The Path to Now

Part I reviewed the history of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder from its conception by the Potters and the Vernons to their decision to sell it.

SEELEY LAKE – On Aug. 4, 1987 Gary Noland and Millie Jette assumed ownership of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder.

In what Dick Potter named as his 116th editorial, he called Noland and Jette the "new pathfinders" and said, "We are convinced that our successors have what it takes to propel Pathfinder to greater heights."

In the same issue, a feature article written by Suzanne Vernon profiled the new owners.

Noland grew up working in the print shop his parents owned in Kansas. After he moved to California, he worked in managerial positions for large corporate printing companies and eventually opened his own plant in San Jose where, among other items, he printed black and white newspapers and glossy four-color magazines.

Jette's background included 22 years in retail sales, during which time she managed two retail clothing stores. She said she felt comfortable with the responsibility of handling the advertising end of the business.

Vernon quoted Noland as saying, "[The] Pathfinder is an outstanding paper, especially for a young paper. I found the lifestyle here to be intriguing. You have a unique sense of identity, projected by the paper."

Looking back almost 15 years later, Noland wrote in an email, "The newspaper was a reflection of a community that appealed to Millie and myself as a place we might settle into and raise our three-year-old daughter, Michelle. We were ready to change places – from Silicon Valley in California to the Seeley Swan Valley in Montana."

In his first editorial for the Pathfinder, Noland, like Potter before him, chose a theme related to finding a path and being at a crossroads. Rather than referencing James Fennimore Cooper, however, Noland chose to reflect on Robert Frost's poetic musing in "The Road Not Taken."

Noland wrote, "...we have faced the crossroads and chosen a new path to follow... But we have examined the terrain and contrasted it with alternate paths that might have been taken, and we look ahead with a deep-felt feeling that this is the right path for us." He went on to call the Pathfinder, "what we consider one of the finest small weeklies we have come across."

In the initial learning period under the guidance of the new owners, Noland followed their general layout and methodology, but one change came almost immediately in the tone of the editorial. Rather than focusing on issues, Noland's first editorials were reflections on the adjustments he and his family were making as they settled into the community and their publishing responsibilities.

With the beginning of the new year, Noland reconfigured the editorial column under the name "Chips...bits and pieces." Each Chips column consisted of three or four brief remarks or commentaries. The commentaries formed a brief introduction to stories discussed in the issue, or to community happenings or were simply observations.

Other changes in the paper layout came later. In January of 1989 Noland moved the Pathfinder logo a third of the distance from the top of the page and used the topmost area for a lead news story or for a listing of contents. Though the previous owners had experimented with that style for a few issues, Noland made it his default format.

Noland also evidenced a preference for a single, half-page photo accompanied by a four-six line caption, rather than featuring two or three articles on the front page. By 1996 that would morph into a full front page photo with the curving Pathfinder logo superimposed over it. Noland's biggest format change was at his one year mark as owner when he converted the four-column newspaper to a five-column format. He explained in Chips the change was motivated by economics and a national trend toward the smaller column size, which Noland said resulted in more space for news.

A number of content changes occurred over the 15-year period Noland published the Pathfinder.

Initially Vernon continued to write her Country Journal column as well as other occasional articles. Jette assumed responsibility for Michele Potter's Cornucopia column, though her recipes came from a number of different cookbooks and other sources.

Gradually those columns were phased out and other regulars came on board: "Out 'n the Woods, Reflections...Notes" by Dale Terrillion and "Game Range Ramblings" by Mike Thompson. Eventually Patricia Swan Smith became a reporter for the Pathfinder, though Noland continued to ask for and receive a number of articles written by community members.

Looking back on those years, Nolan wrote, "I feel our contribution to the history of the Pathfinder has been in keeping up with the technology changes that enabled us to move from a cut-and-paste publication to one where the newspaper is made up totally within the computer, converted to a pdf file, and then emailed to the printer where the printer's computer produces files in digital film and plates for printing. It's a long ways from the linotype typesetter and handset type I worked with when I was a kid in my parent's weekly newspaper in Kansas."

Though Noland praised the Potters and Vernons for being "daring enough to purchase the Apple Mac-Plus, the machine that revolutionized print production," Noland himself was not familiar with the computer and undertook several training sessions with Dick Potter. Noland now recalls with amusement Potter telling him how powerful the Mac-Plus was because it had one kilogram of ram memory and a hard drive that could hold 20 megabytes of memory, which Potter assured him was "all that you'll ever need."

For Noland and Jette personally, the most welcome of the technological advances was the digital camera.

Noland wrote, "Our greatest relief came with the perfection of the digital camera when we turned off the lights in the darkroom for good. We had labored for years with the repetitive chores of film developing and print making, spending hours each week to produce the photographs for the next issue of the Pathfinder."

In March 2004 the Pathfinder again experienced another radical adjustment. Citing "changing circumstances that compel us to make another major change in our lives," Noland announced the Pathfinder was once again changing ownership. Noland's Chips column ended, "We are very grateful that some 15 years ago, at a crossroads in our life, we chose the Seeley Swan path. Please extend a warm welcome to another couple, Dwight and Caroline Jenkins, who have made the same choice today."

The Path to Now – Part III will conclude in next week's issue of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder