Finding aid for Oxnard Press Courier records, circa 1890-1990
MVC082
Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura
County Community Foundation.
Museum of Ventura County
July 2022
100 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
Business Number: (805) 653-0323 (Extension: 320)
library@venturamuseum.org
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Ventura County
Title: Oxnard Press-Courier records
Creator:
Oxnard Press-Courier (circa 1940-1994)
Identifier/Call Number: MVC082
Physical Description:
114.57 Cubic Feet
(128 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1890s-1990
Date (bulk): circa 1970-1990
Abstract: The
Oxnard Press-Courier was a newspaper located in Oxnard, California from roughly 1899-1994. The paper ceased publication in June 1994 due to stiff
competition from the
Los Angeles Times. This collection consists of the paper's morgue and negatives. A newspaper morgue is a reference collection that includes
clippings, old files, notes, and photographs kept by reporters for quick reference. Materials include clippings, photographs,
subject files, and negatives.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior
to your visit.
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the
Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the museum does not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item],
Oxnard Press-Courier, (Collection MVC082), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Kirk A. Davis (publisher); gift; 1994.
Processing Information
Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
Our collections are processed using MPLP methods so that we can prioritize access for users and identify potential priorities
for more detailed processing. If while using our collections you think there is something that should be added or amended
in the finding aid, we welcome your input. You can notify staff in the reading room or send us an email at library@venturamuseum.org
Be sure to include the collection number and name and the box number you were working with in your email.
Biographical / Historical
The
Oxnard Press-Courier was a newspaper located in Oxnard, California. It ceased publication in the summer of 1994, ending a 95-year run. The paper
first started publication as a weekly titled the
Oxnard Courier in 1899. The paper adopted the title
Oxnard Press-Courier in 1940, following the consolidation of the
Oxnard Evening Press,
Oxnard Daily Courier, and
Oxnard News.
The paper was purchased in 1945 by George and Eva Grimes, and David Calvert and his wife. Then in 1963, the Brush-Moore Newspapers
group bought the paper. In 1967 Toronto-based Thomson Newspapers purchased the paper. Thomson owned the paper until it ceased
publication in June 1994. The paper largely closed due to pressures to secure advertising funding and competition from larger
regional papers. The
Los Angeles Times began publishing a daily Ventura County edition in 1990, which competed with the paper for readership. In 1994 the
Press-Courier was the third Ventura County paper that ceased publication due to competition with the
Los Angeles Times during that time. In fact, the Los Angeles paper reported on June 14, 1994 that "in addition to the
Press-Courier, the
Camarillo Daily News and the
Santa Paula Chronicle have ceased publishing recently, the result of what Editor and Publisher magazine calls one of the hottest newspaper wars
in the nation."
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the Oxnard Press-Courier's morgue and negatives. A newspaper morgue is a reference collection
that includes clippings, old files, notes, and photographs kept by reporters. Prior to the widespread use of online and computerized
databases, a newspaper morgue served as a quick reference collection. A morgue may also include post-production content.
The paper's morgue consists of clippings on both persons and subjects, mugs, photographs, and subject files. Mugs here refers
to photos of people and not necessarily to a criminal mug shot. The negatives were images taken by photographers for the newspaper.
Some negatives may not be found in this collection as freelance photographers retained ownership of their work and may be
in possession of some negatives.
Organization and Arrangement
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Morgue, circa 1890-1990
- Series 2: Negatives, 1982 August - 1993 July 18
The morgue portion of the collection was originally in filing cabinets. The cabinet contents are arranged in alphabetical
order. Original order has been maintained, and items in the same drawers and cabinets have been kept together. Folder labels
are either the original labels or shortened forms of the original label. Descriptive labels created by the archivist appear
in brackets "[]". There is a more detailed contents list available for certain portions of the morgue.
The negatives were originally stored in yellow boxes and labeled by year. The negatives are organized chronologically. Original
order has been maintained and negatives that were in the same boxes have been kept together. Many of the negatives have cards
attached that describe the image, what it was used for, the date it was taken, and the photographer.
Other Finding Aids
A listing of envelope labels is available for the Clippings and portions of the ViewPoint, Harbor Views, and Plain Views mugs
in the
Clippings Label and
Mugs Label document.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Newspaper archives
Morgues (Newspaper libraries)
Newspapers -- California -- Ventura County
Newspapers -- California -- Oxnard
Oxnard (Calif.)
Ventura County (Calif.)
Photographs
Photography -- Negative
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Maps
Oxnard Press-Courier (circa 1940-1994) -- Records and correspondence
Series 1: Morgue
circa 1890-1990
circa 1970-1990
Scope and Contents
This series consists of the
Oxnard Press-Courier's morgue. It consists of clippings on both persons and subjects, mugs, photographs, and subject files. Original drawer labels
are in an envelope or folder at the start of each section.
The morgue originally included 8 sets of cabinets: 2 cabinets containing clippings related to individuals; 4 cabinets containing
clippings related to various subjects, events, or topics; 3 cabinets containing mugs, or portraits of people; 2 cabinets containing
photographs that were in alphabetical order by name or topic; 2 cabinets containing photographs that were in chronological
order by the year of publication or when an event occurred; 1 cabinet of miscellaneous photographs; 1 cabinet of photographs
and assorted pamphlets and reference material; and 1 cabinet of what appeared to be subject files.
Arrangement
The cabinets were in no particular order but have been arranged here in alphabetical order for easy reference. The contents
of cabinets that were part of a clear set were kept together and the contents of drawers have been boxed in original order.
Each title represents one drawer.
[Clippings]
Arrangement
The morgue contained 2 sets of cabinets that contained clippings: 2 cabinets with clippings pertaining to persons and 4 cabinets
with clippings pertaining to various subjects or events. They are in alphabetical order. Each title represents one drawer,
and they are in original order.
The labels "Clippings (Persons)" and "Clippings (Subjects)" are not original and were created by the archivist for easy reference.
Titles after the colon are the original labels. There is also an inventory with a listing of each envelope for the clippings
available (see note for Other Finding Aids).
The last drawer for Clippings (Person) did not contain clippings, but negatives for photo assignments given to photographers
for news stories. The envelopes are numbered from 110-70 through 1538-71, and are dated April 1970 - December 30, 1971. Many
of the envelopes have cards attached with additional context and information on the images. There is not a complete run of
envelopes and some numbers or dates may be missing.
Box 1
Clippings (Persons): Aa-Bi
circa 1950-1990
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 2
Clippings (Persons): Bj-Car
circa 1950-1990
Box 3
Clippings (Persons): Cas-Cz
circa 1950-1990
Box 4
Clippings (Persons): Da-Ey
circa 1950-1990
Box 5
Clippings (Persons): Fa-Gl
circa 1950-1990
Box 6, Box 7
Clippings (Persons): Go-Ha
circa 1950-1990
Box 7, Box 8
Clippings (Persons): He-It
circa 1950-1990
Box 8
Clippings (Persons): Ja-Ru
circa 1950-1990
Box 9
Clippings (Persons): La-Lo
circa 1950-1990
Box 10
Clippings (Persons): Lu-Mcw
circa 1950-1990
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 11
Clippings (Persons): Me-Ni
undated
Box 12
Clippings (Persons): No-Py
undated
Box 13
Clippings (Persons): Qu-Ry
undated
Box 14
Clippings (Persons): Sa-Sq
undated
Box 15, Box 16
Clippings (Persons): St-Ut
undated
Box 16, Box 17
Clippings (Persons): Va-Zy
undated
Box 17, Box 18
[Negatives and photo assignment envelopes]
1971 April - December 30
Scope and Contents
This label was created by the processing archivist. The drawer contained negatives of assignments given to photographers for
news stories. Envelopes are numbered from 110-70 to 1538-71, and dated April 1970 - December 30, 1971. Many envelopes have
cards attached with additional context and information about the images. It is not a complete run of envelopes and some numbers
are missing. While these envelopes don't follow the order of the Clippings files, the original order they were found in has
been maintained.
Box 18, Box 19
Clippings (Subjects): A-An
1964-1993
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 19, Box 20
Clippings (Subjects): Ap-Be
1955-1987
Box 20, Box 21
Clippings (Subjects): Bi-Cala
1940-1986
Box 21, Box 22
Clippings (Subjects): Cali-Cama
circa 1940s-1985
Box 22, Box 23
Clippings (Subjects): Cama-Chri
1958-1986
Box 23, Box 24
Clippings (Subjects): Chu - Community College 70s to 80s
1960-1985
Box 24, Box 25
Clippings (Subjects): Community Coll. District - Coy 60s
1964-1986
Box 25, Box 26
Clippings (Subjects): Cr-Dz
1960-1986
Box 26, Box 27
Clippings (Subjects): E
1967-1986
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 27, Box 28
Clippings (Subjects): F-Fl
1940-1986
Box 28, Box 29
Clippings (Subjects): Fo-Hei
1968-1986
Box 29, Box 30
Clippings (Subjects): Hel-Im
1965-1986
Box 30, Box 31
Clippings (Subjects): In-Lak
1958-1986
Box 31, Box 32
Clippings (Subjects): Lam-Li
1955-1986
Box 32, Box 33
Clippings (Subjects): Lo-Mon
1955-1986
Box 33, Box 34
Clippings (Subjects): Moo-Mz
1956-1985
Box 34, Box 35
Clippings (Subjects): N
1960-1986
Box 35
Clippings (Subjects): O-Ow
1950-1986
Box 36
Clippings (Subjects): Oxnard (A-Ci)
1950-1986
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 36, Box 37, Box 38
Clippings (Subjects): Oxnard (Ci-G)
1950-1986
Box 38
Clippings (Subjects): Oxnard (H-P)
1960-1987
Box 39
Clippings (Subjects): Oxnard (R-U)
1959-1986
Box 40
Clippings (Subjects): Oxnard (V-Z) - Pa.-Pleasant Valley Rd.
1964-1986
Box 41, Box 128
Clippings (Subjects): Pleasant Valley-S - Pop
1908-1986
Box 42, Box 43
Clippings (Subjects): Por
1940-1986
Box 43, Box 128
Clippings (Subjects): Pos-Ran
1950-1986
Box 44, Box 45
Clippings (Subjects): Rap-Rz
1950-1986
Box 45, Box 46
Clippings (Subjects): S-Sea
1950-1986
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 46, Box 47
Clippings (Subjects): Sec-Sl
1960-1986
Box 47, Box 48
Clippings (Subjects): Sm-St
1960-1986
Box 48, Box 49
Clippings (Subjects): Su-To
1965-1986
Box 49, Box 50
Clippings (Subjects): Tr-Ventura Community
1970-1986
Box 50, Box 51
Clippings (Subjects): Ventura County
1957-1987
Box 51
Clippings (Subjects): Ventura (D)-Vz
1953-1986
Box 52
Clippings (Subjects): W-Wea
1954-1986
Box 53
Clippings (Subjects): Web-Z
circa 1890s - 1985
Mugs
Scope and Contents
Mug refers to photographs of individuals and not necessarily photographs of persons charged with crimes. The mugs include
photographs from the Associated Press (AP), photographs taken of locals to be used in the public opinion poll features "ViewPoint,"
"Harbor Views," and "Plain Views," and photographs of local figures taken for news stories.
Arrangement
The morgue had 3 cabinets containing mugs: 1 cabinet of mugs taken from the Associated Press (AP), 1 cabinet of mugs used
for opinion poll features, and 1 cabinet of mugs of local persons. The AP and local mugs are in alphabetical order by surname,
and the opinion poll mugs are roughly in chronological order. All are in original order. Each title represents one drawer.
The opinion poll mugs have the names of interviewees written on the back of most of the photographs. See the inventories for
more detailed descriptions (see note for Other Finding Aids). The original labels for the local mugs were faded or missing,
and descriptive labels have been created by the archivist.
Box 53, Box 54
Mugs: AP (A-B, B-C)
undated
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 54, Box 55
Mugs: AP (D-E, F-G)
undated
Box 55, Box 56
Mugs: AP (H-J, K-L)
undated
Box 56, Box 57
Mugs: AP (M, N-Q)
undated
Box 58, Box 59
Mugs: AP (R-S, S-T)
undated
Box 59, Box 60
Mugs: ViewPoint
1981 January 4 - 1989 March
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 60, Box 61
Mugs: Plain Views 11-9-98 [and] ViewPoints 11-9-98
circa 1989-1992
Box 61, Box 62
Mugs: Harbor Views
circa 1960s-1990
Box 62
[Additional mugs]
undated
Box 62, Box 63
Mugs: [Local] Aarstatd, Dr. - Hyndman, Brian
circa 1940s-1990
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 64, Box 65
Mugs: [Local] Ichard, Richard H. - Szabo Ronald
circa 1940s-1990
Box 65
Mugs: [Local] Taft, Norman - Zumwalt, Willis H., Rev.
circa 1940s-1990
Pix [alphabetical]
Scope and Contents
The last drawer in the second cabinet was also labeled "Pix". However, the materials are not photographs and are actually
maps of Ventura County, the region, and California. It also included printing plates for an image of a map.
Arrangement
The morgue had 2 cabinets labeled "Pix" and containing photographs that were arranged based on subject, event, or name (both
of corporations and individuals). They are in alphabetical and original order. Each title represents one drawer.
Box 91, Box 66
Photographs: Pix A-B [alphabetical]
1950-1991
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 66, Box 67, Box 68
Photographs: Pix C-E [alphabetical]
1950-1990
Box 68, Box 69, Box 70
Photographs: Pix F-L [alphabetical]
1950-1990
Box 70, Box 71
Photographs: Pix M-N [alphabetical]
1950-1990
Box 71, Box 72, Box 128
Photographs: Pix O-R [alphabetical]
1950-1991
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 72, Box 73, Box 74
Photographs: Pix S [alphabetical]
1950-1993
Box 74, Box 75, Box 128
Photographs: Pix T-Z [alphabetical]
1950-1994
Box 75
Photographs: [Maps of county and region]
1950-1993
Photos [chronological]
Arrangement
The morgue had 2 cabinets of photographs labeled "PHOTOS". They contained images taken for various features and stories printed
in the paper. The Photo folders are labeled by month and include headings such as PC, Auto, Business, Sports, PC Mag. They
are organized chronologically. Each title represents one drawer. The original titles and labels are reproduced here. Some
of the drawers were missing labels and labels were created based on the labels of other drawers.
Box 76, Box 77
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1987 and 1992
circa 1987-1992
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 77, Box 78
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1985-1986
circa 1985-1986
Box 78, Box 79
Photographs (chronological): [Photos 1984-1983]
circa 1984-1983
Scope and Contents
The drawer title is in brackets because it was created by the archivist based on the original titles of the other drawers.
Box 80
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1981-1982; 1973, 1975, Progress
circa 1973-1982
Box 81, Box 82
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1988
circa 1988
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 82, Box 83
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1989
circa 1989
Box 83, Box 84
Photographs (chronological): Photos 1990
circa 1990
Box 84, Box 85
Photographs (chronological): [Photos 1991]
circa 1991
[Photographs: miscellaneous]
Arrangement
The morgue had 1 cabinet of miscellaneous photographs. Each title represents one drawer. The first drawer contained foldered
photographs in alphabetical order and a second set of folders containing clippings and photos arranged by subject. The second
drawer contained photographs of community, political, military, and law enforcement figures; files on popular TV shows; and
crime files containing police sketches, court photos, etc.
The last two drawers contained mixed files of photographs, clippings, and papers related to various news stories. There is
no discernible order to these last two drawers. They are largely related to Port Hueneme, but are not limited to this. The
last drawer contained several copies of the
Port Hueneme Pilot newspaper.
Box 86, Box 87
Photographs (Miscellaneous): Mag Picture File
circa 1980s
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 87, Box 88
Photographs (Miscellaneous): 5x7 and 8x10 pictures of
circa 1950s-1980s
Box 89, Box 90
Photographs (Miscellaneous): [Miscellaneous photographs and clippings]
circa 1970s-1980s
Box 89, Box 90, Box 91, Box 65
Photographs (Miscellaneous): [Miscellaneous photographs and clippings]
circa 1960s-1982
Scope and Contents
Box 65 contains negatives with images of St. John Lutheran's League, circa 1960. They are in very poor condition.
Photographs and pamphlets
Scope and Contents
The morgue had 1 cabinet labeled "Photos, Pamphlets 1941-1966". These cabinets contain a combination of photographs, notes,
reports, clippings, and research on various topics.
Arrangement
Each title represents one drawer. They are arranged in alphabetical order. The last and fourth drawer was empty.
Box 91, Box 92
Photos and pamphlets: 1941-1966 approx. A-K
circa 1941-1966
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 92, Box 93
Photos and pamphlets: 1941-1966 approx. L-O
circa 1941-1967
Box 93
Photos and Pamphlets: 1941-1966 approx. P-Z
circa 1941-1968
[Subject files]
Scope and Contents
This morgue had 1 cabinet of what appeared to be subject files, including reference on various subjects. Materials were arranged
in alphabetical order, and each title represents one drawer.
The first drawer contains papers related to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, including reports, pamphlets, meeting
minutes and agendas, and clippings. The second drawer was empty. The third drawer contained papers used for reference and
related to various countries, including pamphlets, promotional materials created by tourism boards and ministries, photographs,
and maps. The fourth drawer is a continuation of the previous drawer, with the addition of materials that focus on states
and cities within the U.S.A.
Box 94, Box 95, Box 128
Subject files: Ventura Co. A-Grand Jury Board of Supervisors to '59
circa 1930-1966
Scope and Contents
Original drawer labels included at start of this section.
Box 95, Box 96, Box 97
Subject files: Countries
circa 1948-1969
Box 97
Subject files: Cities-States
circa 1950-1969
Series 2: Negatives
1982 August - 1993 July 18
Scope and Contents
This series includes negatives from the
Oxnard Press-Courier. The negatives were originally housed in yellow boxes. All items from the same box have been kept together in original order.
They are in rough chronological order. Many of the negatives have cards attached that detail the news story or column the
image is related to, description of the image, date it was taken, and photographer it was assigned to. The titles represent
the way the original boxes were labeled, but dates have been added for a more precise description of the boxes' date ranges.
Box 98
August-September 1982
1982 October 1-30
Box 98
October 1982
1982 August - September 16
Box 99
December 1982
1982 November 7, December 4 - 1983 January 2
Box 99
February 1983
1983 February 1 - 28
Box 99
June 1983
1983 June 2 - 30
Box 100
July 1983
1983 June 1 - July 31
Box 100
August 1983
1983 August 1 - 31
Box 100
November 1983
1983 November
Box 100
December 1983
1983 December 1 - 1984 January 4
Box 101
March 1984
1984 March 2 - 30
Box 101
April 1984
1984 April 2 - 30
Box 101
June 1984
1984 June 2 - 29
Box 102
July 1984
1984 July 2 - 31
Box 102
September 1984
1984 August 31 - September 29
Box 102
December 1984
1984 December 1 - 1985 January 1
Box 102, Box 103
January 1985
1985 January 2 - 28
Box 103
March 1985
1985 March 1 - 31
Box 103, Box 104
September 1985
1985 August 31 - September 30
Box 104
October 1985
1985 October 1 - 31
Box 104
November 1985
1985 November 1 - 30
Box 105
March 1986
1986 March 1 - 31
Box 105
April 1986
1986 April 1 - 30
Box 105, Box 106
May 1986
1986 May 1 - June 1
Box 106
June 1986
1986 June 1 - 30
Box 106
July 1986
1986 July 1 - 31
Box 107
August 1986
1986 August 1 - September 1
Box 107
October 1986
1986 October 1 - November 1
Box 107, Box 108
December 1986
1986 December 1 - 31
Box 108
March 1987
1987 March 2 - 31
Box 108
April 1987
1987 April 1 - 30
Box 109
August 1987
1987 August 1 - 31
Box 109
September 1987
1987 September 1 - 30
Box 110
October 1987
1987 October 2 - 31
Box 110
February 1988
1988 February 1 - 29
Box 110, Box 111
April 1988
1988 April 1 - 30
Box 111
July 1988
1988 July 1 - 31
Box 111, Box 112
August 1988
1988 August 1 - 31
Box 112
September 1988
1988 September 1 - 30
Box 112
February 1989
1989 February 1 - 28
Box 113
April - May 1989
1989 April 1 - May 11
Box 113
May-June 1989
1989 May 12 - June 20
Box 114
June-July 1989
1989 June 21 - July 31
Box 114
August-September 1989
1989 August 1 - September 11
Box 115
September-October 1989
1989 September 12 - October 18
Box 115
October-November 1989
1989 October 19 - November 30
Box 116
February 1990
1990 February 1 - 28
Box 116
March 1990
1990 March 1 - 31
Box 116
April 1990
1990 April 2 - 30
Box 117
June 1990
1990 June 1 - 30
Box 117
July 1990
1990 July 2 -31
Box 118
August 1990
1990 August 1 - 31
Box 118
September 1990
1990 September 1 - 28
Box 118, Box 119
October 1990
1990 October 1 - 31
Box 119
November 1990
1990 November 1 - 30, June 1
Box 119
January 1991
1991 January 1 - 31
Box 119, Box 120
February 1991
1991 February 1 - 28
Box 120
April 1991
1991 April 3 - 29
Box 121
June 1991
1991 June 1 - 29
Box 121
September 1991
1991 September 2 - 30
Box 121, Box 122
November 1991
1991 November 1 - 30
Box 122
December 1991
1991 December 2 - 31
Box 122
January 1992
1992 January 1 - 31
Box 123
March 1992
1992 March 1 - 31
Box 123
July 1992
1992 July 1 - 22
Box 124
October 1992
1992 October 1 - 31
Box 124
December 1992
1992 November, December 1 - 31
Box 124, Box 125
January 1993
1992 December 29 - 1993 January 30
Box 125
February 1993
1993 February 1 - 29
Box 125
February / March 1993
1993 February - March
Box 126
March 1993
1993 March 1 - 30
Box 126
April - May 1993
1993 April 18 - May 15
Box 126, Box 127
May 1993
1993 May 16 - June 5
Box 127
June 1993
1993 June 3 - 30
Box 127
June - July 1993
1993 June 28 - July 18
Box 128
Loose materials: Souvenir Edition of Press Courier
1983 June 28
Scope and Contents
This box contains 3 copies of the 80th anniversary Souvenir Edition of the
Press Courier.
Box 128
Nameplate: Member Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce
1975
Scope and Contents
This nameplate was found in an empty cabinet drawer. It's not clear who it belonged to or what items it is related to in the
collection.
