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Tribune Media

Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 television stations across the United States and operating three additional stations through local marketing agreements. It owned national basic cable channel/superstation WGN America, regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television (CLTV) and Chicago radio station WGN. Investment interests include the Food Network, in which the company had a 31% share.

Prior to the August 2014 spin-off of the company's publishing division into Tribune Publishing, Tribune Media was the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher behind the Gannett Company, with ten daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, Sun-Sentinel and The Baltimore Sun, and several commuter tabloids.

In 2007, investors bought the company, taking on substantial debt. The subsequent 2008 bankruptcy of Tribune Company was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the American media industry. In December 2012 the Tribune Co. emerged from bankruptcy. Tribune announced its sale to Hunt Valley, Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group on May 8, 2017, but on August 9, 2018, Tribune cancelled the sale and sued Sinclair for breach of contract. On December 3, 2018, Nexstar Media Group announced that it would merge with Tribune Media for $4.1 billion. Within Nexstar, Tribune Media remains the license holder for all of the former Tribune stations retained directly by Nexstar after the Nexstar acquisition. The largest broadcast merger in U.S. history was approved in 2019.

Print pioneer
The Tribune Company was founded on June 10, 1847 when the eponymous Chicago Daily Tribune published its first edition in a one-room plant located at LaSalle and Lake Streets in downtown Chicago. The original press run consisted of 400 copies printed on a hand press. The Tribune constructed its first building, a four-story structure at Dearborn and Madison Streets, in 1869. The building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, along with most of the city. The Tribune resumed printing two days later with an editorial declaring "Chicago Shall Rise Again." Joseph Medill, a native Ohioan who acquired an interest in the Tribune in 1855, gained full control of the newspaper in 1874 and ran it until his death in 1899.

Medill's two grandsons, cousins Robert R. McCormick and Joseph Medill Patterson, assumed leadership in 1911. That same year, the Chicago Tribune's first newsprint mill opened in Thorold, Ontario, Canada. The mill marked the beginnings of the Canadian newsprint producer later known as QUNO, in which Tribune held an investment interest until 1995.

Patterson established the company's second newspaper, the New York News in 1919. Tribune's ownership of the New York City tabloid was considered "interlocking" due to an agreement between McCormick and Patterson.

The paper launched a European edition during World War I. To compete with the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's in 1924, the Tribune Company launched a weekly national magazine, Liberty, run by a subsidiary, McCormick-Patterson.

Move into broadcasting
The company entered broadcasting in 1924 by leasing WDAP, one of Chicago's first radio stations. Tribune later changed the station's call letters to WGN, reflecting the Tribune's nickname, "World's Greatest Newspaper." WGN was purchased by the company in 1926 and went on to become prominent in the radio industry.

In 1925, the company completed its new headquarters, the Tribune Tower. That same year, the company decided to fund the future Joseph Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Liberty magazine eventually exceeded Collier's circulation, but lacked sufficient advertising and was sold in 1931. The Tribune's European edition was also cut. However, Tribune launched the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate content syndication service in 1933.

With the death of Joe Patterson's sister and owner of the Washington Times-Herald, Eleanor (Cissy) Patterson, in 1948, the Tribune Company purchased the paper and operated it until 1954, when the Times-Herald was absorbed by The Washington Post. Expecting a printer's strike in November 1948, the Tribune printed their paper early, mistakenly proclaiming "Dewey Defeats Truman" in the 1948 presidential election. Tribune entered the television industry then in its infancy, in 1948, with the establishment of WGN-TV in Chicago in April and WPIX in New York City in June of that year. In 1956, the Tribune Company purchased the Chicago American from William Randolph Hearst.

In the 1960s, the company entered the booming Florida market, acquiring the Fort Lauderdale-based Gore Newspapers Company, owner of the Pompano-based Sun-Sentinel and Fort Lauderdale News in 1963 and the Sentinel-Star Company, owners of the Orlando Sentinel, in 1965. Also in 1963, the company purchased part of the defunct New York Mirror. The company increased its broadcast holdings with the acquisition of radio station WQCD-FM in New York City in 1964 and independent television station KWGN-TV in Denver in 1965. In 1967, the company began printing a tabloid serving suburban areas of Chicago, The Suburban Trib.

The corporation was reorganized in 1968 by reincorporating under Delaware's General Corporation Law, ending its Illinois incorporation, splitting its stock by four for one and forming a separate subsidiary of the Chicago Tribune.

The 1970s brought another decade of acquisitions for the company including the purchase of a Los Angeles shopper in 1973, which became the Los Angeles Daily News. In 1973, the company began sharing stories among 25 subscribers via the newly formed news service, the Knight News Wire. By 1990, this service was known as KRT (Knight-Ridder/Tribune) and provided graphics, photo and news content to its member newspapers. When The McClatchy Company purchased Knight-Ridder Inc. in 2006, KRT became MCT (McClatchy-Tribune Information Services), which was jointly owned by the Tribune Company and McClatchy.

The company stopped publishing the tabloid Chicago Today in 1974; the Tribune also began publishing all-day editions. An approval of changes to the Tribune bylaws in 1974 triggered a lawsuit by shareholders who saw this as a move towards taking the company public. The lawsuit by Josephine Albright – Joseph Patterson's daughter – and her son, Joseph Albright, was dismissed in 1979.

The Tribune Company entered first-run television syndication in 1975 with the debut of the U.S. Farm Report. The Times-Advocate in Escondido, California was purchased by the company in 1977. In October 1978, United Video Satellite Group uplinked WGN-TV's signal to satellite, becoming a national "superstation", joining the ranks of WTCG (later WTBS, now WPCH-TV) in Atlanta and WWOR-TV in New York City. During 1978, the New York Daily News saw multiple employee strikes.

In 1980, the Daily News added an afternoon edition to go head-to-head with the New York Post; this expansion failed, with the newspaper reverting to once-daily editions with the end of the afternoon edition in 1981. Also that year, the Independent Network News, an evening newscast intended for independent stations, was launched as the company's second syndicated television program, originating from WPIX. The New York Daily News was put up for sale in 1981, but a proposed deal fell through by 1982. In August of that year, Tribune purchased the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team from William Wrigley III.

In 1981, all of Tribune's television stations, which were previously under the WGN Continental Broadcasting unit, were placed under the company's subsidiary Tribune Broadcasting Company. The following year, Tribune formed the Tribune Entertainment Company as a production subsidiary to produce the company's existing syndicated programs including the U.S. Farm Report, as well as newer shows.

Public corporation
In 1983, The Suburban Trib was replaced by zone editions of the Chicago Tribune. That October, the Tribune Company became a public firm, with the sale of 7.7 million shares at $26.75 a share. In 1985, Tribune Broadcasting acquired Los Angeles independent station KTLA from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for a record $510 million. Because of the Federal Communications Commission's media cross-ownership regulations, which prohibit the ownership of a television station and newspaper in the same market, Tribune was forced to sell the Los Angeles Daily News. With the purchase of KTLA, Tribune became the fourth largest television station owner in the United States, behind the three major broadcast networks. The company acquired Newport News, Virginia newspaper, the Daily Press in 1986, but sold off the newspaper's co-owned cable television operations.

To counteract a possible hostile corporate takeover in 1987, the Tribune Company developed a plan that allowed shareholders the right to purchase additional preferred shares from a new series of stock in the event that a buyer acquired 10% of the company's common stock or a tender offer for the company. Shareholders also ratified a two-for-one stock split. Tribune Entertainment experienced success in 1987 with the launch of the syndicated daytime talk show Geraldo. In 1988, Tribune purchased five weekly papers based in Santa Clara County, California. In the wake of a dispute with some of its labor unions, Tribune sold the Daily News to British businessman Robert Maxwell in 1991.

With changes in the media industry due to greater public access to the internet in the 1990s, Tribune Publishing began to sell off some of its newspaper properties. Tribune Broadcasting steadily acquired additional stations during the decade, while Tribune itself launched two new divisions, Tribune Ventures and Tribune Education. In 1993, Tribune Broadcasting launched Chicagoland Television (CLTV), a 24-hour local cable news channel for the Chicago area.

Online editions of Tribune's newspapers were developed starting in 1995, with the Chicago Tribune's digital edition launching in 1996. Also in 1996, Tribune (holding a 20% interest) created a joint venture with American Online (which held an 80% interest) called Digital City, Inc. to set up a series of Digital City websites to provide interactive local news and information services. By 1997, Tribune Publishing had only four daily newspapers remaining in its portfolio: the Chicago Tribune, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel and the Daily Press. Tribune also set up its Tribune Ventures division to acquire stakes in newer media businesses. During the middle of that year, Tribune Ventures purchased interests in companies such as AOL (owning 4%), electronic payment specialist CheckFree Corporation (owning 5%), search engine company Excite, Inc. (owning 7%), Mercury Mail, Inc. (owning 13%), Open Market, Inc. (owning 6%), and Peapod LP (owning 13%). Also that year, the Orlando Sentinel and Time Warner Cable joined together to create the Orlando-based local cable news channel, Central Florida News 13. Tribune also purchased a 31% stake in the Food Network.

The company began the 1990s with six television stations, but changes to federal radio and television ownership regulations allowed Tribune to expand its television station holdings over the next decade. Tribune Broadcasting purchased ten additional stations by 1997, six of them acquired through that year's purchase of Renaissance Broadcasting for $1.1 billion in cash. Tribune purchased a 12.5% stake in The WB Television Network in August 1995; the company had ten of its 16 stations affiliated with the network (including five that were signed as charter affiliates through The WB's initial 1993 affiliation deal with Tribune). Tribune invested $21 million in The WB in March 1997, which increased its equity interest in the network to 21.9%.

In November 1994, Tribune Broadcasting formed a partnership with several minority partners, including Quincy Jones, to form Qwest Broadcasting. Qwest operated as a separate company from Tribune (which owned stations in a few markets where Tribune had already owned stations, including WATL in Atlanta, which was operated alongside Tribune-owned WGNX);

Tribune entered into a new business sector when it formed Tribune Education in 1993. The sector grew and provided high profit margins. Through 1996, Tribune used $400 million to purchase several publishers of education material: Contemporary Books, Inc., The Wright Group, Everyday Learning Corporation, Jamestown Publishers, Inc., Educational Publishing Corporation, NTC Publishing Group and Janson Publications. In 1996, this group was the number one publisher of supplemental education materials. Tribune Education acquired an 80.5% stake in mass market children's book publisher Landoll in 1997.

In June 1998, Tribune entered into a trade with Emmis Communications to swap WQCD-FM to the latter company, in exchange for acquiring two Emmis-owned television stations (WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan and KTZZ in Seattle, Washington). It later traded WGNX in Atlanta to the Meredith Corporation in exchange for KCPQ-TV in Seattle in March 1999. Later that year, the station purchased WEWB in Albany, New York and WBDC in Washington, D.C. Tribune Interactive, Inc. was incorporated to handle all the various websites for its publishing, television and radio, and newspaper properties. During the 1999 fiscal year, Tribune racked up $1.47 billion in profits on total revenues of $2.92 billion, in part from gains made on the sale of some of its internet investments. In February 2000, Tribune acquired the remaining 67% interest in Qwest Broadcasting for $107 million, effectively adding two more stations to its roster, increasing its reach 27% of the country.

In June 2000, Tribune acquired the Los Angeles–based Times Mirror Company in a US$8.3 billion merger transaction, the largest acquisition in the history of the newspaper industry, effectively doubling the size of Tribune's newspaper holdings. The Times Mirror merger added seven daily newspapers to Tribune's existing publishing properties, including the Los Angeles Times, the Long Island-based Newsday, The Baltimore Sun and the Hartford Courant. Through the deal, Tribune became the only media company that owned both newspapers and television stations in the three largest media markets of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, as a result of cross-ownership waivers that were approved by the FCC.

Among other advantages from the merger, including various economies of scale, Tribune's newspapers could now effectively compete for national advertising, as it has grown to become the third largest newspaper group in the country. Tribune Media Net, the national advertising sales organization of Tribune Publishing, was established in 2000 to take advantage of the company's expanded scale and scope. By 2001, revenues had grown to $5.25 billion. However, Tribune needed to pay down some of the debt that it accrued through the Times Mirror purchase; as a result, Tribune moved to sell various non-newspaper holdings operated by Times Mirror. Flight information provider Jeppesen Sanderson was sold to Boeing for $1.5 billion in October 2000. Also in October, the Institute for International Research purchased AchieveGlobal, a consulting and training firm for $100 million. Times Mirror Magazines was sold to Time, Inc. in November of that year for $475 million. Tribune divested its Tribune Education division to The McGraw-Hill Companies for $686 million in September 2000. After all these sales, Tribune still had $4 billion in long-term debt. Tribune started a joint venture with Knight-Ridder, CareerBuilder, that same year.

After the 2001 September 11 attacks, the media sector suffered a greater decrease in advertising revenue. This forced a 10% reduction in staff companywide and a $151.9 million restructuring charge.

In 2002 and 2003, Tribune Broadcasting bought four additional television stations, increasing its total television holdings to 26 stations, some of which were acquired via trades of the company's radio stations; this left its one-time radio flagship WGN (AM) in Chicago as the company's sole remaining radio station. Tribune Publishing purchased the monthly lifestyle publication Chicago from Primedia, Inc. in August 2002. Hoy, a Spanish language newspaper owned by the company, expanded with the launch of local editions in Chicago (in September 2003) and Los Angeles (in March 2004).

Tribune also launched daily newspapers targeting younger urban commuters, including the Chicago Tribune's RedEye edition in 2003, followed by an investment in AM New York. That same year, Tribune pushed for the FCC to loosen its regulations barring cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets (television and/or radio) in a single market. Tribune would have to sell either a newspaper or television station in Los Angeles, New York City and Hartford while its combination of the Sun-Sentinel and WBZL-TV in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida was given a temporary waiver. The FCC granted waivers for the other newspaper-television combinations in June 2003.

In 2006, Tribune acquired the minority equity interest in AM New York, giving it full ownership of the newspaper. The company sold both Newsday and AM New York to Cablevision Systems Corporation in 2008.

Tribune's partnership in The WB ended in 2006, when the network was shut down – along with CBS Corporation-owned UPN – to create The CW Television Network, which was a joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros. and affiliated with several Tribune-owned stations; Tribune did not maintain an ownership interest in the network.

Zell ownership
On April 2, 2007, Chicago-based investor Sam Zell announced plans to buy out the Tribune Company for $34.00 a share, totalling $8.2 billion, with the intent to take the company private. The deal was approved by 97% of the company's shareholders on August 21, 2007. Privatization of the Tribune Company occurred on December 20, 2007 with termination of trading in Tribune stock at the close of the trading day.

On December 21, 2007, Tribune and Oak Hill Capital Partners-controlled Local TV, LLC announced plans to collaborate in the formation of a "broadcast management company" (later named The Other Company). On January 31, 2008, Tribune Company announced it would purchase real estate leased from TMCT, LLC, which included properties used by the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Baltimore Sun and Hartford Courant. The company received an option to purchase the real estate for $175 million through the 2006 restructuring of TMCT, LLC.

In addition, Tribune announced the sale of Tribune Studios and related real estate in Los Angeles to private equity firm Hudson Capital, LLC, for $125 million. The parties also agreed to a five-year lease allowing its television station in the city, KTLA, to continue operating at the location through 2012.

On April 28, 2008, Tribune completed an acquisition of real estate from TMCT Partnership. On July 29, 2008, Cablevision Systems Corporation completed its purchase of Newsday from Tribune.

On September 8, 2008, United Airlines lost (and almost regained) $1 billion in market value when an archived Chicago Tribune article from 2002 about United filing for bankruptcy appeared in the "most viewed" category on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's website. Google News index's next pass found the link as new news. Income Security Advisors found the Google result to be new news, which was passed along to Bloomberg News where it became a headline (Tribune, which owns both papers, noted that one click on a story in non-peak hours could flag an article as "most viewed" ).

Bankruptcy reorganization
On December 8, 2008, faced with a high debt load related to the company's privatization and a sharp downturn in newspaper advertising revenue, Tribune filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Company plans originally called for it to emerge from bankruptcy by May 31, 2010, but the company would end up in protracted bankruptcy proceedings for another four years. With the company's overall debt totaling $13 billion, it was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the American media industry.

On October 27, 2009, Thomas S. Ricketts purchased a majority ownership (95%) of the Chicago Cubs. The sale also included Wrigley Field and a 25% ownership stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, as part of a deal designed to help Tribune restructure. In October 2010, Randy Michaels, who was appointed CEO after Zell's purchase of the company, was removed and replaced by an executive council. The New York Times had reported earlier in the month about his "outlandish, often sexual behavior" that he also exercised in his previous job at Clear Channel Communications.

Public corporation second time
On July 13, 2012, the Tribune Company received approval of a reorganization plan to allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware bankruptcy court. Oaktree Capital Management, JPMorgan Chase and Angelo, Gordon & Co., which were the company's senior debt holders, assumed control of Tribune's properties upon the company's exit from bankruptcy on December 31, 2012. Coincident with emergence from bankruptcy, company stock began trading as an over-the-counter security under the symbol TRBAA. In December 2014, over-the-counter trading ended and the company's stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRCO.

On February 26, 2013, it was reported that Tribune hired investment firms Evercore Partners and J.P. Morgan to oversee the sale of its newspapers. On July 1, 2013, Tribune announced that it would purchase the 19 television stations owned by Local TV, LLC outright for $2.75 billion. The FCC approved the acquisition on December 20, and the sale was completed one week later on December 27.

Tribune later announced its return to television production on March 19, 2013, with the relaunch of the production and distribution division as Tribune Studios (not to be confused with the former name of Los Angeles studio facility Sunset Bronson Studios).

Split and subsequent transactions
On July 10, 2013, Tribune announced that it would split into two companies, spinning off the newspapers that were part of its publishing division into a separate company. Its broadcasting, digital media and other assets (including Tribune Media Services, which among others, provides news and features content for Tribune's newspapers) would remain with the Tribune Company. The split came in the footsteps of similar spin-outs by News Corporation and Time Warner, which sought to improve the profitability of their properties by separating them from the struggling print industry. On November 20, 2013, Tribune announced it would cut 700 jobs in its newspaper operations, citing falling advertising revenue.

The split was finalized on August 4, 2014, with the publishing arm being spun out as Tribune Publishing, and the remainder of the company renamed Tribune Media.

Aborted acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group
On February 29, 2016, Tribune Media announced that it would review various "strategic alternatives" to increase the company's value to shareholders, which include a possible sale of the entire company and/or select assets, or the formation of programming alliances or strategic partnerships with other companies, due to the decrease in its stock price since the Tribune Publishing spin-off and a $385 million revenue write-down for the 2015 fiscal year, partly due to original scripted programming expenditures for WGN America since it converted the cable network from a superstation in 2014. In 2016, Tribune Media sold off real estate properties to net $409 million while authorizing $400 million in share repurchasing. In December 2016, Tribune Media sold Gracenote to Nielsen Holdings for $560 million; Tribune planned to use the sale to pay down a debt of $3.5 billion. Cash on hand was expected to pay out $500 million in dividends in the first quarter of 2017. In January 2017, Tribune Media announced that Peter Liguori would step down as President and CEO in March.

On April 20, 2017, Bloomberg reported that Sinclair Broadcast Group was considering acquiring Tribune Media, contingent on plans by the FCC's new chairman, Ajit Pai, to reinstate the "UHF discount" (a policy which makes UHF stations only count half of their total audience towards the FCC's 39% market share cap), which had been removed by Tom Wheeler during the final months of the Obama administration. The stocks of both companies rose in value in the wake of these rumors. As was expected, the FCC reinstated the UHF discount; under adjusted calculations, the two companies only had a combined market share of 42%, meaning that the combined company would be required to divest stations in order to stay below the cap. However, there was only an 11% market overlap between Tribune and Sinclair's stations.

On April 30, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that there were competing bids for Tribune from a partnership between 21st Century Fox and private equity firm Blackstone Group (under which Fox would contribute its existing station group into a joint venture with Blackstone), and Nexstar Media Group. The Fox/Blackstone deal was being proposed as a defensive measure, due to concerns by 21st Century Fox over the number of Fox-affiliated stations Sinclair would control if it acquired Tribune Media. However, The New York Times reported that Fox had not actually made a formal bid for Tribune Media.

On May 8, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group officially announced its intent to acquire Tribune Media in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the company at $3.9 billion, plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in debt held by Tribune.

The proposed sale resulted in concerns from various groups over the effects of the UHF discount on U.S. media; the Institute for Public Representation coalition filed a request for an emergency motion to stay the reinstatement of the UHF discount order pending a court challenge, echoing Wheeler's opinion that it was outdated and intended to trigger media consolidation. On June 1, 2017, a federal appeals court issued a temporary administrative stay whilst evaluating the request, and rejected it on June 15.

On July 13, 2017, a Tribune Media shareholder, identified as Sean McEntire, filed a class-action lawsuit, seeking to halt Tribune's sale to Sinclair, while former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorney Willie Briscoe has begun investigating Tribune's sale to Sinclair. On that same date, another Tribune Media shareholder, identified in legal paperwork as Robert Berg, also filed a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses Sinclair and Tribune of withholding the details of the two companies' financial projections and the processes used in valuation analyses performed by their financial advisors. Additionally, the registration statement allegedly omits information about potential conflicts of interest concerning Tribune's board of directors and one of its financial advisors. Berg further claims that stockholders are entitled to "an accurate description" of the background of the deal, including processes used by the board to arrive at their decision to recommend the merger. Without this information, Berg argues, stockholders cannot determine whether they support the deal. On July 18, 2017, a third Tribune Media shareholder, identified in legal paperwork as David Pill, also filed a class-action lawsuit which seeks to halt Sinclair's acquisition of Tribune. On July 27, 2017, the law firm of Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Tribune Media shareholders who have been harmed by Tribune's and its board of directors' alleged violations of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with the proposed merger of the Company with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

On October 19, 2017, the sale was approved by Tribune Media shareholders.

On July 16, 2018, FCC chairman Ajit Pai was reported to have "serious concerns" about the merger and proposed a hearing before an administrative law judge.

On August 9, 2018, Tribune decided to back out on the merger, and decided to sue Sinclair, alleging breach of contract.

Acquisition by Nexstar Media Group
In November 2018, sale rumors intensified again, with Byron Allen (founder of Entertainment Studios), Ion Media (in partnership with Cerberus Capital Management and Hicks Equity Partners) having reported interest  and Nexstar Media Group reported as being a leading bidder.

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar Media Group announced its intent to merge with Tribune Media for $6.4 billion and it will still be known as "Nexstar Media Group". The sale would give the company 216 stations in 118 markets, placing it just below the FCC's market cap of 39% of TV households. The sale price reflects a 45% increase in valuation over Sinclair's offer. Nexstar plans to divest some stations and "non-core" assets as part of the acquisition.

On January 21, 2019, it was reported that Nexstar Media Group has agreed to merge with Tribune Media for about $4.1 billion in cash, making it the largest regional U.S. TV station operator and will take the Nexstar name.

On August 1 of that year, the United States Department of Justice approved the deal.

The sale was approved by the FCC on September 16, and completed on September 19.

Assets

 * Tribune Broadcasting, broadcast media holdings
 * Antenna TV
 * This TV
 * Tribune Studios
 * WGN America
 * Chicagoland Television, regional cable news channel
 * Tribune (FN) Cable Ventures Inc.
 * Television Food Network, G.P. (31%, with Discovery, Inc.)
 * Food Network
 * Cooking Channel
 * Tribune Publishing, print media holdings
 * Zap2it
 * TV by the Numbers
 * CareerBuilder, an online employment website with The McClatchy Company and Gannett Company
 * Metromix, an entertainment website with Gannett Company
 * Topix
 * Tribune News Service, a publication put out by Tribune Content Agency
 * The WB, a former television network in joint venture with Warner Bros.

title: Tribune Media


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Spalding, Lincolnshire

Spalding is a market town on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The town had a population of 34,113 at the 2017 census. The town is the administrative centre of the South Holland District. The town is located between the cities of Peterborough and Lincoln, as well as the towns of Bourne, Market Deeping, March, Boston, Wisbech, Holbeach and Sleaford.

The town was well known for the annual Spalding Flower Parade, held from 1959 to 2013. The parade celebrated the region's vast tulip production and the cultural links between the Fens and the landscape and people of South Holland. At one time, it attracted crowds of more than 100,000. Since 2002 the town has held an annual pumpkin festival in October. In 2023 a new flower parade was organised by former councillor Steve Timewell. As well as the Flower Parade Spalding Roundtable also host Spalding Festival.

Ancient
Archaeological excavations at Wygate Park in Spalding have shown that there has been occupation in this area from at least the Roman period, when this part of Lincolnshire was used for the production of salt. It was a coastal siltland. At Wygate Park salt-making seems to have come to an end by the mid-7th century BC climatic change and flooding may have made such activities difficult, causing the practice to die out. The settlement's name is derived from an Anglian tribe, the Spaldingas, who settled in the area during the 6th century. They may have retained their administrative independence within the Kingdom of Mercia into the late 9th century, when Stamford became one of the Five Boroughs of the East Midlands under Danish control after years of invasion and occupation.

Domesday Book
Spalding was a settlement mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, in the hundred of Elloe and the county of Lincolnshire. It had a recorded population of 91 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and is listed under 3 owners in Domesday Book.

Households: 7 villagers. 4 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 1.5 ploughlands. 3 men's plough teams. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 1 pound in 1086; 1 pound in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 11,2
 * Land of Crowland (St Guthlac), abbey of

Households: 40 villagers. 33 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 9 ploughlands. 4 lord's plough teams. 13 men's plough teams. Other resources: 6 fisheries. 2 salthouses. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 30 pounds in 1086; 23 pounds 2 shillings and 7 pence in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 14,97
 * Land of Ivo Tallboys

Households: 5 villagers. 2 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 1 lord's plough teams. 1 men's plough teams. Other resources: 2 salthouses. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 2 pounds in 1086; 2 pounds in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 57,54
 * Land of Guy of Craon

Victorian Era
In John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887), Spalding was described as a: "market town and par. with ry. sta., Lincolnshire, on River Welland, 14 m. SW. of Boston, 12,070 ac., pop. 9260; P.O., T.O., three Banks, two newspapers. Market-day, Tuesday. Spalding is an important railway centre, while the river has been made navigable to the town for vessels of from 50 to 70 tons. It is in a rich agricultural district, and has a large trade, by river and by rail, in corn, wool, coal, and timber. It has also flour, bone, and sawmills, breweries, and coach works. There are remains of a priory of 1501, a fine old church (restored 1860), a grammar school, a corn exchange, and a spacious market place."

Draining of the Fens
The River Welland flows north from Crowland, through Spalding and passing the village and port of Fosdyke before leading out to the Wash, bisecting Spalding from east to west; the town has developed as a linear settlement around the river. Land had been reclaimed from the wetlands in the area since mediaeval times, and Spalding was subject to frequent flooding. The Coronation Channel, opened in 1953, diverted the excess waters around Spalding and ended the flooding. The area around the banks has been developed for residential and business use. Although this area has become heavily built up, there is much recreational use of the river and fishing is still popular.

Water Taxi
In July 2005 a "Spalding Water Taxi" service was launched, running from Easter to late October. Its route is from just off Spalding's High Street, upstream along the river, turning into the Coronation Channel, and then to Springfields Outlet Shopping & Festival Gardens, and back. It is mainly used as a recreational tourist attraction.

Vernatt's Drain
Around the northwest of Spalding is a large waterway called Vernatt's Drain, named after one of the Adventurers who drained the Fens in the 17th century. Philibert Vernatti was made a baronet on 7 June 1643. A South Holland council nature reserve is situated on part of the old Boston railway line at Vernatts Drain. The Drain runs from the pumping station at Pode Hole to Surfleet Seas End. Fulney Lock is the point where the Welland is no longer tidal. Spalding falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board.

Demography
The town (including the large village of Pinchbeck, to the north and the hamlet of Little London to the south) had a population of about 31,588 at the 2011 census and an estimated population of 36,737 in 2020 according to government data.

In the past concerns have been expressed about the exploitation of farm and industrial workers from eastern Europe, as well as increased pressure on local services as a result of unplanned population increase; in 2007 the local MP, Mark Simmonds, said that "the real scale [of modern slavery in the area] is unknown, but it is out of control".

Healthcare
The Johnson Hospital, named after prominent local figures, the Johnson family of Ayscoughfee Hall, is in Spalding. The maternity ward was closed in the 1990s, and it served as a casualty hospital. The elderly and care patients were cared for at the Welland Hospital. Limits on expansion due to the historic nature of the building and space limitations (it is in a densely developed area) and lack of funding are causing financial trouble for the hospital and it relocated in 2000 to a new site in the town. A new nurse-led hospital was built in 2009 off Pinchbeck Road in the north of the town, near the Pinchbeck Industrial Estate. The hospital is known as "The Johnson Community Hospital", keeping the historic connection with the Johnson family. The Princess Royal formally opened the new hospital in January 2010. This has drawn facilities from existing scattered sites into a modern central unit. The Johnson Hospital has 32 in-patient beds in the Welland Ward, including the four beds of the Tulip Suite for palliative care. There are two major local doctors' surgeries: Munro Medical Centre, West Elloe Avenue, and the relocated Church Street Surgery at Beechfield Medical Centre in Beechfield Gardens. Smaller surgeries are in surrounding villages.

The nearest major acute hospitals to Spalding are the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston (18 miles north) and Peterborough City Hospital in Peterborough (22 miles south-west).

Primary schools

 * Ayscoughfee Hall - a private school, situated near the river
 * Spalding Parish Church of England Day School- Clay Lake
 * St John the Baptist School (C of E) - Hawthorn Bank
 * St Norbert's Roman Catholic Primary School - Tollgate
 * Monkshouse Primary - Pennygate
 * St Paul's Primary - Queen's Road
 * Spalding Primary School - Woolram Wygate
 * Wygate Park Academy - Witham Road

Secondary schools
Spalding's two secondary modern schools (11-16) were the Gleed Boys' School and the Gleed Girls' Technology College. In 2012 they were combined as the Sir John Gleed School. On leaving Sir John Gleed School, many pupils transferred to nearby sixth forms or attended Boston College or New College Stamford, which both have Further Education centres in the town. In 2016, South Lincolnshire Academies Trust (SLAT) took over management of the Sir John Gleed School from CFBT, and it was renamed Spalding Academy. The town's state grammar schools (still selective by eleven-plus exam) are Spalding Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School (11-16 for boys) and Spalding High School (11-16 for girls), both of which have mixed sixth forms (16-18). There are also schools for children with special learning needs: the Priory School (for those with mild to moderate learning difficulties) and the Garth School (for those with more demanding educational needs).

Sixth Form Colleges
A vocational 6th form was established and launched in September 2008 as part of the Gleed Campus. It is not an automatic transition as with other schools in the area, like the Grammar, High, and the Deepings. Previous to this, there was no sixth-form available for pupils not attending the grammar schools, although pupils from Gleed schools can and do transfer to the Grammar and High for A-Levels.

Flowers and vegetables
Spalding is located at the centre of a major region of flower and vegetable cultivation, due to the rich silty soil, which mainly comprises drained, recovered marshland or estuary. There are many garden centres and plant nurseries, as well as a thriving agricultural industry and various vegetable packing plants. The main vegetables are potatoes, peas, carrots, wheat, barley, oats, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. The vast majority of these are sold to large concerns such as supermarkets, with little being available for sale locally. Spalding has a popular, reasonably-sized, market every Tuesday and Saturday and on the first Saturday in every month a farmers market. Local fruit and vegetable shop Booth's sells much local produce to Spalding's citizens. They sell all major fruit and vegetables ranging from the famous, locally grown 'Boston' potatoes to imported rarities such as custard apples.

Tulips
Known as The Heart of the Fens, Spalding has been long famous as a centre of the bulb industry. It has had close links with the Netherlands (origin of the Geest family, who were former major local employers). The annual Tulip Parade took place on the first Saturday in May, from 1959 and was a major tourist attraction. Its procession of floats on various themes, was each decorated with tulip petals, a by-product of the bulb industry. In years when the tulips are late, daffodils or hyacinths were sometimes used in their place. When the tulips were early, crepe paper had to be substituted. The flower industry has become less important since the early 21st century. The bands of brightly coloured tulip fields in bloom in spring that covered the fenland have decreased markedly. At its peak, the Parade attracted more than 100,000 visitors, but by 2012, fewer than 40,000 attended. That year, the Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council announced they would not fund the parade beyond 2013.

Spalding was chosen to host the World Tulip Summit in 2008, alongside a broader "Tulipmania" festival which coincided with the date of the fiftieth Flower Parade.

The Spalding Tulip Parade was revived in 2023 by Stephen Timewell and many volunteers, and paid for through crowdfunding.

Main companies

 * FESA UK Ltd: Based in Spalding since the late 1980s, are fresh produce importers and packers, part of the Spanish cooperative group Anecoop. They provide employment to a large proportion of the local population at their 130,000 square foot (12,000 m2) facilities in Clay Lake.
 * Greencore (formerly Unigate and Uniq Plc): factory for prepared salads.
 * Fowler-Welch: historically a Spalding transport company, have their UK base in the town on West Marsh Road, and were bought by the Dart Group in 1994. The company was sold on 1 June 2020 to Culina Group.
 * Bakkavör: purchased the main Spalding-based company Geest, for £485 million. It had an operation on West Marsh Road and factories in Holbeach and Peterborough. It began in 1935 as Geest Horticultural Products by John and Leonard van Geest who imported tulip bulbs to the UK. A salad preparation factory in Spalding opened in 1972. It launched on the London Stock Exchange in 1986. In 2010 Bakkavör moved its central operations and registered head office to their Spalding site.
 * EMAP: publishing company now mainly based in Orton, Peterborough. Formerly known as East Midlands Allied Press, it was started by Sir Richard Winfrey in Spalding. when he bought the Spalding Guardian in 1887. This became EMAP in 1947, and launched the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1961. Sir Richard Winfrey's first local newspapers were initially designed to promote his Liberal politics.
 * Welland Power Diesel Generators: Manufacture and build for export its range of perkins powered diesel generators.
 * Lloyd Loom of Spalding: situated on the Wardentree Lane estate, produces traditional handmade British furniture.
 * Paragon Print & Packaging: food packaging design company based in Enterprise Way.
 * Spalding Power Station: A 860 MW gas-fired Spalding Power Station was opened in Spalding in 2004 at West Marsh Road at an initial cost of £425 million. Has since been extended with a £100 million phase 2 300 MW expansion opening 2019.

Historic buildings
Ayscoughfee Hall dates from the 15th century and is now operated as a museum.

Spalding Parish Church, dedicated to St Mary and St Nicolas, was built in 1284 by William de Littleport of Spalding Priory. The tower and spire were added in 1360. The Church of St John the Baptist was built in 1875, at the same time as the adjacent Church school. St Paul's at Fulney, on the eastern side of the town, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1880 after his death. Other local attractions are the Pinchbeck Engine Museum (just north of Spalding), the Bulb Museum (situated at Birch Grove Garden Centre, Pinchbeck) and the Gordon Boswell Romany Museum, to the south of the town. The Chain Bridge Forge is a 19th-century blacksmith's forge on the River Welland; many of its original features have been preserved and it is operated as a museum. The Chatterton Tower is a prominent landmark.

War memorial
Spalding War Memorial is in the grounds of Ayscoughfee Hall and commemorates the 224 men from the town killed in the First World War. It was conceived by Barbara McLaren, the widow of the town's MP Francis McLaren, and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, known for his war memorials including the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London. It takes the form of a pavilion and a Stone of Remembrance at the head of a long reflecting pool; the names of the fallen are inscribed on the back wall of the pavilion.

Commercial and civic buildings
There are several supermarkets: a small Tesco Express store, a Sainsbury's, a Lidl and an Aldi in the centre of the town and a Morrisons in Pinchbeck. Outside of the town centre, Springfields Outlet Shopping & Leisure offers a wide range of outlet stores set in landscaped gardens designed by Charlie Dimmock and Chris Beardshaw, among others. The Castle Sports Complex provides fitness facilities throughout the day and evening. The South Holland Centre is an arts centre on Market Place that stages concerts and theatre productions and shows films.

History of the barcode
On 7 October 1979, the first barcode to be used at a shopping till in the UK was at Key Markets in Spalding.

Power stations
The new £425m, 860 MW combined cycle gas turbine Spalding Power Station, owned by InterGen, was built on the former site of British Sugar on West Marsh Road by Bechtel in October 2004. A second 300 MW expansion to the existing Power station opened in 2019. Plans were submitted in December 2021 for a £160 million scheme to build one of the world's largest battery energy storage systems on land next to the existing power station. The Spalding Battery Energy Storage System project is being proposed by owners InterGen; plans have been submitted for approval to South Holland District Council.

In mid-2006, a new wind farm (operated by Wind Prospect UK in nearby Deeping St Nicholas) became visible from much of Spalding.

Sport
The local football team is Spalding United, who play in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands. The local rugby team is Spalding RFC, who play in Midland Division - Midlands 3 South. They play at Memorial Field. The local cricket team is Spalding Town Cricket Club, who have three teams on a Saturday in the South Lincs and Border Leagues and a Rutland League team and a Friendly XI on a Sunday for 2012. This as well as youth teams at multiple age groups competing in the BCYCA Leagues. The local hockey club is Spalding HC, with the men's 1st XI playing in East Division Premier Division and the women in 1N.

Road
Spalding, like nearby Boston, is a regular destination of heavy goods vehicles transporting processed vegetables and other food produce. The A16 used to pass through the town until August 1995, when the Spalding-Sutterton Improvement (by-pass) was opened, built mostly on the closed Spalding to Boston railway line. The twelve-mile (19 km) A1073 between Spalding and Eye Green in Peterborough has been replaced by a completely new road classified as the A16, replacing the previous A16 that ran to Stamford. The older road has been renumbered as the A1175.

The town has its own bus station, Spalding bus station.

Rail
Spalding railway station is situated on the Lincoln Central - Peterborough railway line, operated by East Midlands Railway. The service is irregular, and it does not run at night or on Sundays. It does provide convenient access to Peterborough for employment and shopping. The service to Peterborough was withdrawn by BR in October 1970 as part of the closure of the East Lincolnshire route from Grimsby and Boston, but reinstated in June 1971 with a grant from Spalding Urban District Council. This was one of the first examples of this type of rail support in the UK and was not advocated in the Beeching Report. The section of the Great Northern & Great Eastern 'Joint' line from March, which carried the 'Boat Train' between Harwich and Sheffield, closed in 1982. Spalding was also on the east–west Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, which had Bourne to the West and Holbeach to the east. It closed in February 1959, ending through passenger services from Leicester to Great Yarmouth via King's Lynn and Norwich. Local freight, mainly farm produce, continued to be carried between Bourne and Sutton Bridge until 1964.

On 4 May 2002, Spalding had the honour of having a main-line diesel locomotive named after it. Class 31 diesel No. 31106, in immaculate condition after a major works overhaul, hauled the 'St James Tripper' excursion to Peterborough from Preston via Doncaster, Lincoln and Sleaford, and made a brief stop at the station to have its 'Spalding Town' nameplates unveiled by Colin Fisher, Chairman of South Holland District Council. No. 31106 was owned by Norfolk-based businessman and author Howard Johnston, who was born at nearby Cowbit and educated in the town. The locomotive was employed on Network Rail track measurement trains all over the United Kingdom, but was sold in 2020. A replica 'Spalding Town' nameplate was presented to SHDC for public display.

Television
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the Belmont TV transmitter, BBC East Midlands and ITV Central can also be also received from the Waltham TV transmitter.

Radio
The town is served by both BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and BBC Radio Lincolnshire. Other radio stations are Smooth East Midlands (formerly Connect FM), Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire and Lincs FM. The town had a community radio station, Tulip Radio, which broadcast from 2009 until it was uprooted in 2017.

Newspapers
The town's local newspapers are Spalding Today and Spalding Voice.

Timeline

 * 750BC - AD410 - Archaeological evidence of people living in the area of Spalding during the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval period
 * 1015 - A Benedictine Priory was founded by Thorold de Bokenhale
 * 1086 - The town is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Spallinge'
 * 1284(c) - St Mary and St Nicolas, Spalding was built as a parish church by the priory under Prior William de Littleport de Kurphery Frederick
 * 1377 - The White Hart Inn of the Market Place is built
 * 1430s - Ayscoughfee Hall built by Richard Alwyn
 * 1566 - Mary, Queen of Scots, stopped overnight at the White Hart in the Market Place
 * 1588 - The Spalding Grammar School, originally located within the parish church, was founded
 * 1590s - Spalding's first drains constructed.
 * 1650 - Sir John Gamlyn founded almshouses in Spalding
 * 1688 - Maurice Johnson was born at Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding on 19 June
 * 1710 - Maurice Johnson founded the Spalding Gentlemen's Society Museum, which is now the second-oldest museum in the country
 * 1767 - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (1712–1778), Philosopher and writer, stayed at the White Hart Inn during May of this year
 * 1768 - Holland House, described as the finest house in Spalding, was built by William Sands Junior
 * 1774 - Matthew Flinders was born at nearby Donington on 16 March. He went on to be the first person to circumnavigate Australia
 * 1801 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 3,296
 * 1805 - The Friends Meeting House was built in Double Street
 * 1826 - Spalding's last house of correction was built. It closed down in 1884
 * 1831 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 6,497
 * 1838 - The High Bridge over the River Welland was re-built
 * 1842 - The Sessions House in Sheep Market was built
 * 1847 - The Spalding Free Press newspaper was founded
 * 1848 - The Great Northern Railway opened their railway station in Spalding
 * 1851 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 8,829
 * 1852 - William Bramwell Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, accepts leadership of the Methodist Reform circuit in Spalding
 * 1854 - Spalding Cemetery was consecrated in November
 * 1855-56 - The Corn Exchange was built
 * 1857 - The Butter Market was opened
 * 1858 - The police station was built
 * 1860 - An Act was passed to pipe fresh water to Spalding from Bourne
 * 1866-67 - St Mary and St Nicolas, Spalding was extensively restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott
 * 1870 - Goodfellows National School was opened
 * 1871 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 9,111
 * 1874 - The ecclesiastical parish of St. John the Baptist was formed on 1 December from the civil parishes of Spalding and Pinchbeck
 * 1875 - The Church of St John the Baptist and the primary school next door to it, with the same name, were built
 * 1875-76 - The Church of St. Peter, on the site of the old Abbey, was built
 * 1878 - Spalding's Roman Catholic church in Henrietta Street, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and St. Norbert, was built
 * 1878 - Frank Pick was born, who became the CEO of London Passenger Transport Board and architect of the 'modern' typography still used on the Underground today
 * 1880 - St Paul's Church in Fulney was built to designs drawn up by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a member of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society - he also designed buildings for Boston, Lincolnshire, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and other areas
 * 1881 - The present grammar school building in Priory Road was erected
 * 1884 - Spalding's last house of correction was closed. Part of the site is now occupied by Spalding Library
 * 1887 - The Methodist church in Broad Street was opened
 * 1891 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 9,014
 * 1916 - Spalding Arts and Crafts Society was founded by surgeons at the Johnson Hospital for convalescent soldiers wounded in the First World War. Spalding Town Council sponsored their first exhibition in 1918
 * 1921 - Spalding United F.C. was formed
 * 1923 - Spalding RFC was formed
 * 1941 - In May, during World War II, a stray Luftwaffe bomber dropped its bombs on Spalding, destroying much of Hall Place and causing damage to several businesses. The raid killed 5 people
 * 1958 - The first Spalding Flower Parade took place
 * 1959 - Closure of M&GN railway ends direct passenger services from Leicester to Great Yarmouth via Bourne, Holbeach, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, King's Lynn, Fakenham and Norwich
 * 1960 - St Nicolas Players Amateur Dramatic Society was formed in Spalding. The group's name was based on their use of the St. Nicolas Church Hall for early meetings
 * 1965 - Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society formed
 * 1967 - Barbeque 67 took place, featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Geno Washington, Cream and Pink Floyd. Jimi Hendrix stays at the Red Lion Hotel
 * 1970 - Closure of East Lincolnshire line ends direct rail services to Boston, and through services from Grimsby to London
 * 1974 - In April Spalding moves from Holland local authority (based in Boston) to the new South Holland council, based in Spalding. South Holland is the larger of the two former districts of Holland
 * 1977 - Location filming for episodes of BBC TV series Murder Most English, starring Anton Rodgers, based on novels by Lincolnshire author Colin Watson. The town was used for the fictional Flaxborough
 * 1982 - Closure of GN&GE 'Joint Line' railway to March
 * 2001 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 25,780
 * 2002 - Main line railway locomotive named 'Spalding Town' in ceremony at the station
 * 2004 - A New 860 MW gas-fired Spalding Power Station was opened in Spalding at West Marsh Road at a cost of £425 million
 * 2004 - Springfields Outlet Centre opened in May
 * 2008 - Tulip Radio was awarded a full-time broadcasting licence from Ofcom and it started broadcasting in early 2009 but closed in 2017
 * 2009 - The Johnson Community Hospital, a Nurse Led Hospital was opened off Pinchbeck Road in the north of the town
 * 2011 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 31,588
 * 2016 - The first Spalding Festival is held. A community beer and music festival organised by Spalding Round Table that donates tens of thousands of pounds to good causes in the local Community.
 * 2020 - Spalding Railway Station completed a major £2.5 million refit improving accessibility at the station by installing lifts. Its Grade II listed three storey main building also received an internal and external facelift
 * 2021 - The population of Spalding, according to the government data, was estimated to be 36,737
 * 2021 - Spalding’s Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) was opened on the 1 April 2021, in the upgraded Johnson Community Hospital
 * 2023 - Ayscoughfee Hall and gardens had a £375,000 upgrade by South Holland District Council
 * 2023 - Spalding's Castle Sports Centre awarded £25 million from the Central Government Levelling Up fund

Video

 * Pathe newsreel, 1922, ice skating
 * Pathe newsreel, 1929, Daffodil Harvest
 * Pathe newsreel, 1968, Tulip Parade

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Spalding, Lincolnshire


text:
Hardtack

Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense biscuit (British English) or cracker (American English) made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.

Etymology
The name is derived from "tack", the British sailor slang for food. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1830.

It is known by other names including brewis (possibly a cognate with "brose"), cabin bread, pilot bread, sea biscuit, soda crackers, sea bread (as rations for sailors), ship's biscuit, and pejoratively as dog biscuits, molar breakers, sheet iron, tooth dullers, armor plates (Germany) and worm castles. Australian and New Zealand military personnel knew them with some sarcasm as ANZAC wafers (not to be confused with Anzac biscuit).

History
The introduction of the baking of processed cereals, including the creation of flour, provided a more reliable source of food. Egyptian sailors carried a flat brittle loaf of millet bread called dhourra cake, while the Romans had a biscuit called bucellatum. King Richard I of England left for the Third Crusade (1189–1192) with "biskit of muslin", which was a mixed grain compound of barley, bean flour, and rye. The more refined captain's biscuit was made with finer flour. Some 5th century BCE physicians, such as Hippocrates, associated most medical problems with digestion. For sustenance and health, eating a biscuit daily was considered good for one's constitution.

As the hardtack biscuits softened with time due to exposure to humidity and other weather elements, they became more palatable, so the bakers in the 12th century made biscuits as hard as possible. Because it was baked hard, it would stay intact for years if kept dry. For long voyages, hardtack was baked four times, rather than the more common two, and prepared six months before sailing. Because it is dry and hard, hardtack (when properly stored and transported) will survive rough handling and temperature extremes.

In the 1500s, the Knights of Malta brought ship-biscuits from Naples and Sicily to Malta.

In 1665, Samuel Pepys first regularized naval victualing in the Royal Navy with varied and nutritious rations, to include "one pound daily of good, clean, sweet, sound, well-baked and well-conditioned wheaten biscuit". By at least 1731, it was officially codified in Naval regulation that each sailor was rationed 1 lb of biscuit per day.

Hardtack, crumbled or pounded fine and used as a thickener, was a key ingredient in New England seafood chowders from the late 1700s.

In 1801, Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton, Massachusetts, selling "water crackers", biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages from the port of Boston. These were also used extensively as a source of food by the gold prospectors who migrated to the gold mines of California in 1849. Since the journey took months, hardtack was stored in the wagon trains. Bent's company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War. The G. H. Bent Company operated in Milton and sold these items to Civil War re-enactors and others until 2018.

By 1818, the United States Navy had outlined that each sailor was to be given 14 ounces of bread per day as part of their daily ration while serving onboard in the form of hardtack. The procurement of these stores was the responsibility of the ship's Purser, and was not strictly outlined by the Board of Navy Commissioners.

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), 3 by hardtack was shipped from Union and Confederate storehouses. Civil War soldiers generally found their rations to be unappealing, and joked about the poor quality of the hardtack in the satirical song "Hard Tack Come Again No More". The song was sung to the tune of the Stephen Foster song "Hard Times Come Again No More", and featured lyrics describing the hardtack rations as being 'old and very wormy' and causing many 'stomachs sore'. John Billings, a soldier in the 10th Massachusetts Battery, outlines many details on how hardtack was utilized during the war in his book Hard Tack and Coffee.

With insect infestation common in improperly stored provisions, soldiers would break up the hardtack and drop it into their morning coffee. This would not only soften the hardtack but the insects, mostly weevil larvae, would float to the top, and the soldiers could skim off the insects and resume consumption. The weevils "left no distinctive flavor behind." Some men also turned hardtack into a mush by breaking it up with blows from their rifle butts, then adding water. If the men had a frying pan, they could cook the mush into a lumpy pancake; otherwise they dropped the mush directly on the coals of their campfire. They also mixed hardtack with brown sugar, hot water, and sometimes whiskey to create what they called a pudding, to serve as dessert.

Royal Navy hardtack during Queen Victoria's reign was made by machine at the Royal Clarence Victualing Yard at Gosport, Hampshire, stamped with the Queen's mark and the number of the oven in which it was baked. When machinery was introduced into the process, the dough was thoroughly mixed and rolled into sheets about 2 yd long and 1 yd wide, which were then stamped in one stroke into about sixty hexagonal shaped biscuits. The hexagonal shape saved material and time and made them easier to pack compared to the traditional circular shaped biscuit. Hardtack remained an important part of the Royal Navy sailor's diet until the introduction of canned foods; canned meat was first marketed in 1814, and preserved beef in tins was officially introduced to the Royal Navy rations in 1847.

As early as the Spanish–American War in 1898, some military hardtack was used by service members in etching or writing notes, often commemorating events or coined with phrases of the time.

Cocket bread
Cocket bread was a type of bread in England, as referenced in the Assize of Bread and Ale (temp. incert.) (c. 1266), where it is one of several kinds of bread named. It seems to have been hard sea-biscuit, which perhaps had then some mark or seal (a cocket) on it; or else, was so called from its being designed for the use of the coxswains, or seamen.

Modern use

Commercially available hardtack is a significant source of food energy in a small, durable package. A store-bought 24-gram cracker can contain 100 calories (20 percent from fat) from 2 grams of protein but practically no fiber.

Asia
Ma Bo mentioned hardtack as being a staple food of Chinese hard-labor workers in Inner Mongolia, during the Cultural Revolution.

Hardtack was a staple of military servicemen in Japan and South Korea well into the late 20th century. It is known as Kanpan (乾パン) in Japan and geonbbang (geonppang, 건빵) in South Korea, meaning 'dry bread', and is still sold as a fairly popular snack food in both countries. (Canned kanpan is also distributed in Japan as emergency rations in case of earthquake, flood, or other disaster.) A harder hardtack than Kanpan, called Katapan (堅パン), is historically popular in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka, Japan as one of its regional specialty foods. In Korea, geonppang (hardtacks) mixed with byulsatang (star candy) as a medley is considered a popular snack.

Europe
Hardtack, baked with or without the addition of fat, was and still is a staple in Russian military rations, especially in the Navy, as infantry traditionally preferred simple dried bread when long shelf life was needed. Called galeta (галета) in Russian, it is usually somewhat softer and more crumbly than traditional hardtack, as most varieties made in Russia include at least some fat or shortening, making them closer to saltine crackers. One such variety, khlyebtsy armyeyskiye (хлебцы армейские), or "army crackers", is included in Russian military rations. Other brands enjoy significant popularity among the civilian population as well, both among campers and the general populace.

In Genoa, hardtack was and still is a traditional addition to a fish and vegetable salad called cappon magro.

In Germany, hardtack is included in every military ration and colloquially known as Panzerplatten (armor plates) or Panzerkekse (armor cookies/tank cookies). Due to conscription for many years a large part of the male population knew about them from their service and thus they became somewhat popular even in civilian use. The company that makes them also sells them unaltered to the civilian market. They are said to have many properties, some jokingly assigned, such as the ability to combine them with standard issue shoe polish to create a flammable device, or to glue them onto vehicles to increase their armor protection. One quality, liked by many soldiers, is its ability to hinder one's need to defecate, some claiming they did not need to defecate for three days after consuming large quantities of them.

In Poland, hardtack wafers (known by their official name: Suchary Specjalne SU-1 or SU-2 – Special Hardtacks) are still present in Polish Army military rations. In military slang they are jokingly called Panzerwaffel (tank or armor wafers), a pun on Panzerwaffe, the Wehrmacht armored motorized forces (the German words Panzer and Waffe mean "tank" or "armor" and "weapon", respectively). They are also popular amongst civilians, and are a common part of a meal in some regions.

Melanesia
Hardtack remains popular today in Papua New Guinea. The Lae Biscuit Company, which is the most commonly found and popular brand in that country, makes multiple varieties of hardtack.

Canada

Hardtack is a mainstay in parts of Canada. Purity Factories is one maker of traditional hardtack. They specialize in a high density, high caloric product that is well suited for use by expeditions.

Located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, they currently produce three varieties of hardtack:
 * The first variety, a cracker similar to a cross between an unsalted saltine and hardtack, Crown Pilot Crackers. It was a popular item in much of New England and was manufactured by Nabisco until it was discontinued in the first quarter of 2008. It was discontinued once before, in 1996, but a small uprising by its supporters brought it back in 1997. This variety comes in two sub-varieties, Flaky and Barge biscuits.
 * The second is Hard Bread, a traditional hardtack, and is the principal ingredient in fish and brewis, a traditional Newfoundland and Labrador meal.
 * The third variety is Sweet Bread, which is slightly softer than regular hardtack due to a higher sugar and shortening content, and is eaten as a snack food.

United States
Interbake Foods of Richmond, Virginia, produces most of the commercially available hardtack in the United States, under the "Sailor Boy" label. As of January 2015, 98 percent of its production goes to Alaska. Alaskans are among the last to still eat hardtack as a significant part of their normal diet. Originally imported as a food product that could endure the rigors of transportation throughout Alaska, hardtack has remained a favored food even as other, less robust foods have become more readily available.

Alaskan law requires all light aircraft to carry "survival gear", including food. Therefore, the blue-and-white Sailor Boy Pilot Bread boxes are ubiquitous at Alaskan airstrips, in cabins, and in virtually every village. Unlike the traditional hardtack recipe, Sailor Boy Pilot Bread contains leavening and vegetable shortening.

Hardtack is also a common pantry item in Hawaii, and The Diamond Bakery's "Saloon Pilot" cracker is available there in grocery and convenience stores. The round hardtack crackers are available in large- and small-diameter sizes.

Those who buy commercially baked hardtack in the continental US are often those who stock up on long-lasting foods for disaster survival rations, though these usually take the form of food ration bars or freeze dried meals rather than traditional hardtack.

Many other people who currently buy or bake hardtack in the US are Civil War re-enactors. The 3rd US Regular Infantry Reenactors, for example, often cook many recipes during their reenacting camps, to include hardtack.

title: Hardtack


text:
Dorothea Puente

Dorothea Helen Puente (Gray; January 9, 1929 – March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. In the 1980s, she ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and murdered various elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing their Social Security checks. Puente's total count reached nine murders; she was convicted of three and the jury hung on the other six. Newspapers dubbed Puente the "Death House Landlady".

Background
Dorothea Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (Yates) and Jesse James Gray. Both parents were alcoholics, and Puente's father repeatedly threatened to kill himself in front of his children; he died of tuberculosis in 1937. Her mother, who worked as a sex worker, lost custody of her children in 1938 and died in a motorcycle accident by the end of the year. Puente and her siblings were subsequently sent to an orphanage, where she was sexually abused.

Puente's first marriage at age 16, in 1945, was to a soldier named Fred McFaul, who had just returned from the Pacific theater of World War II. They had two daughters between 1946 and 1948; Puente sent one child to live with relatives in Sacramento, and placed the other for adoption. She also suffered a miscarriage.

In the spring of 1948, Puente was arrested for purchasing women's accessories using forged checks in Riverside. She pled guilty to two counts of forgery, serving four months in jail and three years' probation. Six months after her release, she left Riverside. Later that year, Puente's first husband left her.

In 1952, Puente married merchant seaman Axel Bren Johansson in San Francisco. She created a fake persona, calling herself "Teya Singoalla Neyaarda", a Muslim woman of Egyptian and Israeli descent. They had a turbulent marriage; Puente took advantage of Johansson's frequent trips to sea by inviting men to their home and gambling away his money.

Puente was arrested in 1960 for owning and operating a bookkeeping firm as a front for a brothel in Sacramento; she was found guilty and was sentenced to ninety days in the Sacramento County Jail. In 1961, Johansson had Puente briefly committed to DeWitt State Hospital after a binge of drinking, lying, criminal behavior and suicide attempts. While there, doctors diagnosed her as a pathological liar with an unstable personality.

Puente and Johansson divorced in 1966, although she continued to use Johansson's name for some time following their separation. She assumed the identity of "Sharon Johansson", hiding her delinquent behavior by portraying herself as a devout Christian woman. She established her reputation as a caregiver, providing young women with a sanctuary from poverty and abuse without charge.

In 1968, Dorothea married Roberto Jose Puente. After sixteen months, the couple separated, with Dorothea citing domestic abuse. She attempted to serve him with a divorce petition, but he fled to Mexico; the divorce wouldn't be finalized until 1973. The two would continue to have a turbulent relationship, and Dorothea filed a restraining order in 1975. She would continue to use the surname Puente for more than twenty years.

Following her divorce, Puente focused on running a boarding house located near 15th and F streets in Sacramento. She established herself as a genuine resource to the community to aid alcoholics, homeless people and the mentally ill by holding Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and assisting individuals to sign up to receive Social Security benefits. She changed her public image to that of a respectable older matron by putting on vintage clothing, wearing large glasses, and by not dying her greying hair. She also established herself as a respected member of the local Hispanic community, funding charities, scholarships and radio programs. She eventually met and married Pedro Angel Montalvo, though Montalvo abruptly left the relationship a week after their marriage.

On December 21, 1978, Puente was convicted of illegally cashing thirty-four state and federal checks that belonged to her tenants. She was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution.

Victims
On January 16, 1982, Puente picked up Malcolm McKenzie, 74, from a bar and took him back to his apartment. He reported that Puente had slipped something into his drink before robbing him of coins, watches, and other jewelry, including a diamond ring belonging to his mother, which she removed from his finger while he was incapacitated.

On April 28, 1982, Ruth Munroe, 61, was found dead due to respiratory depression, caused by a massive overdose of codeine. Munroe was reportedly in good health when she arrived at Puente's home just over two weeks prior to her death; however, by April 25, she told a friend, "I am so sick I feel like I am going to die." Munroe's death was originally ruled an "undetermined overdose," but later classified as a homicide.

On May 16, 1982, Dorothy Osborne, 49, found checks, credit cards, and other items missing eight hours after Puente visited her home and prepared her a drink.

In July 1982, Puente was convicted of three grand theft charges. She was sentenced to five years in prison, state parole until March 21, 1986, and her federal parole sentence was extended another two years, until 1990. During her incarceration, she began corresponding with Everson Theodore Gillmouth, a 77-year-old retiree from Oregon. At the beginning of September in 1985, Gillmouth came to Sacramento with his truck and trailer and arrived at Puente's boarding house. On September 9, 1985, after serving only half her sentence, Puente was released from prison, whereupon she was picked up by Gillmouth and Ricardo Ordorica, a close friend who lived with his family in the downstairs flat at 1426 F Street. In October 1985, Puente wrote to Gillmouth's sister informing her that she and Gillmouth were to be married on November 2. A short time later, Puente hired a handyman, Ismael Carrasco Florez, to remodel, and asked him to build a 6-foot by 30-inch by 30-inch storage box. She agreed to give him Gillmouth's truck and $800 as payment. The day after he completed the box, he returned to find the box nailed shut. Puente asked Florez to help her take the box, which now weighed approximately 300 pounds, to a storage location, but ended up dumping the box near a river about an hour away from Sacramento. On December 28, 1998, it was determined that Gillmouth was the previously unidentified body discovered by a fisherman alongside the Sacramento River on January 1, 1986. Gillmouth's body was wrapped in numerous plastic bags and covered with a bed sheet held in place by electrical tape. Moth balls and "blue toilet deodorizer" were also found inside the box. It was later discovered that after Gillmouth's death, Puente mailed fake letters and cards to his sister in an attempt to make her believe he was still alive. Puente was also found to have forged Gillmouth's signature on his truck's certificate of title, and continued cashing Gillmouth's benefit checks until July 1986.

In the fall of 1986, Betty Mae Palmer, 78, arrived at Puente's boarding house. On October 14, 1986, Puente obtained a California ID card with her photo and Palmer's name. Two months later, the mailing address on Palmer's social security checks was changed to Puente's F Street address. Puente forged Palmer's signature and cashed nearly $7,000 worth of benefit checks belonging to Palmer. In November 1988, Palmer's partially dismembered body was discovered in a shallow hole in Puente's front yard. Her head, hands, and lower legs were never found. Toxicology reports revealed the presence of Doxylamine, an over-the-counter antihistamine, as well as Haloperidol and flurazepam, both of which were previously prescribed to Palmer. She was identified on January 24, 1989, through comparison to previous medical X-rays.

On October 21, 1986, Puente summoned a notary to the hospital room of Leona Carpenter, 78, following a flurazepam overdose. She was given power of attorney over Carpenter and began cashing her social security checks just ten days later. In December, after Carpenter was released from the hospital, she went to live with Puente. Once again, Carpenter returned to the hospital, and just a few weeks after she was discharged, in February 1987, she disappeared. In November 1988, her body was found in the southeastern corner of Puente's yard. Toxicology reports of Carpenter's brain tissue revealed the presence of codeine, diazepam, and flurazepam.

In February 1987, James Gallop, 62, moved into Puente's home. On July 20, 1987, a potentially malignant tumor was found in Gallop's colon. He agreed to further testing, but Puente later contacted his doctor's office, notifying them that he had gone to Los Angeles indefinitely. Gallop's body was found buried under a gazebo in Puente's yard in November 1988. Toxicological testing of Gallop's brain and liver revealed the presence of amitriptyline, nortriptyline, phenytoin, and flurazepam.

In July 1987, Eugene Gamel, 58, was found dead of an apparent suicide, having overdosed on amitriptyline and ethanol. Puente, who was Gamel's landlady, said he had a history of suicide attempts. Though Puente was never charged with Gamel's murder, he was considered a possible victim.

On October 2, 1987, Vera Faye Martin, 61, was sent to live with Puente. Starting October 5, 1987, Puente forged a number of Martin's social security checks, totalling over $7,000. On October 19, 1987, Martin failed to contact her daughter on her birthday, which she had done each year. In November 1988, Martin's body was found buried under a metal shed in Puente's yard. Toxicology reports of her brain and liver revealed flurazepam.

On October 21, 1987, Dorothy Miller, 65, was placed in an upstairs flat in Puente's home. She introduced Miller to Ricardo Ordorica, and the following November, Ordorica became the representative payee for Miller's social security benefits. Just weeks after her arrival, Miller had disappeared, and on November 20, 1987, Puente hired a carpet cleaner to remove a large "pile of foul smelling slime" in Miller's room. Puente continued to forge Miller's checks, totalling over $11,000, after she was no longer at her house. Miller's remains were later discovered buried under a slab of concrete, near some rose bushes. Tissue samples from Miller's brain revealed the presence of carbamazepine and flurazepam.

On November 29, 1987, Brenda Trujillo sent a letter to the Social Security office in Sacramento, accusing Puente of stealing her social security checks, totalling $3,500. Trujillo met Puente in the Sacramento County Jail in 1982 and the two later shared a prison cell. After her release, Trujillo moved into Puente's boarding house, where Puente helped her apply for social security benefits. Trujillo claimed that Puente drugged her and called her parole officer, causing her parole to be revoked, before Trujillo received the checks.

In February 1988, Alvaro "Bert" Gonzales Montoya, 51, arrived at Puente's home. In March, an application designating Puente as Montoya's benefits payee was filed. At the end of August, a roommate saw a man clearing Montoya's clothes out of the closet. He missed an appointment on August 29 and was last seen on August 24. Puente told several people that Montoya went to Mexico to visit his relatives. Social workers continued to attempt to contact Montoya in September and October to no avail. In November, Puente asked Donald Anthony, a former convict who had been working in her yard, to contact the social worker, pretending to be Montoya's brother-in-law. He agreed, and called stating his name was "Michel Obergone" and that he picked up Montoya from the F Street house and took him to Utah. The social worker was suspicious and told Puente that she was going to call the police. On November 10, the social worker received a letter, purportedly from "Michel Obergone," wrapped in a paper towel to avoid finger prints. Days later, Montoya's body was found buried adjacent to Carpenter. Toxicology testing revealed the presence of loxapine, flurazepam, diphenhydramine, amitriptyline, and carbamazepine. Montoya had prescriptions for all of the drugs except for carbamazepine.

On March 9, 1988, Benjamin Fink, 55, was sent to live with Puente. Fink's brother visited him on a weekly basis, for six weeks. By the end of April, Fink was gone. Another tenant reported smelling a foul odor emanating from his room, but was told by Puente that it was a sewer backup. On April 29, Puente received 12 bags of cement. That June, she had a hole dug next to the door of the metal shed which was later filled in with concrete. In November, Fink's body was discovered in this area, wrapped in plastic knotted bedspread, secured with duct tape, and covered with blue absorbent pads. His toxicology report revealed the presence of amitriptyline, loxapine, and flurazepam.

Arrest
On November 7, 1988, police spoke with John Sharp, a former resident, about the disappearance of Montoya. Initially, Sharp told police that he had seen Montoya two days earlier, but then slipped a note to the officer that said, "She wants me to lie to you." He later met with an officer to tell his story. On November 11, 1988, a detective returned to Puente's residence and, with her permission, began digging in areas that appeared to be recently disturbed. Thirty minutes later, he discovered the first body. Just hours after a body was discovered in her backyard, Puente slipped away from police. On November 13, 1988, an all-points bulletin was issued for Puente.

On November 16, 1988, Charles Willgues, along with Gene Silver, of CBS, alerted police to Puente's whereabouts at a motel in Los Angeles. Willgues met Puente, who was using the alias Donna Johansen, the day before at a nearby bar. He later recalled seeing her on a CBS morning newscast and reached out to Gene Silver, who met with Willgues at his apartment. The two contacted local law enforcement and Puente was arrested the same day.

Trial and conviction
On November 17, 1988, Puente was flown from the Hollywood Burbank Airport to Sacramento, escorted by police, and booked in the county jail. She was then formally charged with the murder of Montoya.

On March 10, 1989, criminal charges against Florez were dismissed due to the statute of limitations expiring three years after Gillmouth's body was discovered. Florez was later granted immunity for his testimony against Puente.

On March 31, 1989, an amended complaint was filed, charging Puente with nine counts of murder, with special circumstance, qualifying it as a death penalty case. According to investigators, most of her victims had been drugged until they overdosed; Puente then wrapped them in bed-sheets and plastic lining before dragging them to open pits in the backyard for burial. By May 24, 1990, the prosecutor rested his case for the preliminary hearing to determine whether the case could proceed to trial, having called 71 witnesses and introducing 108 exhibits. On June 19, 1990, a judge ruled that there was "ample circumstantial evidence" to send Puente to trial, and on July 31, 1990, Puente pleaded not guilty.

After numerous delays, on October 19, 1992, a judge ruled that Puente would face all nine murder counts, and that all cases would be heard in Monterey County. On December 21, 1992, twelve jurors, consisting of eight men and four women, were selected for Puente's trial. The following month, six alternate jurors, five women and one man, were selected to back up the twelve regular jurors.

Puente's trial began on February 9, 1993. By the conclusion of the trial, 156 witnesses testified, more than 3,100 exhibits had been submitted, and over 22,000 pages of transcript were recorded. After deliberating for eleven days, on August 2, 1993, the jury told Judge Michael J. Virga that they were deadlocked on all nine counts of murder and asked for further instruction. The next day, Virga ordered the jury to resume their efforts to break the deadlock. On August 26, 1993, Puente was convicted on three counts of murder: Benjamin Fink, Leona Carpenter, and Dorothy Miller. The jury, after deliberating for thirty five days, remained deadlocked on six cases: Ruth Munroe, Everson Theodore Gillmouth, Betty Mae Palmer, James Gallop, Vera Faye Martin, and Alvaro Gonzales Montoya.

During the penalty phase of the trial, jurors found themselves deadlocked once again, and on October 13, 1993, Puente was spared the death penalty. On December 10, 1993, she was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. She was incarcerated at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California.

On August 28, 1997, an appellate court in San Jose affirmed Puente's murder convictions, but ordered an examination of juror misconduct allegations. After a three-day hearing, on September 25, 1998, judge William D. Curtis rejected each allegation of jury misconduct in Puente's trial.

Death
Puente died in prison at Chowchilla on March 27, 2011, from natural causes; she was 82.

Media
Puente has been featured on numerous true crime television shows, including Crime Stories, Deadly Women, A Stranger in My Home, World's Most Evil Killers, and Worst Roommate Ever.

In 1998, Puente began corresponding with Shane Bugbee. The result was Cooking with a Serial Killer (2004), which included a lengthy interview, almost fifty recipes, and various pieces of prison art sent to Bugbee by the convicted murderer. Jodi Picoult mentions Puente's crimes and cookbook in her novel House Rules.

The boarding house at 1426 F Street in Sacramento was included in the 2013 home tour held by the Sacramento Old City Association. It was then the subject of the 2015 documentary short The House Is Innocent and was again opened to tours for one day in conjunction with a local film festival's showing of the film.

title: Dorothea Puente