Cal State’s Daily 49er reunites staff for 60th anniversary

Sixty years ago this week, the very first copies of The Forty-Niner started rolling off the mimeograph machine, just weeks after the first 169 students started attending classes at what is now California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). The Daily 49er is celebrating its 60th by inviting former staffers to campus for a celebration Friday, Nov. 13.

The Department of journalism and Daily 49er are working with the CSULB Alumni Association to bring journalism alumni and former 49er student journalists to campus.

“Former students are flying in from as far away as Massachusetts and Florida,” said Department of Journalism Chair Raul Reis. “They’re trading messages on Facebook, touching base, tracking down old classmates. It’s like a reunion for generations of 49er journalists.”

The Daily 49er will publish a special edition today Thursday, Nov. 12. It will include past editors’ reflections of each decade and an interview with the very first editor of the paper, Ted Clucas.

The reunion of former 49er staff members will begin with an open house Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the 49er newsroom, located at the Social Sciences and Public Affairs Building in Room 004. A celebration with cake and beverages will follow in the Pyramid Annex from 2-4 p.m. Attendance is open to the community for both events. The 49er will also participate in Homecoming events on Saturday, Nov. 14.

For more information about the Daily 49er 60th anniversary events, contact Joanne Tucker, the Daily 49er editor in chief, at [email protected] or 562/985-7998; or Reis at [email protected] or 562/985-4981.