I come with high praise for The Mountain Messenger, or the “Mess”, as many of us know it and have known it for decades. It lives, which is a kind of miracle of its own. Many a grand old publication has gone the way of fish wrapping. The Mess is still around to be used as such. Now why the praise for surviving? There are many parts, moving and yet foundational, that contribute to this.

Does it have a publisher? Yes, Carl Butz literally rescued the paper when it had nowhere else to go. It seemed it would be his hobby. He had no grand ideas. He would continue the local paper.

Does it have an editor and young blood in reporting and feature writing willing to do the job just because it seemed an interesting thing to do? Yes, Carl brought Angela and Ryan on board and mentored them. They are now paid. He already had a stable of people willing to write for free.

Is there an advertising base, because subscriptions are never enough to keep a print afloat? Yes, the two counties now using the Mess to put out their mandated public notices bring significant income. Two counties also bring more advertising than did the one before the publisher took over. This was not a good thing for Plumas County to lose their local paper, but it gave the Sierra County Mess needed income. There is a concerted effort to cover Plumas County.

Does the paper have a unique flavor that engages readers whether local or those in the far reaches of the globe? Yes, many who have any kind of connection to the area subscribe and enjoy the Mess.

Now for the things we would not know or we would not know fully unless we had the Mess.

• There has been a raging contest for Sierra County Superior Court Judge. Huge ads and letters to the editor from both sides. Who would have known with just yard signs to proclaim running status and a couple of town halls?
• Who would know that the famous Yuba Pass Chili Cook Off has been postponed a week because of a monster storm? They are used to inclement weather, so moving it is news indeed.
• Who would know that Supervisor Adams is working locally and federally to keep AT&T from abandoning hard lines for telephones? He made a trip to Washington D.C.
• Who would know about the National Forest Service policies that affect everything for us from fire suppression to logging?
• Besides the current news and stories, we get a whole back page of history that is the foundation on which we build. There are mines, infrastructure, family and community doings that were here not too long ago. There is Sourdough with his cryptic sayings on the front page.
• And there is more from naturalist Katie O’Hara Kelly, to weather, to sports commentary, to library news, to poetry …. Did you know President George Washington wrote poetry?
• There are school doings, winners of contests, social and political events, and the huge event of the Downieville Classic Bike Rides.

That is some of what we would miss without the Mess…. Internet doesn’t come close.

P.S. Someone needs to write a history of the Mess. I know three of the last editors and a publisher.