In an age where print journalism is heading the way of the dinosaur, it’s refreshing to know that there’s dedicated scribes -- and their publishers and owners – who are champions of the art.

So it’s a happy 75th Birthday to the folks at the Press Republican, who keep area residents informed and educated about the world around them here in tye North Country and beyond.

And a special hat tip from us to Lohr McKinstry, one of the best. And our own Ann Breen Metcalfe, a former reporter for the PR, offers her congrats.

“Ann Breen Metcalfe, living in Mamaroneck and Schroon Lake after a career as a writer and then manager at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City: "Congratulations on the Press-Republican's 75th anniversary. It is a fine newspaper, giving excellent service to the North Country.

"My first job was as a reporter for the P-R. I started in the fall of 1953 and was there about two years.

"I covered many stories, from the construction of the Strategic Air Command's Plattsburgh Air Base to the summer-long chase for Major James Call, who had killed a Lake Placid police officer.

"Bill Babel was the editor, and Bill Lundquist was the general manager. The paper was owned by the Ottaway family, who gave each employee a turkey for Thanksgiving.

"We typed our stories on long rolls of paper, after which they were edited and sent to the linotype operators in the back of the building. The good old days.

"Good wishes for the future of your fine paper."