The very first Voice cover.

When the first eight-page edition of the newspaper now known as The Voice-Tribune hit the streets in 1949, the lead story heralded the upcoming St. Matthews Potato Festival.

My, how times have changed.

The Voice-Tribune is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and we’re taking a look back on how it all got started.

When The Voice was first published on July 14, 1949, the paper was simply called St. Matthews, Your Community Newspaper.

But that first edition also announced a contest to come up with a name for the paper. The winner would receive $100 (which is about $900 in today’s dollars).

The winning name was The Voice of St. Matthews, submitted by 4-year-old Martha “Cissy” May.

The new name debuted on Aug. 11, and although the paper has undergone several name changes through the years – The Voice-Jeffersonian, The New Voice and finally The Voice-Tribune – it’s simply been known as The Voice for most in the community.

Early history
The Voice was started by publisher James K. Van Arsdale III.

The paper filled a void in the rapidly growing suburb of St. Matthews, and within three years, it grew from a small-tabloid size paper to a full broadsheet (as it remains today).

In March 1950, St. Matthews was incorporated. As Jefferson County’s East End neighborhoods began to grow, a battle ensued between the community and the city of Louisville, which tried to annex the area. The merger never happened, and The Voice provided a forum for public debate over the issue.

Schansberg years
Al Schansberg bought the paper in 1952 and was the publisher through the early 1970s. During his ownership, he bought The Jeffersonian, the Jeffersontown-based newspaper. After two years of publishing the two papers independently, they merged in January 1966, and the merged paper became The Voice-Jeffersonian.

Bittner's has been an advertiser with The Voice sine the paper's early days.

It was called The Voice-Jeffersonian when Schansberg sold it in May 1971 to Bruce Van Dusen, who sold it in 1979 to giant newspaper chain  Scripps-Howard, which owned several local papers under the Voice umbrella.

Besides The Voice, Scripps-Howard published The Highland Herald, The Middletown Mirror, The Jefferson Reporter, The Okolona Observer, The Southwest News, The Jeffersonian and Prospect News.

Scripps wanted to develop a strong network of papers around the community, but soon abandoned its plan and sold The Voice to Bill Matthews in July 1981.

After about a year, Matthews sold The Voice to John Waits, who ran it until the paper ceased publication in September 1986 due to financial reasons.

The Voice’s nearly 40-year history seemed to be at an end, but John Harralson Jr. bought the name and assets of The Voice on the courthouse steps, and the paper began publishing again on April 1, 1987.

As the new publisher, Harralson was responsible for boosting The Voice’s circulation and for adding his ever-popular picture pages of notable folks enjoying themselves around town. You’ll still find his photos in the Society section each week.

Harralson changed the name of the paper to The New Voice to reflect a change in ownership, and in 1994, he changed the name to The Voice-Tribune.

Although originally a St. Matthews paper, The Voice has grown into Louisville’s premier society publication, with subscribers across Louisville and the country.

Harralson sold the paper to Bruce Besten in January 2005. Besten sold the paper to current owner, Blue Equity, headed by Jonathan Blue, in June 2007.

The paper has grown to new heights in the last two years with the launch of a completely redesigned Web site and the addition of popular columns such as The Dish and Hot Seats. And the Best Dressed of Louisville event, which will be held Aug. 29 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, has taken on a life of its own, becoming one of the premier charity events and fashion shows of the year.

The next 60 years look bright.