From the publisher

About this time last year, the City of Whitesboro was gearing up for a special event. The community celebrated the 150th birthday of Whitesboro’s official chartering as a city in early June of 2023. The multi-day event capped off with a first-ever drone light show at Godwin Park. It was a special weekend and will not soon be forgotten. Luckily, the party is not over yet and plans are underway to commemorate the Whitesboro 150th birthday well into 2024.

Plans were put into place last year to mark the city's sesquicentennial with the publication of a Whitesboro 150th Anniversary history book. A volunteer committee was formed, and initial efforts were made to launch the publication. Though great strides were made, the book has yet to make it to the printer. 

Earlier this year, the city reached out and asked if we, at the News-Record, would help get the project across the finish line. Of course, we’d be happy to— was the answer. 

This harkens to a partnership 50 years ago between the News-Record and the Whitesboro High School journalism department that produced the Whitesboro Centennial History Book. 
Danny Sluder was the journalism adviser at WHS. Ron Smith was the owner and editor of the News-Record. Though Smith passed away unexpectedly before the book was dedicated at the 1973 celebration. 

The product was a publication that documented the first 100 years of Whitesboro’s history. There are a few copies of the old book still left. I am the proud owner of a few of them. 

Our goal with the sesquicentennial edition is to revisit the first 100 years of Whitesboro and document the story of the past 50 years for posterity’s sake. The 150th Birthday Book will be printed in time for an inaugural Whitesboro Founders’ Celebration in June (more details on this event to come soon). It will be dedicated to a time capsule that will be buried at Trollinger Park. 

This is not newspaper tabloid with a shelf life. It will be full-color, gloss book commemorating the 150th Birthday of our great city. It will be 80-100 pages of history and the key artifact in the time capsule. The capsule will be unearthed at Whitesboro’s 200th birthday celebration in 50 years. 

If you reserved ad space with the city in this book last year and have not heard from me yet, please reach out. I am tying up loose ends with the orders already placed and will be working to prospect new ad placements this week. If you would like to reserve ad space in the book, please reach out. This is an awesome opportunity to ensure your business is part of Whitesboro’s story for decades to come. 

We are also looking for editorial ideas. If you have a story you feel should be told for history’s sake, please reach out. If you are a member of a local organization with roots in Whitesboro, please reach out. We want to record your contribution. 

The key phrase here is, “please reach out.” We see this endeavor as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to collaborate in documenting our own definitive history. Let us know how we can best do that. You can reach me at [email protected] or 903.564.3565.