Our Mission

We have been reporting the news in Wrightwood, Phelan, Pinon Hills and West Cajon Valley  for 65 years. 

Our newspaper has gone through many changes, but our commitment to providing accurate and timely information has remained the same.

In 1961, Tom Pinard quietly celebrated the first edition sitting in a backroom in the village of Wrightwood.  Supporters plunked down a nickel that evening for the first paper, four pages filled with 20 columns of news and a few ads.  This was the start that formed Wrightwood's first newspaper. 

Tom added the Progress edition in 1965, creating the Mountaineer Progress and connecting links between the three communities of Pinon Hills, Phelan, and Wrightwood. He combined the two newspapers with the Mountaineer on the front page, and then flipping the paper, you would find the Progress Newspaper on the reverse front page. 

The support of the newspaper by the community grew, and subscriptions continued to increase. The newspaper was published every week and delivered through the mail, sold at local retail and street racks. Mostly hometown news, the Mountaineer Progress embraced the rural life.  In the early days, the Village of Wrightwood consisted of mostly vacation cabins. Park Drive had a few shops, a small market, and a couple of small restaurants. 

Phelan and Pinon Hills rural areas had many homestead properties. There were two schools locally. Phelan Elementary and Wrightwood Elementary.
Tom covered all the news of the Tri-community. He could be found at the local cafe patio talking to neighbors for news items. But even then the newspaper needed advertisement to cover costs. He was known to have accepted payment for advertising in pies.  The subscriptions continued to grow as the community realized the Mountaineer Progress was going to be around for some time. Tom did various jobs on the side while building the legacy of the Mountaineer Progress. 

He worked with a small staff collecting stories and interviewing locals. The personal touch is what made the Mountaineer Progress work. As the Tri-community grew and new businesses moved in, Tom found more advertising revenue. The surrounding cities in the High Desert were advertising in the Mountaineer Progress as the population of the Tri-Community grew.

The Mountaineer Progress was a newspaper worth of outside investors. The Tri-Community was growing leaps and bounds, and so was its newspaper. The Brehms Communication purchased the Mountaineer Progress from Tom. Tom retired and remained in Wrightwood.  Brehms Communication, who published 40 daily newspapers in four states, published the Mountaineer Progress for eight years.

In 1997, the Mountaineer Progress was sold to Steve and Vicky Rinek. The husband and wife team published the newspaper for 29 years. Together they  carried on the tradition of a hometown newspaper as Tom Pinard had visioned. 

In 2026, Monique and Michael Teal purchased the paper and are committed to keeping the legacy of all it's previous owners alive. As the new editor and publisher of the Mountaineer Progress, Monique is committed to belief that this newspaper belongs to its readers. She is grateful for all the writers and photographers who contribute to making the Mountaineer Progress an integral part of these communities.