News Photo by Jason Ogden Left to right, Alcona County Review Production Manager John Boufford and Editor/Publisher Cheryl Peterson are the husband and wife team who have run the newspaper since they purchased it in 1995. Saturday the pair will be hosting a gathering celebrating 140 years of the newspaper’s existence in Alcona County.

HARRISVILLE — Staff at the Alcona County Review, which started April 27, 1877, will be celebrating 140 years of continuous operations in Alcona County during a ceremony and barbecue to be held Saturday.

Editor/Publisher Cheryl Peterson, who has owned the paper with her husband John Boufford, the newspapers production manager, since 1995, said over the decades the newspaper has produced more than 7,200 weekly editions, which are all archived at the Alcona County Library for view by the public.

Saturday’s events, she said, will include a historical dedication by the Alcona County Historical Society beginning at 11 a.m. Peterson said after the ceremony staff will be grilling hot dogs for the public and offering tours of the newspaper building, which was built for the Review in 1907.

Peterson said the newspaper has gone through 11 publishers since it was founded, was destroyed by fire, rebuilt and survived a second fire. The paper originally was founded by James K. Fairchild, she said. The current building also was Harrisville’s first fireproof building built of brick and tin, which can still be seen today inside the building’s main office.

Previously the newspaper offices were located on a building that burned on Lake Street, according to Boufford.

Peterson said if it wasn’t for the community the newspaper wouldn’t be the longest business in continued operation in the county.

“We couldn’t do it without the community,” she said. “Not only the advertisers that have supported this publication, also our readers; if they were not reading it no one would want to advertise.”

She said there also were members of the community who supply the paper with news tips, photos, information and other items every week. Peterson said the community is what keeps the paper going with its small staff.

Peterson and Boufford, who got their start working at daily newspapers before getting married, are proud of the fact the paper has never missed an edition in its 140 year history.

“Even with the fire happened they got out a one page paper,” Boufford said.

Peterson said of the newspaper’s publishers the most memorable was one of the first, Walter Chappelle, who began working at the publication in 1898. Many of his stories are included in the Review’s popular Buggy Rides feature, which includes stories from early editions of the newspaper.

Boufford, who selects the content from the old editions, said it is surprising how much has not changed in the community over the decades. He said a current need for Harrisville is more hotels and tourist lodging; the same need was expressed in early editions of the newspaper.

Peterson and Boufford met while working at the Ionia Sentinel Standard and heard about the newspaper being for sale in the early 1990s.

After help from family with financial backing, the pair decided to purchase the newspaper from Jim and Barbara Dunn. Peterson said the pair found the work just as hard as that of a daily newspaper.

“We worked seven days a week for the next year and a half, not only getting the paper out, but John learning how to use the printing equipment,” Peterson said.

Peterson said they have had many dedicated employees over the years and Northeast Michigan is a wonderful place to work and live.

“We were welcomed with open arms when we bought the place, and the community was our friend, that’s why we want to celebrate,” she said. “We couldn’t do this without them.”

Jason Ogden can be reached via email at jogden@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5693. Follow Jason on Twitter @jo_alpenanews.