A Good Man Is Lost

HERE WE ARE AGAIN AFTER A SHORT ABSENCE. It’s been quite a week for Holtville and the Imperial Valley.
  Quentin Burke, the long time publisher of the Holtville Tribune, passed away, fulfilling his own place in the history of Imperial Valley.
  I bought the newspapers from Mr. Burke in 1990, taking over publishing from a man who had made preserving the history of the area a part of his life’s mission.
  He kept alive the memory of “The Winning of Barbara Worth” a novel set here during the early years of the 20th century.
  It’s author, Harold Bell Wright, had a home not far from  the main building of the Barbara Worth Country Club. Mr. Burke preserved those memories through further printings of the novel, which he sold from his print shop for many years.
  In his later years, he studied the history of the entire region and became the unofficial historian for Holtville.
  If you wanted to know something about Holtville from its past, you asked him about it first. And he usually knew the answer.
  He was always looking for ways to improve the Valley while keeping the small town values.
  I was amazed at how much work he did on the newspapers by himself. It would exhaust younger men with the work schedule he kept.
  He also liked to preserve things from the past, no matter what new technology came into being, and was documenting “the grassroots press” and “the country editor” He served as both throughout the 25 years he owned the newspaper.
  He championed causes and helped lots of young people get a start in the working world, always encouraging them to get more education.
  We know his memory will stay with the community as long as a the newspaper is published for the town.
   One of the reasons we purchased the paper was the exceptional job he did on the Carrot Festival edition, lending credibility to special sections and town celebrations. We expanded that to include all of Imperial County at its many pageants during the year.
THE 65TH CARROT FESTIVAL HAS COME AND GONE, leaving behind lots of memories of new queens and princesses, as well as a sense of community that is restored each year.
  Some of the faces may change, but the purpose still remains the same – bringing a community together for a large celebration. This was our 21st such event. We aren’t sur how many more will be in our future, but we have enjoyed them all.
  And the Holtville tribune 65th Anniversary edition is available now. If you didn’t get a copy of it, we have more at our office. You could also see it online last week.
WE’RE MOVING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY of communications too, trying to expand our business to reach you through the most modern methods available.
  Look for more technological places you can get news about your hometown in the not too distant future.
   Our online edition of the Tribune features pages just like your daily and weekly newspaper, giving you more of a sense of the traditional newspaper format and more modern technology. You can look on your i-phone for the Tribune too, in the next few weeks.
  KEEP QUENTIN BURKE in your thoughts and prayers. He was a special man who deserves special treatment.
  Peace.
TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH TO SEE people on the highways around here makes one appreciate the comforts of an SUV.
  I caught a news show on one station out of the area that concerned itself once again with high mileage Hybrids and how gas has crept up to $4.00 a gallon again. I t was all about how the SUV should go the way of the dinosaur. to which I say bunk.
  Have you ever tried to put a reclining chair in the back of a hybrid. It don’t fit. Have you ever had to haul office supplies to multiple locations?
  When it come sot practicality and comfort rolled into one, the SUV still tops anything else on the road. High fuel costs or not, I’m going to keep driving one.