McCreary County history will be available for purchase at our downtown office during McCrearyFest activities Saturday, Oct. 3rd. The pictorial book retails for $19.95, but it will be on sale through Oct. 3rd for $14.95.

The McCreary County Record was born in October 1919. The first press run of the paper was November 18, 1919. Started by Bell Press of Oneida, Tenn, the plant was installed in the pool room building owned by Stearns Coal & Lumber Company which later in 1920 bought the paper.

Mrs. K.W. Dyas was editor until July 5, 1928. She was followed by Mrs. C.H. Burton, July 19, 1928 to Jan. 22, 1929.

The Record was sold to Cecil T. Williams of Somerset, Ky., late in 1928. This ownership led to the eventual affiliation of The Record with the Commonwealth Journal in Somerset. The Record remains dedicated to delivering local news to McCreary County and employing McCreary County residents to service their community. The Record’s four staff members currently have more than 60 years of combined service.

The Record has never missed a deadline. An office fire in July 1987 became the lead story when the paper hit the streets six days later. The Record has been a Tuesday paper for most of the 90 years of its existence.

Several years ago the date changed to Wednesday but was so unpopular with readers it quickly reverted back to a Tuesday publication.

In early years, The Record did not publish the week between Christmas and New Years Day.

Starting in 1928 The Record began keeping bound volumes. These books have survived two fires and are appreciated by genealogists and historians for their content.

The record has moved over the years. From Stearns it moved to Whitley City into the Hatfield-Lavender Building on Courthouse Square. The offices remained there until the fire of 1987 when the offices relocated into the nearby Ruben Hicks’ building. The Record remained there until it outgrew the space in 2005. The Record is now located at 48 North Main Street in Whitley City.