1400 Broadway NE
PO Box 2048
Salem, Or 97308-2048
Phone 503-364-4431 or 800-882-6789

Capital Press, a Salem based, weekly, agricultural newspaper of 38,000 circulation, began in 1928 as Hollywood Press in the Hollywood area and farms of north Salem. It converted in 1932 to Capital Press and called itself a statewide weekly paper. After World War II, Capital Press became increasingly an agricultural paper. It still is and is now the largest agricultural publication in the Northwest, circulating in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and into Central California. Founder of the newspaper in 1928 was A.M. Church.

In 1946, Church sold the newspaper to Henry Hanzen, a Portland lawyer, and Dewey A. Rand Sr., a Portland insurance agent who had served in the Army in both world wars and had been active in Portland politics in the 1930s. Rand and Hanzen focused Capital Press more and more on the diverse, small scale agriculture of the Willamette Valley and built a thriving classified ad business. As was the case on other weekly papers in rural Oregon, Rand did everything at one time or another: ad sales, editor and then publisher.

Rand, a native of Baker County, was a staunch Democrat, advised several Oregon governors and took strong positions in his 'Passing in Review' column in Capital Press. He eventually bought out Hanzen and officially retired in 1985 at age 86. Rand's son, Dewey A. Rand Jr., joined the newspaper in 1955 and succeeded his father as publisher. Like his dad, Dewey Jr. worked in all phases of the paper in advertising, circulation, reporting and editorial writing. With his long-time general manager, Bill Anderson, he stretched Capital Press coverage into the Washington side of the Columbia Basin and into Idaho.

Dewey Jr. served on dozens of Salem and agricultural organizations and Salem's City Council, School Board, Planning Commission and Hospital Board, Oregon Government Ethics Commission, SEDCOR Board, Oregon 4-H Foundation, Capitol Health Care Board, the Oregon Board of Agriculture and many others. Like his father, the younger Rand served in two wars in World War II and the Korean war as well as the Army Reserve. He also served in the National Guard.

The two Rands built the newspaper into prominence in the Northwest and also supported agriculture through a wide range of scholarships and other grants. The Capital Press building has been at North Broadway and Hood since 1963. Before that, the newspaper offices were at 270 N. Commercial, downtown. Capital Press had its own press until about 1980, but growth in pages moved the Rands to start contracting with the Statesman Journal to print the weekly paper.

In 1991, Rand sold Capital Press to the East Oregonian Publishing Co., owned by the Forrester and Aldrich families who operate papers in Pendleton, Astoria, John Day, Enterprise and Long Beach, Wash. Rand died in 1998. Present publisher of Capital Press is Mike Forrester.

The history was written by Mike Forrester, president of the East Oregonian Publishing Co and publisher of Capital Press.