In the Thursday, March 23, 1961, edition of the Chesterton Tribune—the
penultimate weekly edition before the paper went daily on Monday, April
3—publisher Warren R. Canright wrote this in an Editorially Speaking
headlined “A big step forward”: “This is a milestone not only in the history
of the Tribune but for the community as well, because a newspaper is truly a
community institution. It is indeed sad when a community loses its voice.”
How well has the Trib fulfilled its role as a community institution?
Ross Amundson—who came to North Porter County in 1974 originally to work at
Bethlehem Steel and is now with Indiana-American Water Company—has these
thoughts.
“We moved to Furnessville in 1974 and later Chesterton in 1977,” he
remembers. “Our three years in Furnessville were in an Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore lease-back, so the Trib’s coverage of national and
state park news from a local perspective was of great interest. We were
active members in park activities and joined the Friends of the Dunes due to
reading about it in the Trib.”
At the same time, Amundson says, “Our children were beginning in the
Duneland Schools and much of our life revolved around the schools. The
coverage that the Trib provided was invaluable to us as a family with
school-age children. Whether it was an article about School Board meetings
or the PTA or athletic teams or academic achievement or the great CHS bands
or the national championship speech and debate teams, we pridefully absorbed
every bit of it.”
“I was not in the area in the late 60s when Duneland School consolidation
took place,” Amundson adds, “but I think that event probably did much to
expand the readership of the Trib. The Trib became a must-read
for everyone, at least with school-age children, in that 95-square mile
school district.”
Finally, as formerly a long-time member of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce
Executive Board and host of Porter County Uncovered—the well-regarded
local cable TV current-events program—Amundson has this to say about the
Trib.
“I can’t measure the importance of having the Chesterton Tribune
there reporting on local events. Not always agreeing on things, of course.
“Some of our most spirited discussions and debates, whether at the Chamber
or on television, with former reporter Jim Hale and (managing editor) David
Canright, helped yield constructive approaches to issues like expanding
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore or building a new Chesterton High School.
“Over the years the Trib has helped the community find consensus on
many issues through many forums.”
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