The BC and Yukon Community News-Media Association (BCYCNA) celebrates 100 years this year. There aren’t many records of its component members at that time, but nearly 20 of its 93 current members have pedigrees that go back long before they started working together in 1922.
The two oldest continuously publishing community newspapers in B.C. are the Golden Star and the Chilliwack Progress, both founded in 1891.
The Chilliwack Progress was founded by William Thompson Jackman, who purchased a printing press in Toronto and moved it to the then-fledgling agricultural community in 1891. The Golden Star was founded as the Golden Era by E.A. Haggen, an Australian mining engineer who came to the community to make his fortune.
Pique Newsmagazine has published a feature that looks back at the history of the association, the pioneer behind the Ma Murray Awards, and some other fun tidbits of historical information. You can read the full piece here.
