The ''Crawford County Avalanche'' is a weekly newspaper and website based in

Grayling, Michigan Grayling ( ') is a city and the county seat of Crawford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the only incorporated community in Crawford County. The population was 1,884 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by Grayling Charter Towns ...

published on Thursdays. It calls itself "Grayling's Hometown Newspaper Since 1879" and is the

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

for

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

for 144 years. The ''Chronicling America'' project of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

has images of the newspaper online for the years 1879–1900.

History

The ''Crawford Avalanche'', founded by Masters & (George) Maurer from

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Central Michigan, the city is the county seat of Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Union Township but is politic ...

, began the paper in May 1879, just as the county was established. The editor was Dr. Simeon C. Brown, from Salt River. In the first issue, the paper declared that it was affiliated with the Republican Party which was dominant in Michigan at the time, and its goal was "developing the new section," i.e., bringing economic prosperity to the county. Three years later, Oscar Palmer took control and published for more than 80 years. The Milliman family purchased the paper in 1968 and changed the name to ''Crawford County Avalanche'' with Richard Milliman as the publisher. As of 2023, the paper is still owned and operated by the Milliman family. To compete against the "Republican" ''Avalanche'', the ''Northern Democrat'' began publishing circa 1887 by Joseph Patterson and Len J. Patterson. In June 1895, ownership changed to Jay Allen and the name was changed to ''Grayling News''. It lasted just over three years, ceasing publication July 7, 1898. The Crawford Avalanche "absorbed" the newspaper. Due to the location in rural northern Michigan, Crawford County's greatest economic growth occurred in the 1800s when lumbering clear-cut most of the extensive forests. With the trees gone, tourism became the center of the economy. In the 1870s Crawford County became a popular destination for recreational fishing. The Michigan grayling, found in the Au Sable River, first gained the attention of anglers. The ''Avalanche's'' first edition featured a fishing story on the front-page. By the end of the century, the grayling species vanished due to a combination of overfishing, river degradation due to logging, and the impact of human-introduced brown trout. The Au Sable River of today boasts large populations of brown and rainbow trout and remains a premiere trout fishing area in both Michigan and the nation.

Circulation

The circulation area of the ''Avalanche'' covers all of

including the city of Grayling, Grayling Charter Township, Beaver Creek Township, Frederic Township, Lovells Township, Maple Forest Township, South Branch Township, and limited portions of Kalkaska,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

and Otsego counties in the northwest

lower peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

. Print circulation during the winter is 5,000; summer is 5,400. Over 10,000 people read the paper each week which is 94% of Crawford County's adults.

Issues

While the economy of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

as a whole has been characterized as stagnant or declining, the Grayling area demonstrated marginal

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

in the 2000s. The Grayling area's economy centers on four-season recreation, retirement living, tourism, military, and higher education, and the newspaper covers these concerns. The editorial board often writes aggressively on environmental issues, with a particular emphasis on the ecology of the Au Sable Rivers, expansion of

Camp Grayling Camp Grayling is a military training facility located near Grayling, Michigan, primarily in Crawford County, and spread over three counties. Camp Grayling is the main training facility for the Michigan National Guard and is the largest US National ...

and political issues.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Avalanche'' home page.Newspaper archive at Crawford County Library
Newspapers published in Michigan Newspapers established in 1879 1879 establishments in Michigan Crawford County, Michigan