On Saturday the Pajaronian will celebrate 154 years of service to the community. It’s difficult to put into words the impact this newspaper has had on the Pajaro Valley since J.A. Cottle, the first owner, editor and publisher, established the Weekly Pajaronian in 1868. This newspaper, in some shape or fashion, has been around for longer than the city of Watsonville—the State Legislature on March 30, 1868, approved a request to incorporate Rancho Bolsa del Pajaro into the Town of Watsonville—and has been a part of tens of thousands of peoples’ lives.
My relationship with the Pajaronian starts in my childhood. As a preteen, I helped my cousins deliver the paper on Saturday mornings from time to time after slumber parties. I still remember weaving my way through the streets around Joyce-Mckenzie Park and dropping the papers off at the doors of devout Pajaronian subscribers. When we arrived back home, I’d open up the paper and dart to the comics and sports section. Ah, nostalgia.
Now, having turned 30 just a few weeks ago and roughly a year away from my 10 year anniversary with this publication, I have a different appreciation for the Pajaronian. Newspapers, especially community-led publications, are an asset to small cities like Watsonville. Not only do they help keep our leaders honest and accountable, but they also connect people in our community and showcase the achievements of people of all ages. Not every city across the country has a Pajaronian—sadly, many papers of similar size are dying off for various reasons—so I feel lucky to say that the community still supports us.
Happy birthday, Pajaronian. You make 154 years look great.
A Somber Goodbye
Although I shared my thoughts about Steve Bankhead with our reporter Todd Guild for his story about the death of our prolific columnist, I’d like to once again pay my respects to him and the Bankhead family. Steve and I often exchanged emails about the inner machinations of Watsonville politics, and about the history of the Pajaro Valley. For someone who was ever curious about how Watsonville became what it is today, Steve was a wealth of information.
The best part of interacting with Steve was that he was more than willing to disagree with you—and he would not shy away from letting you know about those disagreements. No matter the disagreement, however, we always found the common thread that kept us pulling in the same direction: a love for the Pajaronian and the Pajaro Valley.
In today’s climate of public discourse in which it feels as if people are out to make more lifelong enemies than friends, Steve was a breath of fresh air.
A memorial service is planned for Steve on March 18 at Mehl’s Colonial Chapel at 10am.
Congrats ’Catz
This year’s Watsonville High School boys’ soccer team is the best high school soccer squad on the Central Coast, which, in the eyes of the California Interscholastic Federation, stretches from South San Francisco down to King City. There’s no debating that after their victory over Branham High School in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game on Feb. 25—for a full story on the win, see page 10.
Congratulations to the Wildcatz on their 12th CCS soccer championship, and to coach Roland Hedgpeth for winning his 10th title. I was one of about 700 or so Watsonville fans that made the trek to Del Mar High School in San Jose for the championship game. It made me proud to see the Wildcatz win the title, and for those kids to have so much support follow them over the hill to witness history.
This is what community is all about. We need more of that. From everyone.
Tony Nuñez is Managing Editor of the Pajaronian. Contact Nuñez at tn****@pa********.com.
