“Happy birthday to you ....” that is, happy birthday to the Pontotoc Progress.

The newspaper looks good for 80 years old, don’t it? And the paper is throwing a party to celebrate.You are the special guests.

Please come and help celebrate the Progress being your hometown newspaper for eight decades this Friday, from 2-4 p.m. at our office on Jefferson Street.

The first issue of the Pontotoc Progress rolled off the presses on February 28, 1929, just eight short months before The Great Depression.Right off the bat, the fledgling newspaper had to survive the tough economic times of the Depression era.

The owners of the paper, Grady Cook and Ned Lee, steered this ship through those rough waters and gave the community a paper that would serve all of Pontotoc County.Their wisdom and fortitude allowed the Cook family to own and operate the newspaper until December 1985 when Grady’s son, Bob, sold the paper to W.C. Shumaker of Kosciusko, who took it over January 1, 1986.Shumaker subsequently sold the paper to American Publishing in September of 1989.

Journal Publishing Company, Inc. purchased the newspaper April 1, 1996 and currently owns this as well as seven other community newspapers.Members of the Cook family and Journal Publishing are set to come to the celebration this Friday.

You are invited to help the Progress celebrate at your leisure from 2-4 p.m.