West Side Index At 130 Years

Celebrating 130 Years of The West Side Index

1896 – 2026

For 130 years, The West Side Index has faithfully chronicled the story of Newman, preserving the everyday moments that have become our community's history. Since publishing its first issue in 1896, the newspaper has served as the voice, memory, and historical record of generations of West Side residents.

When Innis Sturgeon published the newspaper's first edition in 1896, Newman was still a young agricultural town less than a decade old. The community was growing rapidly, and residents needed a reliable source of local news. The newspaper quickly became much more than a business—it became an institution that documented the people, events, and milestones that shaped the city's identity.

The newspaper endured hardships almost from the beginning. A devastating fire destroyed its offices and years of early records, yet publication continued. The Index relocated several times before moving to its longtime home on Fresno Street in 1929, where it has remained a familiar landmark in downtown Newman for nearly a century. Through wars, economic hardships, technological revolutions, and tremendous community growth, the newspaper never lost sight of its commitment to local journalism.

Over the decades, a succession of dedicated publishers guided the paper while maintaining its focus on community service. Alvin Fleharty became known for his thoughtful editorials and colorful observations of local life. Frank McGinnis and later William McGinnis continued the tradition of keeping readers informed, while William H. Mattos modernized production and introduced offset printing, ushering the newspaper into a new technological era. Susan Mattos later expanded the publication while preserving its longstanding commitment to accurate, community-centered reporting. In 2021, stewardship of the newspaper passed to new ownership, ensuring that local journalism would continue serving Newman and neighboring communities.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of The West Side Index has been its role as Newman's unofficial historian. Long before digital cameras, social media, or smartphones, the newspaper faithfully recorded births, weddings, graduations, sporting victories, business openings, community celebrations, civic improvements, and the lives of countless local families. Today, historians, genealogists, students, and lifelong residents routinely turn to its archives to better understand the people and events that shaped our community.

Every edition represents another chapter in Newman's story. What may have seemed like ordinary weekly news at the time has become an invaluable historical record more than a century later. Without newspapers such as The West Side Index, many of the names, photographs, accomplishments, and memories that define our community would have been lost to time.

As we celebrate 130 years of publication, we honor not only the editors, reporters, photographers, printers, and carriers who produced the newspaper, but also the generations of readers whose lives filled its pages. Their stories are the history of Newman itself.

Congratulations to The West Side Index on 130 remarkable years of preserving the history of our community. May it continue to inform, connect, and inspire future generations while recording the next chapters in the story of Newman, California.

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