Pioneer Times: Local news since 1857

    HOULTON, Maine — Today the nameplate at the top of Page One proclaims “The only newspaper in the world interested in Houlton, Maine.” That may be true today, but 157 years ago Houlton had the distinction of being the only town in the state to have two weekly newspapers — the Aroostook Pioneer and the Aroostook Times.
While the double coverage lasted only until 1933, the mission statement of today’s surviving newspaper — The Houlton Pioneer Times — remains true to its roots. The newspaper staff strives to report the events — both planned and unplanned — of Houlton and surrounding communities in a comprehensive and timely manner. In short, we want to bring local information to readers who cannot get it anywhere else.
“It is our goal to create an accurate and appealing weekly newspaper that tells the ongoing story of Houlton and southern Aroostook County. If someone who had never visited Houlton were to read just one edition of the Pioneer Times; we would like to believe they would get a real feel for the community and its inhabitants,” said Mark Putnam, managing editor.
To do this, the five-person staff must reach out to readers and advertisers on a daily basis to gather information in all its many forms for use in the newspaper. We also rely on community members to submit items of interest or tips to follow up on. Each issue is a mix of the planned and the unplanned and that’s the way we like it. Reporters do not have to know everything; they just have to know how to find out.
Gloria Austin has been covering sports and other community news since the mid-1980s. Also reporting Houlton area news is Joseph Cyr, who has writen and photographed many important events since 1993. Rounding out the current Pioneer Times staff are receptionist Wanda MacIlroy and the sales team of Dave Bates and Steve Cowett. The paper is electronically compiled in Houlton and printed in Presque Isle at Northeast Publishing Company.
Jack Faulkner, former Pioneer editor and business manager, summed up the role of a community newspaper this way. “The Pioneer Times has been around a lot longer than we have, and it’ll still be here a long time after we’re gone. The editor and staff are just the temporary custodians of this newspaper.”