St. Helena Star

History

On Sept. 28, 1874, DeWitt C. Lawrence published the first edition of the St. Helena Star. After three months it a had a circulation of 1,000. Lawrence sold the paper in January 1876 to Charles A. Gardner, former owner of the Napa Valley Register. Gardner leased the paper two years later to N.A. Morford for six months.

Gardner sold a half-interest in March 1883 to Willis A. Mackinder. Gardner retired in January 1884 and sold his share a year later. Mackinder sold the paper in October 1887 to his brother Frank B. Mackinder and Jesse H. Dugan, who retired in October 1891. Decades later Edward Starr Baldwin became editor when the owner F.B. Mackinder, who was his step-father, died in February 1937.

Baldwin became the owner when his mother died in 1963. He sold the Star to newspaper executive J.V. Brenner in 1977. Baldwin died in 1984. Vincent "Vin" Brenner previously worked at Scripps League Newspapers and for a time worked as publisher of the Roseburg News Review and Napa Valley Register. He was joined at the Star by his son, Bill Brenner. In 1989, the Brenners leased The Weekly Calistogan and acquired the paper from Marjorie Brandon in 1996.

A year later both papers were sold to a group of local businessmen led by Paul Krsek. In 2003, Krsek sold the Star and Calistogan to Pulitzer, Inc., owner of the Napa Valley Register. Pultizer was acquired by Lee Enterprises in 2005. The Calistogan ceased in 2022. It had published weekly since 1877. Napa Valley Publishing, which publishes the Star, was sold by Lee Enterprises to Hoffmann Media Group in September 2024.

Awards

In 2011, the California Newspaper Publishers Association awarded the St. Helena Star the 2nd place prize for 2010 in the "General Excellence" category for newspapers its size.

References

References

1. [http://www.lee.net/newspapers/ Lee Enterprises website] Other publications and operations. Accessed 2011-09-05.
2. [http://napavalleyregister.com/star/f1a53ad8-cd15-11df-b57a-001cc4c002e0.html ''St. Helena Star'' website] Contact us page. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
3. (September 25, 1874). "Salutatory.". St. Helena Star.
4. (September 26, 1974). "The Star Chronicles One Hundred Years". The St. Helena Star.
5. (February 5, 1876). "Notice". The St. Helena Star.
6. (February 26, 1937). "Frank B. Mackinder Editor St. Helena Star Died Today". The Weekly Calistogian.
7. (January 7, 1977). "St. Helena Newspaper Purchased". The Napa Valley Register.
8. (July 11, 1984). "St. Helena newsman Starr Baldwin is dead". The Napa Valley Register.
9. Woodside, Peter. (July 12, 1984). "An era ends with Baldwin". The Napa Valley Register.
10. (June 2, 1989). "St. Helena Star Will Run The Calisogan". The Weekly Calistogian.
11. Hampton, Pat. (June 6, 1996). "Sale of paper will bring few new changes {{!}} Brenner of Napa now own both papers in upvalley region". The Weekly Calistogian.
12. Hampton, Pat. (July 3, 1997). "St. Helena Star, The Weekly Calistogian sold". The Weekly Calistogian.
13. (June 19, 2003). "The Weekly Calistogian under new ownership {{!}} Some community member encouraged, some concerned". The Weekly Calistogian.
14. Steinberg, Jacques. (February 1, 2005). "Pulitzer to Be Acquired by Lee Enterprises". New York Times.
15. Sweeney, Cynthia. (2024-01-22). "Last days of the 144-year-old Weekly Calistogan".
16. Barber, Phil. (2022-05-27). "North Bay's smallest newspapers struggling to survive".
17. Huffman, Jennifer. (2024-09-30). "Napa Valley Publishing sold to Hoffmann Media Group".
18. [http://issuu.com/joewirt/docs/summer2011 ''California Publisher''] Awards Edition, Summer 2011, p.15. Retrieved 2011-09-05.