FLC historical newspapers preserve the past

As he searches Colorado State Library’s Historic Newspapers Collection digital archive, Nik Kendziorski, archives manager for the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, never knows what he’ll find.

“This must have been a newsletter for the Fort Lewis Boarding School,” Kendziorski says, clicking the mouse to zoom in on a document entitled The Outlook, Indian Industrial Education, Feb 1896, NO. 4. “This is exactly why the archive is so valuable to us: documents like this one show us who we were and help us understand how we can move forward as a school.”

Launched in the early 2000s, the Historic Newspapers Collection has been slowly adding historic newspapers from across the state to its anthology. The documents date back to 1859, spanning 160 years of publication. A year ago, the Colorado State Library approached Kendziorski for help expanding their archive.

“They were missing the voices of students outside of the I-25 corridor in their shared history and wanted to rectify the omission,” Kendziorski says. “I was more than happy to partner on the project, especially as the funding for it was already in place.”

The Center quickly tasked multiple FLC History Department interns with counting and evaluating not only all student newspapers but also FLC-adjacent publications, such as El Valle Hispanic News, a bilingual regional publication. A comprehensive list soon emerged.

“This archive has tremendous value not only for research but for alumni wanting to reminisce about their time at FLC,” says Kendziorski. “We’re proud to bring FLC student newspapers to Colorado and the world."

 To view the full archive, visit coloradohistoricnewspapers.org.