[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE MEMORY OF JOHN MORROW DERBY, PRESIDENT OF MID-VALLEY 
                              PUBLICATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. DUARTE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 14, 2024

  Mr. DUARTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of John 
Morrow Derby, a legend of Central Valley journalism who spent 60 years 
in the newspaper business.
  Mr. Derby was the publisher of five local weekly newspapers, 
including the Merced County Times, the Atwater-Winton Times, the Hilmar 
Times, the Hughson Chronicle, and the Waterford News. He also served as 
president of the parent company Mid-Valley Publications.
  Mr. Derby was known for coining the local slogan and business mantra, 
``The Power of Positive Press.'' He was an avid sailor, a member of the 
Lake Yosemite Sailing Association, and a longtime member of the Merced 
Sunrise Rotary Club.
  John Derby first came to the Central Valley in the 1950s, studying at 
Fresno State and serving in the military toward the end of the Korean 
conflict. In Korea, he picked up the journalism bug when he pursued an 
assignment to write about the operations of nine battalions from Seoul 
to Panmunjom where the peace talks were held.
  Mr. Derby would eventually end up in Merced in 1961 after landing a 
reporting job at the Sun-Star. Over the course of six decades, he 
started multiple newspapers across the Central Valley. Mr. Derby once 
wrote, ``Life without being a newspaper man is about the most boring 
thing in the world. The ink really is in my blood . . . I am here to 
stay and do what I have loved to do all my life--and that is to cover 
the lives of people in our community in a positive way.''
  Last Christmas, he wrote a deeply personal message to some of his top 
staffers: ``You are full grown, and capable newspaper people. You have 
learned all the lessons it took me 60 years to learn and more. Now it 
is your duty to teach others the art of good honest journalism . . . 
May your ship of life sail true. May the ocean be wide and the currents 
be strong. May the winds blow hard. May you sail on, through the fury 
of those winds, and come out whole.''
  Throughout his six-decade career in journalism, John Morrow Derby 
exemplified ``The Power of Positive Press'' with his devotion to his 
community and his steadfast dedication to fairness, decency, and truth.
  It was an honor to have known him, and upon his passing, I would like 
to extend my sincere condolences to his family and express my deepest 
sympathies to his beloved Mid-Valley Publications team.

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