PRINCETON — Almost 49 years ago, the first edition of the Princeton Times rolled off of the press and hit local newsstands. The lead headline read: Princeton’s Dream Comes True.

That first paper was originally slated to publish on Monday, June 24, 1961, but mechanical problems delayed the debut by a day. So, the milestone occurred on Tuesday, June 25, 1961, and the community “finally” got its own daily newspaper.

Like most things worth achieving, the accomplishment was a while in the making. An un-bylined story explained the process it took to get Princeton a paper.

“A memorable meeting took place in Jimmie’s Restaurant in Princeton on the night of Thursday, Jan. 19, 1961.

“Up to that point, Mark Twain’s famous observation that ‘everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it,’ could just as well have been said about the newspaper situation in Princeton,” the story read.

Only 10 people attended the fateful meeting, but those 10 were enough to give the idea legs and get it running.

A follow-up session was hosted on Feb. 27, 1961, at the First Methodist Church, and 100 interested citizens turned up. William Sanders presided over the discussion, and at the end of the meeting, steering committee nominations were in place.

Dr. L.J. Pace, Odell Huffman, C.Q. Bingham, Dr. Joe McCary, Mrs. Dover Jackson, Ben White Jr., Jacob Santon, A.W. Broadbent, F.B. Wimmer, Fred M. Bell, Mrs. Conley Snidow, Mrs. James Baker, Rev. L.B. Huston, Harold Thomchin, H.L. Browning, Sanders, E.G. Tolley, Robert Harrison, Manuel Borinsky, and Yankee Barbakow comprised the committee that got to work immediately upon their March 6 approval.

Howard R. Imboden, of Pulaski, Va., was tapped to lead the newspaper venture from dinner conversation to reality.

Along the way, the people behind the Princeton Times decided they would sell stock in the newspaper in a bid to build financial support and prove that the publication would belong to the people of Princeton.

In fact, they sought submissions to name the newspaper.

During an especially space-conscious time in American history, space-aged names dominated the entries.

The Princeton Times ultimately won out, but other suggestions included “Daily Planet,” “Princeton’s Space-Age Advance,” “The Princeton Vanguard,” “Princeton Jet,” “Daily Princeton Star,” “Princeton’s Daily Pacemaker,” “Princeton Planet” and “The Princeton Globemaster.”

The Princeton Times’ first edition showcased a photo of 18-year-old Joyce Graham accepting a $50 savings bond from Imboden in exchange for her winning idea. Second place went to Beulah Karnes, who recommended “The Princeton Courier.” M.B. Myers picked up third place by submitting “The Princeton Independent.”

The initial Princeton Times paper pledged, “The fare is varied. Local and area news and pictures, including sports; the Associated Press reports, national and foreign pictures from national Enterprise Association; Ann Landers, the nations’ widely read lovelorn columnist; Amy Vanderbilt’s etiquette column; Richard Starnes’ commentary on the news, and Dr. Jospeh Molner’s column are some of the highlights of the Princeton Times’ pages. A full page of daily comic and cartoons and colored Sunday comics also await you.”

Indeed, the information on its pages was varied.

Front page headlines heralded the birth of the paper, all while exploring a United Nations crisis that pitted France against Tunisia and a hijacked airliner headed for Tampa that wound up in Cuba.

But, the majority was dedicated to Princeton, where word arrived that North American Aviation was seeking steel bids on the future plant that would employ many Princetonians in later years. Boston Lyric Group confirmed a plan to play at Concord College and the Elks Little League baseball team soundly defeated the Princeton Bank’s team on the diamond.

Lincoln B. Huston wrote the dedication of the newspaper, quoting from Genesis 1:3 and John 14:16 in the Bible.

“It is good to be born at sunrise. It is good for a newspaper to date its life from the days when an order of things which is to exist for a long time in the world is in the freshness of its youth. Such a time is this. With the coming of new industries, there are now being sown the seeds whose harvests will be gathered by this and succeeding generations.

“In the vast amount of futility, idiocy, and blasphemy, which pours itself out in print, public taste and public conscience demand a newspaper that will lift a standard to inspire men to be brave instead of cowardly, kind instead of cruel, true instead of false,” Huston wrote.

Today, the headlines, publication schedule and people behind the process that began the Princeton Times are different, but the goals remain the same. We aim to offer varied fare to entertain, inform and inspire on a weekly basis.

Both the Princeton Times and the people who work hard to publish it every week also set out to be good neighbors in a community where most of us know most of the people next door, around the block and even several streets away. We encourage you to get to know us, if we haven’t met yet. Stop by our offices at 109 Thorn St., Princeton, or give us a call at (304) 425-8191.

To our loyal readers, we issue hearty thanks, and for folks who might have missed a few editions or more, we hope you’ll give us another chance to be Your Hometown Newspaper.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.