The Observer, February 15, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 17
The Annals of Observer History Part I: 1969-1971
While the first article in the first edition of The Observer wouldn't be seen until fall of 1969, the rumblings were underway to piece together the paper we now know and love in 1968. Here's the story from the first Managing Editor of The Observer, Blake Lange: "The Observer had its beginnings in the first year of the federation when the study commissions set up by the college governments recommended that The Reserve Tribune and The Case Tech be merged to form one university newspaper. It almost happened at the end of that year but there was still quite a bit of animosity and bitterness over the merger of the institutions…Everyone was accused of being underhanded and all that political stuff." The Case Tech would continue for many years. It was started in 1903 and eventually merged with The Observer.
The first article of The Observer was published on Sept. 5, 1969. At the top of the page, a circulation of 8000 is listed, as well as, "Vol. 1, No. 1." The UUSG president, Sheldon Laube, wrote an article welcoming freshmen to campus. Laube has since gone on to a successful career as the CTO of Novell, Inc., executive vice president of USWeb Corporation, and the CEO and co-founder of CenterBeam, Inc.
Articles that first year included concerts, recitals, restaurant and record reviews, and notes about Cleveland happenings. In Vol. 1, No. 2 the new law school buildings were highlighted. In No. 3, pictures of the Governor of Ohio on his visit to Case Western's medical school are included. Each issue was typically eight or 12 pages in length – The Observer was published every Tuesday and Friday. In one memorable issue, the CWRU Flying Club had taken aerial photos of campus on one of their days out flying. The fashion columnist wrote an article titled "Tunics, Sweater-vests: Versatile, Inexpensive" as she went on to extol the virtues of various local shopping centers. The Adelbert governing council dissolved itself, and the UUSG even tried to vote itself out of existence early in 1970.
The first article in the fall 1971 Observer was, "Has Federation Failed?" – the undercurrents of federation were still running strong. In the first four years of The Observer, The Case Tech variably tried to assert itself as independent or join with The Observer many times, and periodically Case Tech inserts would run in The Observer. Intersession, an experiential learning program in January of each year, began taking plenty of space in the paper, advertising course options and trips to Europe and South America. Intersession was an experiment and lasted only five years, though the development of the May term and the international course offerings during Spring Break are very similar to the kinds of programs offered during Intersession.
The Hudson Relays started back up after a period of absence, including the tradition to bring a note from the headmaster of Western Reserve Academy in Hudson to the President of Case Western Reserve University – in 1971, President Toepfer was the recipient of the note. No other speaker produced an avalanche of articles and letters to The Observer quite like Isaac Asimov, who spoke several times on campus to overflow crowds.
Another of the characters in those first years of The Observer included Paul Kerson as News Editor. Mark Zaremba (the 1997-98 Observer Editor) wrote of Kerson, "He had that aura of boundless energy you see once in a great while. I was almost surprised to see that such a remarkable individual existed and flourished in the 'dark days' of CWRU's apathetic past."
Next week, this column will take a look at 1972-1975 – find out about the sculpture in front of Sears, the original "Case TV," and the era when The Observer and Case Tech newspapers finally merged together.
