For the Record

As longtime newspaper folds, Colebrook’s community paper picks up the legacy

BY EMILY REILY / ILLUSTRATION BY PETER NOONAN

For 154 years in Colebrook, the family-owned News and Sentinel documented life here — moose parades in the summer, Christmas parades in the winter, town meetings in the spring, births, deaths, weddings, graduations and everything in between.

But on Aug. 28, 2024, publisher Karen Harrigan, whose family owned the weekly newspaper for three generations, made the heart-wrenching decision to end its lengthy run. A statement on the newspaper’s website cited falling readership numbers and declining ad revenues, exacerbated by the pandemic.

Citing the rise in work-from-home jobs and high-speed internet, Harrigan wrote in the newspaper’s farewell that there was a “sea change that has worked against us.”

“This was by no means an easy decision. We have a great team of people here, many readers and contributors who care deeply about the paper, and some longtime, faithful advertisers who have trusted us to promote their businesses,” she added.

Throughout its history, the News and Sentinel experienced mergers, name changes and new owners.

According to Sheila Beauchemin with the Colebrook Area Historical Society, the News and Sentinel began in 1871 as the Northern Sentinel. Published by James Peavey, it operated upstairs at Bedel’s Block. In 1875, it was renamed the Colebrook Weekly News, publishing out of the former Chadley’s Jewelry Store. Nine years after that in 1884, it became the News and Sentinel.

Finally in 1960, Fred Harrigan bought the paper, opening an office on Bridge Street. Son John Harrigan took over in 1991, and Karen Harrigan assumed ownership in 2002.

As in many small communities, residents wear many hats. Beauchemin formerly worked at the News and Sentinel and was also the town clerk. Now with the historical society, Beauchemin gathers artifacts from past events so residents can better understand Colebrook’s legacy.

In 2020, Beauchemin compiled a poster book of historical sites for Colebrook’s 250th celebration, with “fun facts” about each. At JAX Theater, built in 1938, moviegoers paid 12 cents for a ticket. Ice cream was 7 cents; and popcorn (without butter), 5 cents.

Beauchemin highlighted several events in Colebrook’s history, including a flood on May 3, 1929, when the Balsams Dam broke. Water, reportedly 20 feet high, flooded the valley, crushing houses and cars along the way.

Entire sections of Main Street have burned more than once. During the

“Great Fire,” Beauchemin says, “everything from Parsons to Pleasant Street (Main Street east side) was lost.”

Tourism is another big draw, she adds. In 1860, 34 rooms at Monadnock House welcomed travelers until it burned in 1895; in 1948 it became a convent and boarding house.

Polly’s Place, a 1920s-era restaurant owned by well-known society columnist Amy Lyman Phillips, “became a stop for the rich and famous to dine,” Beauchemin says. As Phillips also owned Elm Tree Inn next door, it was the perfect combination for weary travelers.

The News and Sentinel covered it all, but its demise follows a similar story across the nation. For years, community-based journalism has faced rapid decline, in part due to this “sea change” in how news is consumed. Reading a physical newspaper has largely given way to reading the day’s events online and on social media. Nationwide, from 2004 to 2024, more than 3,000 rural weekly newspapers either shuttered or merged with other organizations, creating “news deserts” — areas where news isn’t being reported.

Colebrook is one of the lucky ones. With the paper’s closure, the town would have met the same fate, except that it had another trick up its sleeve: the weekly Colebrook Chronicle, which is celebrating its 25th year.

In nearby Clarksville, news editor Charlie Jordan, co-owner, Donna, and their son, Tom, compile news, sports and obituaries from their home, a former schoolhouse that lies on the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole. The team has a tight group of writers, including a columnist and a bilingual correspondent who covers a few townships in Canada.

“We used to say, we’re the farthest north newspaper in New Hampshire. Now it’s getting to be, we’re one of the only newspapers in northern New Hampshire,” Jordan says.

The increasing rarity of community papers is not lost on Jordan, who has worked in media since his first story was published in Yankee magazine when he was 17.

“You’re taking a big responsibility every single week. You’re putting out hundreds, if not thousands, of words in a paper that can make or break a person’s life.

And it’s a responsibility that’s very heavy. You have to know your community,” Jordan says.

A self-described “space nut” who fell in love with writing as a kid, Jordan would skip school to watch the Gemini and Apollo space missions and was enamored to see journalism giants like Walter Cronkite deliver the evening news.

“When I started writing, all I had was a manual typewriter. I’ve seen a lot of change,” Jordan says.

Jordan’s role at the News and Sentinel began at an extremely difficult time. He was doing research at the library, across from the newsroom at 6 Bridge St. on Aug. 19, 1997, the day Carl Drega went on a shooting rampage, killing four, including the paper’s editor, Dennis Joos.

Tragedy was at their front door. Jordan, who was friends with John Harrigan, discovered they were an hour and a half away from finishing the next edition. He recalls Harrigan asking him for help with finishing the paper that night.

Jordan explained Harrigan’s decision to keep going.

“We’re in the news business, and if we share other people’s tragedies in our paper, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about anything that impacted our lives, too,” Jordan says.

In the aftermath, Harrigan asked Jordan to stay on as editor, which he did for a year and a half, and it again sparked his interest in journalism. In 2000, Jordan launched the Colebrook Chronicle.

“I just had the whole news business get back into my blood. We live, breathe and eat this stuff,” Jordan says.

Twenty-five years in, the Chronicle is expanding its reach thanks to ad funding. It

I feel that Colebrook has been very lucky for, gosh, I don’t know, 150 years, at least. They have always had a pretty strong newspaper giving them direction. And for some reason, it still works here.”

Jordan also cherished his friendship with Harrigan, a well-liked writer, editor, columnist and outdoorsman known throughout the state who died in 2022.

“I knew John really, really well. He was a good friend,” says Jordan, and knew well the readers he served.

“John was a character. He was quite a repository of local lore. He had a knack for attracting some really skilled people who wanted to work for him,” says Jordan, who also remembered some of the lighter moments on the job.

“He was a fun guy to work with, I gotta tell you that. We laughed hysterically over so much stuff,” Jordan says.

Like many, Jordan was sad to see the News and Sentinel publish its final edition. He appreciated the competition between the two papers, and feels lucky that he lives in a place where others value the news as well.

“We’re in a very fortunate area where people still appreciate local news,” he says. He’s heartened when he sees their newspaper clipping tacked on a wall at the nearby school.

“It means something more. They’re not cutting a printout from a website,” he says.

“(This area) has had a long history of good newspapers run by good people. And I feel as the last one standing, we were aware of that responsibility, and we aren’t going anywhere,” Jordan says.