The every 100-year happening

Jan. 20—It's a two-paper kind of day.

That's most unusual, and it's in keeping with the last couple days.

That comes on the heels of Lewiston's recent water-boiling order.

And, of course, the absence of a newspaper on your front porch, or in your tube, Thursday.

That's two historic events — no drinking water for many of us and no newspaper — all within 24 hours.

As shared Thursday via web headlines, email, text and on social media, our press ran into a hiccup.

The result: Our Moscow-Pullman Daily News missed her first print edition in 112-years of publishing.

Here's how the historically unusual events played out:

The Daily News, with all pages produced and ready, was about to go to press shortly after midnight. But an electrical problem — ours, not Avista's — delayed the start-up.

The press crew attempted fixes. Supervisors attempted fixes. Our IT staff attempted fixes. A dozen distribution center staff waited, ready in the wings.

Then the pages for the Tribune's Thursday edition were ready for printing. But you can't print with a press that won't run.

The Germany-based Manroland press techs were on the scene, remotely. They, too, scratched their heads and couldn't find an immediate fix.

Then the pages for the Washington State University student newspaper, the Evergreen, were ready for press. But, of course, the press was hard down. The Evergreen's 12-page edition was to be printed following the Daily News and Lewiston Tribune.

Eleven earlier Wednesday press runs had fortunately been finished, starting before 10 a.m., and finally the Sandpoint Reader alt-weekly, with its 24 pages, was printed at 10:45 p.m., loaded and delivered, meeting the 6 a.m. Thursday ski town deadline.

Left at the altar were the Daily News, the Tribune and the Evergreen.

By 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the TPC crew, led by production director Jay Brown, IT lead Troy Gehrke, IT alumnus Jim McIver, along with Rob Dale, of Lewiston's RD Electric, solved the power supply problem.

But it was too late for our two newspapers' delivery staff to be called into daytime action.

The phones lit up literally by the thousands. A wall of desk phone ringtones, and the well-intentioned voices of our regular customer staff and volunteers from all departments, overtook our front lobby for the entirety of the day.

So, the three newspapers were printed later.

We don't know of any Daily News delivery misses over her 112 years.

For the Tribune, we hadn't missed delivery in nearly 113 years. The other incident was back on Dec. 3, 1909, when the Tribune was in its home No. 5 at 0213 Fourth St., just a single block west of the current Tribune buildings.

The Tribune building — its downtown home from 1902 until 1961 — was seriously damaged by a fire that started in the basement pressroom. The building was repaired but it nearly put the then-17-year-old newspaper and its young Alford owners out of business.

Publication was suspended for one week.

That's the only severe interruption in Tribune history.

Thursday morning's press problems did not result in non-delivery but it did result in a one-day delivery delay.

You'll see both editions were delivered to front porches, inside screen doors, tubes, store counters and news racks today.

Unlike 113 years ago, electronic copies of both the Daily News and the Tribune were "delivered" in both the mobile and e-editions.

So, from all at the two daily newspapers, thank you for your understanding. We're appreciative.

If your barometer for a community and a workplace you love to call home is the type of character and fiber that accepts challenge with a positive attitude, in search of high-pressure solutions through all hours of the day and understand a miss every 100 years or so is forgivable, you're in the right place.

We're hopeful it will be another century before a similar collision of unusual happenstances rears up again.

Alford is editor and publisher of the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News. He can be reached at alford@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2208.