One of the best-kept secrets in the Colorado newspaper world is designed to promote the absolute opposite: to provide an archive of the historic newspapers in our state so all that wonderful history will not be kept secret, and will be available for readers now and in the future.

The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (CHNC) is a service of the Colorado State Library, currently including more than 2.5 million digitized pages representing more than 620 individual newspaper titles published in Colorado from 1859 up thru 2021.

According to Leigh Jeremias of the Colorado Virtual Library, the CHNC works like this: “The Colorado State Library pays the cost of maintaining the technical infrastructure of the CHNC site and our partners – generally (but not always), libraries, archives, museums, historical societies - pay the direct costs of digitization.”

Currently, the CHNC has The Mountain-Ear on microfilm “from its inception in 1977 to 2010.” But microfilm is an aging technology, and the CHNC is working to digitize its holdings over the next few years, newspaper by newspaper. But digitizing is not cost-free, and as much as The Mountain-Ear desires to be available to all electronically, we must raise the funds to enable the Library to make it so.

In January of 2022, The Mountain-Ear publisher Barbara Hardt applied for an award to begin digitizing the newspaper’s files. In March, Jeremias informed The Mountain-Ear that they were selected for an award within the 2022 Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (CHNC) New Content Support Program that will enable the Collection to digitize its filmed files from October 25, 1977, through December 29, 1988. The award was not a cash award; it provided for the cost of newspaper digitization for up to $3750, the amount we requested in our application. We were then awarded an additional award, bringing the total from CHNC to $4,851.60 granted.

Further, all support awards require a 25% cash match (of the original $3750). The Nederland Community Library gave the additional $750 match and the process began. On July 28, 2022, the files were sent to the vendor to process into usable files. The files were completed and uploaded to the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection on September 22.

The next tranche of files will cover January 5, 1989, to December 21, 1995. The estimate for the next section is $5501.47.

The estimate for the total cost, start to finish, was $35,748.96, of which $5,601.60 has now been paid. The amount only includes files through the end of 2021, so the total amount will be a little higher. And the amount was only an estimate for pages after February 11, 2010. That’s when the historical library stopped microfilm preservation of newspapers in Colorado. From February 18, 2010, to approximately 2014 will be a page scan (page by page) of an actual newspaper from The Mountain-Ear’s paper archive.

The Mountain-Ear has been stored physically in four locations since the Hardt family bought the paper in 2007. By 2016 the archive totaled over 250 boxes. It was stored in a secure outbuilding on a Gilpin County property from 2016 to mid-2021. While stored safe and dry, the papers were no longer in order by date. To begin the next phase of the process, the boxes had to be in order to start extracting the physical paper copies that would be needed for the missing digital or microfilm years.

Tanya Unger stepped in to help with organization. While going through the boxes one at a time, Unger reduced the number of papers, box by box. The next step is to archive one of each, in a secure bag, in a plastic box with a snapping lid. Kirsten Springer and Unger have been working on this process. Then the archive will be preserved effectively.

At some point The Mountain-Ear will move on to another family, although Hardt is insistent on keeping it locally owned and operated. And “we’re working on a community owned concept that could keep it locally owned into perpetuity,” if the idea comes to fruition.

Hardt states that “we are actively soliciting donations to help make this process happen. Historical newspapers are only valuable when you can read them and share the news with others.” Help us realize this goal with your contributions. The Peak to Peak Healthy Communities Project, a local 501(c)(3) is accepting donations towards the historical archive digitization. You can donate at PPHCP, PO Box 668, Nederland, CO 80466. Or directly to The Mountain-Ear at PO box 99, Nederland, CO 80466 OR The Mountain-Ear at PO Box 99, Black Hawk, CO 80422.

Hardt reiterates, “My goal has been, and remains, keeping this newspaper going. Having the historical archive available to all to read, for FREE, is a huge part of the process.”

And all of Nederland’s secrets (and the entire Peak to Peak region), from 1977 forward, will become available to those who know how to log in to the CHNC’s files.

You can check out the first 11 years here: https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org and enter The Mountain-Ear in the search bar.