Hal Wright, Solo Newsman

This story was first broadcast on July 28, 1996.

Hal Wright stuck, in the little town of Loyalton, where he was a gold digger who fell down a mine shaft, and once he got out, stayed out.

He missed newspapers out here, so Hal started one: The Sierra Booster. He was answering the phone when we visited.

Hall showed us a copy of the paper's very first edition, which features a line in its masthead: "To be published fortnightly at Loyalton, California, until further notice."

"You're coming up on half a century later, and you haven't given notice that you're quitting yet," Geist said.

"Yeah, not yet," Wright said.

Hal Wright didn't give notice at age 65, 75 or 85, and so he finds himself still the editor and publisher, not to mention chief reporter … star columnist ... head photographer … top ad salesman ... production department … and circulation manager.

All of this at age 92.

We see Wright chatting up one man: "Thought maybe you have an ad for us or you might have some news, you know?"

Geist also captured Wright taking photographs, selling ads ("A full page is $288"), and preparing copies of the latest issue for delivery.

Hal Wright is a unique man who publishes a most unique newspaper, one that carries no headlines, photographs of cats and dogs, and columns with names like 'The Downieville Dragnet.'

But the way he delivers it, that's the most unique part of all.

Hal is also the Sierra Booster's only paperboy, and with subscribers scattered across 600 square miles, he delivers papers by his own brand of air mail special delivery - very special. He serves as bombardier and pilot.

Hal Wright says he owes a lot to his cousins Orville and Wilbur. He still pitches them closer to the house than my delivery guy gets my paper.

But most receive their papers by more earthly means, as Hall stuffs mailboxes.

Making his rounds, Hal calls on advertisers. "How's that look?" he asks one woman about an ad.

"That looks good," she said.

He also uncovers hot news items: "We have a new plumbing room," one woman tells him.

"Oh. Got to see that!" Hal replied.

"You can't print anywhere near all the news that's going on all the time, you just can't do it," he told Geist.

"Even in a small town?"

"Even in a small town."

"Have you thought about going to once-a-week instead of once every two weeks?" Geist asked.

"Yes, but I did not dwell on that very long," Wright said.

One item in the current issue is that the local animal control officer does not want to be called the dog catcher. "We thought that was newsworthy," Wright said.

"Indeed it is. What do you think? Do you think they should just call him a plain old-fashioned dog catcher or an animal control officer?"

"I like dog catcher better, don't you?" Wright said.

"I do."

"Well, son of a gun! There we are. All right. Contact!"

And with that, Wright fired up his airborne newspaper delivery vehicle.
"Great day for flying!" Geist said.

To hit the targets, Hal flies low and slow, sometimes a little too low and sometimes a little too slow.

"You better watch that mountain over there," Geist mentions, helpfully.

With no in-flight movies, Hal sings while flying the plane, taking photographs and trying to drop papers on their targets. It's a little nerve-racking, frankly.

"I don't want to be a backseat driver, but there's a mountain right there," Geist said.

"No fooling. I wonder who put that there? It wasn't there yesterday," Wright said.

Despite Hal's best efforts, sometimes the Booster arrives in sections: news, sports, followed by arts and leisure.

Folks along the route appreciate Hal's efforts.

Wright says he's a member of the United Flying Octogenarians. "Aren't you too old to be in the Octogenarians?" Geist asked. "Have you thought about starting a club for 90-year-old pilots?"

"No, I don't want to be the president, the secretary, and the treasurer and the board of directors, no," he said.

"You just want to fly," Geist said.

"That's all."

Hal Wright has no plans to retire from the paper, or planes, "until further notice."

Hal Wright passed away in 2000 at age 96.

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