COCHRANE— Marking two decades of covering the Cochrane community, The Cochrane Eagle celebrated its 20th anniversary on Monday (Aug. 1).
For two decades the paper has been covering the people and events that have rocked the Cochrane area, including six municipal elections, 9/11, the great floods of 2013, the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 and other events important to the community.
The Eagle was founded on a philosophy that remains true to this day— Covering local news, events and people.
The launch of The Cochrane Eagle was a joint venture between publisher Jack Tennant, his wife Brenda Tennant and his son Ian Tennant who served as the inaugural editor of the paper.
“It was always kind of a frantic rush to get to the first day and then your first issue comes out and you turn around and start again,” Ian said with a laugh.
They faced adversity when the paper first started and it took time to establish the revenue needed to ensure the paper would be able to keep printing.
Ian said the key to their success in the first year was passionate journalists who cared about sharing local news.
“To us, it was just local news. Dad to his dying days would just shake his head because newspapers were killing themselves by not focussing on local news,” Ian said. “We proved over time people really dig good visual presentation, proper layout and proper journalism."
The Cochrane Eagle was not their first adventure in launching a newspaper, Ian said, and they were able to draw on years of experience to help the paper soar. Jack had previously owned the Rocky View Times, Airdrie Echo, Cochrane This Week and other papers.
Ian said editing was second nature to him, but it was especially exciting serving as part-owner of a paper in a town on the cusp of exponential growth.
“There was always lots going on, it seemed like a crazy but perfect idea once we got going,” Ian said.
He added the stories capturing the energy of the growing town were complimented by the work of photojournalist Patrick Price.
As they diligently worked to bring the paper out each week, Ian said, he knew they were on the right track because they would have people drop by the office to praise the paper and encourage them to keep up the good work.
“The success of The Eagle was the sum of its parts,” Ian said. “We had so many good people come and go. When we lost somebody because they moved on, we were lucky because the next person was just as good or even better.”
One never knew what to expect at The Eagle, Ian said, and the biggest stories were often the type of tales that just happened to walk through the front door of the office.
One story of particular note, "Contanimated groundwater impacts property values" by Kate Rowland that appeared in the Aug. 15, 2001 edition of The Eagle, was especially memorable.
The story detailed the saga of a small business that discovered the land it occupied was worthless due to groundwater contamination. Rona-B Lead Show Industries owner Ron Baker has been on the land since 1960, but in 1963 Dometar Inc., a wood-preserving facility, moved in next door. In 2000 when Baker went to sell the property, he discovered it had been contaminated by runoff.
Ian said it was an exciting story to cover and involved major meetings and research to uncover and write.
“We wouldn’t have had that story if he didn’t walk in with it, but we also worked with him,” Ian said. “It had an impact, it’s still something I think about today.”
It was an exciting and interesting time helping launch The Eagle, said reporter Shawn Logan— He was fresh out of Mount Royal University and met Jack writing for the Olds Albertan as a practicum student.
He was recruited to the Cochrane team and hit the ground digging up local stories for the debut paper.
“We came out storming, Jack had some very, I think, forward ideas about what he wanted the paper to be— He was the beating heart of The Cochrane Eagle,” Logan said. “As we kept going on we got bigger and we got bolder.”
The paper was Jack’s “love letter to Cochrane” and his love for the community shone through in each issue.
The enthusiasm Jack had for the paper was contagious, he said, and helped fuel the newsroom's passion for covering local news.
However, coverage was not without tragedies and tribulations. They faced a horrific car crash where six children were killed in the first weeks of the paper, then a few weeks later 9/11 hit. The news was non-stop and the staff worked to find local connections to the global tragedy.
“When world events happened that impacted Cochrane that was part of what we did,” Logan said.
The other unique aspect of the paper was ensuring The Eagle was able to foster connections with the community.
“That meant everything to Jack as a guy living in Cochrane,” Logan said. “It wasn’t just the Cochrane community, but of course it was the Stoney Nakoda First Nation too.”
Jack diligently worked to build a relationship with the Nation and ensured they had a voice in the paper. Logan said every Wednesday Jack would drive to Morley and deliver the papers to the Nation himself, spending time at the Chief Chiniki Restaurant chatting with anyone and everyone he encountered.
“I honestly think he single-handedly helped build a connection between Cochrane and Stoney Nakoda that might not have been as strong as it is now without him,” Logan said.
Ian also played a pivotal role in the success of the paper helping guide the newsroom through his wisdom and his experience.
Ian had a firm grasp of the community and understood his staff in a way that helped ensure The Cochrane Eagle could shine.
“As much as Jack was kind of the straw that stirred the drink for The Eagle, Ian was the rudder of the ship. He kept things straight and narrow and made sure we covered everything that mattered,” Logan said.
Journalist Sarah Junkin spilled ink on the first pages of The Eagle and spent 10 years with the paper.
It was thrilling to be a part of the paper as it took flight in the community, Junkin said. She added that energy was fuelled by Jack’s passion for The Eagle and the community.
“I do look back on those 10 years, as professionally, the most fun years of my life,” Junkin said.
Jack and Ian brought a rich level of knowledge to the paper and it was exciting watching them collaborate and ensure the paper was able to become a staple of the community.
“Ian was more of a classically trained journalist and was a fantastic editor, whereas Jack … Knew how to make communities work and he knew everybody in town. He was so good at getting things done,” Junkin said. “The two of them together, it was this amazing dream team.”
The community, which was smaller at the time, appreciated having a new paper that offered local news. Junkin said they could feel the support of the town as they gained traction— The paper grew in size quickly from 28 pages to more than 50.
While the town has changed over the past 20 years certain aspects of Cochrane remain the same— People are proud of their community, neighbours and volunteers that call the town home and care deeply about the stories they have to share.
“The paper is now and always was a reflection of the community— All that’s good about the community and all that’s not good about the community,” Junkin said. “The Cochrane Eagle has done a fantastic job of being a reflection of that.”
Columnist Warren Harbeck has been writing for The Cochrane Eagle since day one and has never missed an issue.
“We called it The Eagle because an eagle has a big view as well as getting up close to the details,” Harbeck said. “It puts life in context.”
Harbeck would meet with Jack at Coffee Traders and the two of them would sit crooked and talk straight about the meaningful events and people in their lives.
Jack asked Harbeck to join the team in spring 2001 and he wrote his first Coffee with Warren column “Publisher lights a symbolic candle for Eagle columnist," for the Aug. 1, 2001 issue.
For him, The Cochrane Eagle has been an invitation to know a wonderful community stretching from Stoney Nakoda First Nation to Cochrane, Bearspaw and everywhere in between.
He has had the privilege of travelling with Cochranites and learning stories from those who have journeyed abroad to as far as Antarctica, and others who have gone through personal adventures right here at home.
“The coffee cup is an invitation to conversation and I have travelled around the world with people,” Harbeck said. “I sit here and I listen to their stories.”
Jack’s Wee Jackie weighs in column was for a long time the most read article in the paper, he said, and often served to create passionate conversations in the community.
Harbeck uses his column to honour Jack and the spirit of building connections. In the back of his mind each week is celebrating inter-connected cultures and the community just like Jack would have done.
Derek Clouthier was the editor of The Eagle from 2011-15. He was manning the helm when the devastating floods of 2013 ravaged the province.
It was the most memorable event of his career and was made all the more significant because at the same time his wife gave birth to his daughter Madeline on June 25, 2013.
“We hopped in the car and left for Canmore at about 11 o’clock at night. We got stopped by a roadblock ... You had to be careful there was debris all over the highway and half of the highway was gone. It was dark out and we’re driving into Canmore dodging debris," Clouthier said. “It was fun but stressful. Probably the biggest natural disaster during my time at a newspaper and then also having my daughter being born at the same time."
During his time as editor, The Eagle boasted a big front-page photo that would draw readers in while showcasing talented photojournalists.
“A photo tells a thousand words,” Clouthier said.
Clouthier said he respects how The Cochrane Eagle has been able to maintain a hyper-local news focus, even though the paper itself may be smaller than it was in its heyday.
“People want to know about their local community. You can read about Toronto on the CBC app, but if you want to know what’s happening down the street people still like to pick up a newspaper and know what's happening in their community,” Clouthier said.
Reporter Lindsay Seewalt began working for the paper as a freelancer in June 2009. She was later enticed to join the team full-time by Jack in the spring of 2011.
She started out covering Entertainment and worked hard to build a robust section that captured Cochrane’s growing music and art scene. Eventually, she transitioned to covering Cochrane and Rocky View County councils, along with the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.
One of her more memorable and meaningful stories for The Cochrane Eagle was the naming competition held for the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge.
She was sitting at the council chambers in the Cochrane RancheHouse eagerly waiting to see if the bridge would be named after Jack. It was inspiring to see her long-time mentor honoured and learn that Cochrane appreciated his legacy just as much as the staff at The Cochrane Eagle.
“I was surprised but I was so grateful, I was so happy, I started crying in the middle of council,” Seewalt said.
The official naming of the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge was a watershed moment for Seewalt, she said, and marked the time it felt appropriate to move on from the paper.
“What kept me at the paper for a long time was, my love for journalism and storytelling of course, but also doing things that honoured Jack,” Seewalt said. “He was that last bastion of real old-school soldier journalist.”
She added Jack had a knack for finding great journalists and could spot a future Eagle in a second.
The Cochrane Eagle has turned out incredible journalists who have gone on to have established careers in the industry, launch careers in politics or achieve other types of renown.
They all share the common philosophy of keeping local news at the forefront of the paper, she said.
“What I’ve always loved about The Eagle is it was founded on great journalism and great photography— I really believe we need great journalism more than ever … I feel very fortunate I was part of something that was so incredible— Even though I know newspapers today struggle with limited resources there are still great journalists,” Seewalt said. “The Eagle has always been focussed on great journalists and hired great journalists.”
