| November 26, 1920 |
Stacy Brewer publishes the first issue of The
Pilot in Vass. It was said to be "devoted to the upbuilding of Vass and its
surrounding country." The newspaper was housed in a building constructed by Mr.
A. Cameron. It stands in Vass today. |
|
| September 7, 1928 |
Stacy Brewer had sold the paper and it was
printed that "The Pilot takes great pleasure in announcing that Nelson C. Hyde of
Southern Pines, formerly editor of the Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald and for several years
Washington correspondent of a group of newspapers in New York State has become affiliated
with this paper." In the Sept 14, 1928 issue, Hyde's name appeared as publisher
for the first time. |
|
| October 12, 1928 |
The paper went from a five column format up
to six columns. |
|
| October 26, 1928 |
It was announced that The Pilot had opened a
branch office in the Patch Building in Southern Pines for the use of its editorial and
advertising staff. Similar offices were to be opened in Pinehurst and Aberdeen. |
|
| May 3, 1929 |
The Pilot published in Aberdeen for the first
time. The paper moved there at the urging of Murdoch Johnson. |
|
| May 7, 1929 |
The Pilot masthead was changed for the first
time. The new one featured a pilot and wheel which had the compass points and a map
of Moore County. |
|
| 1931 |
The average weekly net paid circulation of
the paper was 1,450 copies. The price was still $2.00 per year, 5 cents a copy. |
|
| May 12, 1932 |
The Pilot got out an "extra" when
the body of the Lindbergh baby was discovered. |
|
| July 21, 1933 |
It was announced that The Pilot had acquired
the plant and equipment of the Sandhill Citizen and would maintain offices in both
Southern Pines and Aberdeen. |
|
| 1933 |
Moved to Sandhill Citizen Building on W.
Pennsylvania Avenue in Southern Pines for a couple of months. |
|
| November 10, 1933 |
The first edition with "Southern
Pines" as the place of publication was issued. |
|
| Late 1933 |
Moved to E. Broad Street |
|
| April 1941 |
The Pilot moved its offices from East Broad
Street to W. Pennsylvania Avenue, its fifth home since its 1920 beginning in Vass. |
|
| May 23, 1941 |
Nelson Hyde sold his interest in The Pilot to
his friend, James Boyd, a long time resident of Southern Pines. Hyde was to stay on
as editor. |
|
| July 18, 1941 |
Nelson Hyde resigned as editor and Carl
Thompson was named as the new editor. |
|
| August 15, 1941 |
Front page nameplate was altered, still
featuring a pilot and wheel, but with a different map in the center. |
|
| December 19, 1941 |
The Pilot donned a new nameplate, the one
with which most of us are familiar, which was drawn by Ruth Doris Swett, a local artist,
and the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William P. Swett. The Southern Pines native
executed the original drawing of the pine needles, compass and map of Moore County. |
|
| 1942 |
Growing pains meant an addition to the
original building was required. |
|
| May 1944 |
Pilot owner and publisher James Boyd passed
away in Princeton, New Jersey, while at a speaking engagement. His wife, Katharine
Lamont Boyd, took over as publisher and editor. |
|
| 1950 |
Subscriptions were $3.00, single copy sales
were 10 cents each. |
|
| 1960 |
Subscriptions were $4.00, single copy sales
were still 10 cents each. |
|
| October 1968 |
Katharine Boyd sold The Pilot to Sam and
Marjorie Ragan. |
|
| 1970 |
An addition was made to the back of the
building in order to accommodate the offset press. |
|
| October 28, 1970 |
The first press run was made on the Newsking
offset press. |
|
| 1979 |
Another addition was needed to house the
growing staff. |
|
| September 25, 1985 |
The Pilot, celebrating its 65th year of
publication, converted to a six column format. |
|
| January 6, 1986 |
The Pilot became a semi-weekly paper,
publishing on Monday and Thursday each week. At this time, the single copy price was
25 cents and the subscription price was $14.00 per year. |
|
| October 1993 |
Sam and Marjorie Ragan celebrated 25 years of
ownership of The Pilot. |
|
| July 1, 1996 |
Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, David
Woronoff, Jack Andrews and Lee Dirks -- all previously associated with the News &
Observer -- acquired The Pilot. |
|
| March 13, 1998 |
Renovations begin at The Pilot's Pennsylvania
Avenue location. |
|
| June 1, 1998 |
The new Goss Community press goes on line.
The Pilot publishes four color photos for the first time. |
|
| July 23, 1998 |
The Pilot launches www.thepilot.com |
|
| January 28, 1999 |
The Pilot moves back into their newly renovated
offices on Pennsylvania Avenue. Cost of the expansion and renovation: $2.3 million,
including $1.1 million in construction; $1 million for the new press; $180,000 for an
inserting machine and $20,000 for a new forklift, which was needed to stack the rolls of
paper on end. Taking in the former Christmas
Village location added 8,000 square feet to The Pilot's previous 8,000 and doubled the
size of the building. |
|
| June 14 - 21, 1999 |
The Pilot produced daily editions for the U.S.
Open |
|
| September 1999 |
The Pilot implemented a comprehensive
typographical redesign of the newspaper. |
|
| October 1999 |
The Pilot began publishing three days per week
-- Monday, Wednesday and Friday. |
|
| May 2000 |
The Pilot launches re-designed web site. |
|
| June 2001 |
The Pilot produced daily editions for the U.S. Women's Open |
|
| March 9, 2003 |
The Pilot changes publication days to Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. |
|
| 2002 |
The Pilot wins "Best in the Nation" Non-Daily Newspaper Competition award from The Inland Press Association. |
|
| April 2005 |
The Pilot acquires Whistle Stop Press. |
|
| October 2005 |
The Pilot opens Carolina Mailing Solutions next door to Whistle Stop Press. |
|
| June 13 - 20, 2006 |
The Pilot produced daily editions for the U.S. Open. |
|
| July 2, 2006 |
Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, David Woronoff, Jack Andrews and Lee Dirks mark 10 years of ownership of The Pilot. |
|
| July 2, 2006 |
The Pilot lauches re-designed web site that includes features such as podcasts, a local online real estate guide, a new online classified placement system and online subscriber tools for vacation starts/stops and new subscriptions. |
