It has been 94 years - almost to the day - that the Stabbert family purchased the Sullivan County Democrat from Ithaca Attorney William Heidt, a prominent newspaperman of his day.

Fred W. Stabbert Sr., an Obernburg native, left the family farm and attended Cornell University before having to return home when his father fell ill. A few years later, in 1923, he went to work at the Democrat office in Callicoon and on February 1, 1927 he and his wife, Nellie, purchased the business.

The Sullivan County Democrat has been in business for 130 years, dating back to 1891, when its offices were on Upper Main St., near where the car wash stands today.

Since 1900, the company has anchored Lower Main in the Delaware River hamlet of Callicoon, but has dramatically spread its wings to cover all of Sullivan County's 1,100 square miles.

Back in the day, community newspapers were just that, a service to the hamlet they were located in, and Sullivan County had nearly 24 weekly newspapers to choose from.

Today, only three such community newspapers, The Tri-Valley Townsman, The River Reporter in Narrowsburg, and the twice-weekly Democrat, keep Sullivan County residents abreast of the local news and happenings that affect their everyday lives.

We are especially proud of our hard-working staff of nearly 25, who have had to endure the second pandemic in our company's history.

The past year has not been easy, but their dedication and hard work have kept our readers abreast of the latest on everything from COVID-19 vaccinations to how the schools are adapting to the crisis.

And we must sincerely thank our 20,000 readers and hundreds of businesses who have supported us throughout our history.

You have certainly made our work meaningful, rewarding and helped keep us relevant to generations of Sullivan County residents.

What is the most common thread of the last 130 years of publishing?

We undoubtedly would say “Embracing change.”

Without the leadership and foresight of Fred Stabbert Sr., Fred Stabbert Jr. and countless editors and staff, the Sullivan County Democrat certainly would not be the multi-media company it is today - delivering news on a variety of platforms, helping customers with a variety of printing and publishing needs and continuing to be the newspaper of record for Sullivan County.

Just like so many other industries, we cannot begin to tell you the challenges of keeping up to change in this break neck world of today, but we consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to grow and prosper and look forward to many more years of faithful service.

Thank you to everyone who helped us along the way.