By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

Those of our readers who pay close attention to our masthead on the front page may have noted that The Chronicle hit a significant milestone this year.

With the ticking over to Volume 41, The Chronicle has officially been in publication for 40 years! The Northside Chronicle launched in 1985 with a combined February-March edition (hence why we’re marking the occasion in this issue instead of January’s issue).

While relatively young by the standards of many newspapers (The New York Times is 173 years old, after all), it is still a remarkable show of longevity.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to take a look back to The Chronicles of yesteryear, to see how news on the Northside has evolved. We’re going to take a look at our February 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 editions, to see some of the major headlines in each decade The Chronicle has been active.

We hope you enjoy and keep supporting The Northside Chronicle so we can reach 50 years in 2035!

February-March, 1985 issue

“Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Northside Chronicle, your community newspaper.” That was the first complete sentence on the first page of the first Northside Chronicle ever printed, and the sentiments it carries remain true even after all these years.

Of course, quite a few things were different from the paper’s start. The front page lists a total of 20 reporters and contributors, much more than we have these days. However, the paper was more of a volunteer effort, instead of The Chronicle’s current largely professional staff. The paper was released every 15th of the month, while currently we generally release the first week of a month.

The front page announced that in the issue, residents would reflect about their changing neighborhoods, and that was certainly the case.

Advertising Manager Tina Rapacchietta and Managing Editor Sean P. Ray stand by the framed copy of the first issue of The Northside Chronicle. Chronicle file photo

A piece by one Jesse Cavileer titled “Retelling N’side’s Past… 20 Years in the Same House” recalls Cavileer’s personal history and experiences living on the Northside near Allegheny Commons Park. Another column, titled “Remember the ‘Dinky’” by Wilana Carter, takes a look at the changes Carter has seen during her 66 years of residency in the Charles Street Valley.

Many more such columns are featured, including ones for Fineview, Perry Hilltop, Spring Garden and more.

Not to say that it was all columns, however. Chuck Limpar conducted and wrote about an interview with Rev. Douglas Roth, the Lutheran pastor of Trinity Church, Clairton. . An article by Jane Sestrie notes several improvements taking place in the Perry North neighborhood, including the “construction of the new Riverview Pool.”

An announcement was made for The Northside Leadership Conference’s second annual “A Celebration of the Northside” Awards Dinner, an event that commemorated “people who have made extraordinary contributions during the past year”. There was even an award given out for a “Northside Person of the Year.”

One notable difference between this Chronicle in 1985 and the modern paper is that there were many more drawings than pictures, ranging from political cartoons to drawings of people or neighborhood buildings.

Advertisements included one for “Notside’s [sic] Finest Jukebox,” D.J. Brown’s, McNary Pie and Bakery, Mildred’s Beauty Shop and Mr. Frank Furter & Company, plus many more.

The final page featured a humorous photo of a man surrounded by a plethora of street signs with the caption “Modern man faces mall circle doublespeak.”

February, 1995 issue

Jumping forward a decade to 1995, and The Chronicle became more news than columns. The front page had a story about neighborhood groups meeting to agree on a new location for the then-current police and fire station located on Federal Street.

The other front page story reported on the Northside Leadership Conference electing new officers, including Jim White, Jeff Brenneman, Martha Helmreich, Mark Thomas, Jean Binder, Beatrice Hogan and Dick Schubert. Notably, that same article also reported on “the first time the (Northside North Shore) Chamber and (the Northside Leadership) Conference have worked together on a project,” specifically an effort to attract new businesses to vacant storefronts and help merchants with façade improvements.

Going deeper into the issue, there was an article about a Northsider running for city council. Specifically, Malcolm Hardie, of Central Northside, announced that he would run for the seat vacated by Councilman Christopher Smith, who had died the previous December.

On lighter news, one article highlighted a documentary titled “Antarctica” exhibited at the Carnegie Science Center.

A column titled “Dining Out in Allegheny City” talked about the apparently delicious food one could get at the Cafe at the Museum at the Andy Warhol Museum, with the writer calling it “some of the best food I have tasted while living in Pittsburgh.” High praise, to be sure.

In the ads, we see a familiar face. Waltmire Pharmacy, a staple of Spring Garden even today, advertised its 10% senior citizen discount and free delivery.

Another ad “cordially invited” readers to shop on East Ohio Street, which then featured businesses such as Mueller’s Hardware, Wheeler’s Painters Mart, Wyman’s Pharmacy, Laverty Jewelers and Bernie’s Photo Center, among others.

This was also still back when phone numbers could be printed without area codes, as many of the ads in this edition indicated. That will change with the next edition we look at.

An interesting note in this issue, as well as in the 1985 one, is that the paper seemed to go back and forth on whether Northside was one word or two. Nowadays we stick to it being one word, though some contributors still spell it with two words in their first draft.

Also as an interesting note: four months after this issue came out, the current managing editor of The Northside Chronicle, Sean P. Ray (aka the person writing this article), was born.

February, 2005 issue

Finally heading into the 21st century, The Northside Chronicle still remained familiar to long-time readers. The font for the paper’s title on the first page was the same, for example, and the front page design was relatively similar, though the month and year traded places with the volume and issue number.

The top stories for the issue were a community celebration at the Hazlett Theater — specifically through a performance of “This Ain’t the Nutcracker: The Fitting Room” — and a commemoration of Community House Presbyterian Church, which was celebrating its 175th anniversary.

Copies of the February 2005 and February 2015 issues of The Northside Chronicle sit together on a table The Chronicle underwent significant changes in terms of design between the two decades. Photo by Sean P. Ray

As this issue was coming out around Valentine’s Day, one article had a collection of “North Side Love Stories,” and the National Aviary had an advertisement for a special version of their Adopt-A-Bird program under the imaginative title of “Adopt a Tweety for your Sweetie.”

A column by then-Councilman Luke Ravenstahl appeared a year before he would become Pittsburgh’s mayor.

This was also the Black History Month issue, with many ads and stories observing the month, including an article about the history of Negro Leagues, the segregated baseball leagues for Black players which existed from 1920 until Major League Baseball began integrating in the 1940s.

On the advertising side we saw Kunsak Funeral Home, a Brighton Heights business, in operation, as well as the Stephen M. Brady Funeral Home locations on Cedar Avenue and South Side Avenue. Allegheny City Society also had an ad highlighting its preservation efforts.

Of course, several now-closed businesses and organizations also appear. The end of the paper was a full-page ad by NorthSide Bank. National City Bank also had an ad three years before it would be purchased and absorbed by PNC Bank.

February, 2015 issue

Finally, we come to The Northside Chronicle from 10 years ago, and boy has there been a lot of change.

The masthead for the front had been totally changed, and the modern Northside Chronicle logo appeared.

Perhaps more noticeably, all the photos were in color now! The Chronicle also added its now-signature red coloration at various points in the paper.

The front page stories were about a brewery event at the Priory Hotel titled “Meeting of the Malts,” and a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Mattress Factory.

The Chronicle also highlighted its website, thenorthsidechronicle.com, showing the advance of technology.

Inside the issue, there were articles about the history of the then-still open Park House bar in Deutschtown and the National Aviary welcoming two new African Penguin chicks. There was an article about City of Asylum finalizing its acquisition of the former Masonic Temple on North Avenue, where the organization is still housed today, including its Alphabet City book store.

Yinz! Comics, the predecessor of the Yinzburgh! Comics that appear in the modern Northside Chronicle also appeared in this issue, still done by Nils Hanczar. There were also many more familiar names in the advertisements, including Subba Asian Restaurant, Bicycle Heaven, Observatory Hill Stained Glass, and more.

Interestingly, this version of The Chronicle featured crossword and sudoku puzzles on its second-to-last page. We’d love to hear if any readers have memories of completing these puzzles in older editions of The Chronicle.

Well, that brings an end to our trip down memory lane. What are your memories of The Northside Chronicle? Can you remember the first issue you read, or any major stories that left an impression on you? We’d love to hear from you, our readers, about what The Chronicle means to you.