About Us

For over half a century, The Weekly has been an integral part of the local community. A fellow named Alan Stratton (known to his friends as Slim) first started the paper way back in 1952. At the time of the very first issue it was known as The East Glenville Weekly and had a reported circulation of about 600. It originated as a vehicle of advertisement for the community at large but specifically for Mr. Stratton’s grocery store which was called The Suburban Market. Later on, everybody just called the place Slim’s Market to go along with Mr. Stratton’s nickname. I was particularly interested in the statement at the bottom of the front page of the very first issue which outlines the original intent of the paper. Slim said, “Its purpose is to bring to your attention the good buys and excellent values available right here in our own back yard. We urge you to patronize local merchants whenever possible. They are your friends and neighbors, and their success is reflected in the prosperity of the community.” Well a great number of things have changed in the past 50+ years but one thing that has remained exactly the same is the commitment of The Weekly to the success of our local merchants and businesses.

Over the years, The Weekly has changed hands a couple of times. It was purchased by the Hewitt family in the 1970’s and has been owned by them ever since then. The current general manager, David Hewitt, is the son of the late Richard Hewitt of Hewitt’s Garden Centers. Even though the Hewitts became uninvolved in the garden centers many years ago, they have continued to own and supervise the management of the paper. There have been quite a few editors that have worked for The Weekly but David Hewitt has recently decided to take over the direct management of the operation.

Over the years The Weekly has been the easiest and most economical way to get results from any advertising dollar. And you know what? That has not changed to this day. The Weekly is the only paper that is mailed to every single household in our distribution area. That’s over 23,000 households with a potential readership of over 70,000. Not only that, but a survey once showed that 84% of the folks in the area said they read The Weekly. That compares with about 52% who said they actually read a certain daily paper which I will leave nameless.
As with any successful business, there have been some competitors and even some imitators over the years. But they have all been wannabes and I got to wondering why this was true. I think the reason is that The Weekly is not now nor has it ever really been the property of just one person. It has always been a community paper and it is really the property of everyone in the community. Everyone in the area contributes to the paper. From the classified ads to the Community Calendar, the Business and Service Guide, as well as the display ads from area merchants, The Weekly is owned and operated by the heart and soul of the community. Without the support and input (as Slim said, “Fur and agin”) from the area folks, The Weekly would have ceased to exist long ago.

And The Weekly is not the only long time business in the area. There are a great number of local businesses that have been around for as long as or longer than we have. I think this is a tribute, not only to the businesspersons of our community but also to their loyal customers who prefer to spend their money with local businesses. Stop for a moment and reflect on how nice it is to be known by name in the stores you patronize. Think about the wide variety of businesses we have in the area. And believe me when I tell you that our community is much better off when you shop locally because it keeps your money here. We have few enough sources of money coming into our area and so the more we can keep here, the better off our economy will be.

Once again, all the folks at The Weekly wish to thank all of our advertisers and our readers, for your loyal support. I am hopeful that we can continue to be a vital part of the community for the next half century as well.

-Peter Olsen