Looking Back: The Pointe

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society

     After spending my Sunday afternoon perusing the first two issues of The Pointe,  I realize that my research into the newspapers that have served Grain Valley has reached modern day journalism.  Well, it was “modern day” when the first issue was published back in November, 1998.
     The Pointe began as a monthly newspaper. From the first edition, I learned the owners felt it was important to have a name with an historical connection to the town. Stony Point to the south and Pink Hill to the north became the forerunners of Grain Valley.
     Also, there were the more obvious connotations made by the definition of the word point as an important fact or idea. And finally, they wanted the paper to express a point of view as a position from which one views a place or situation.
     From my prospective, looking at a couple of 22-year-old newspapers made me realize that, at least for a few years, the newspaper was growing with Grain Valley. The front page of that first issue included a photo and article about the new City Hall and Community Center project that was about to begin construction. This along with a $4M bond for capital improvements let readers know that Grain Valley was growing.
     There was also news about a $2.8M school bond issue  (February, 1999) that created additions to Matthews and Sni-A-Bar Elementary Schools allowing for 500 students at each location. At that time the district was serving 1,540 students and school officials expected to be serving 2,000 within five years.
     Another article to grab my attention was titled “Historical Society Moving into ‘New/Old’ Building. We moved into the nearly 100-year-old building in December, 1998.
     Over the years our “new home” had been a shoe repair shop, a grocery store, and a gun shop to name a few. For the next two years renovations continued as we added brick along the walls, storage and display cabinets and display cases for Grain Valley artifacts.
     For the next several years, The Pointe continue to report on the news of Grain Valley. There was city news, business news, school news, sports news, and Inspiration Pointe (church news),  Each edition featured a community calendar and community news.
     About Town spotlighted local citizens and their contributions to the community. We always knew what the Boys Scots, the Optimist Club, and other organizations were doing. And Jerry Vaughan’s column, South of Town kept us informed about “a little bit of everything!”
     In addition to advertisements, the newspaper also had a page for classified advertisement. As you can see, The Pointe also featured “a little bit of everything.”
     When all is said and done, The Pointe served our town well and most of us were sorry to see it end. Like people in the big cities, the people of Grain Valley were not willing to pay for local news when the internet was on their iPhone.
 
     Many of us still missed our local paper. Next Week: Grain Valley Welcomes the Valley News
 
     Visit the Grain Valley Historical Society at 506 S. Main on Wednesdays or visit us online at ww.grainvalleyhistory.com and Facebook (@grainvalleyhistory).