Foghorn News is currently running its 88th volume of the newspaper. Its history traces back to 1937, leaving a long-winded account of Del Mar’s history in its wake. What has happened in those 87 years? That’s what I’m going to find out. Welcome to The Port Hole, where I’ll be digging up Foghorn archives and telling you about what I could find.
Some of you might be wondering, “why the Port Hole?” To which my answer has to do with its historical significance. Let’s go back to the November 27, 1935 edition of The College News, which was Del Mar’s, then Corpus Christi Junior College’s, first newspaper. The name ‘Port Hole’ was in this issue, with a series of questions following it.
So, the name Port Hole was in the first issue, big whoop. Why does that matter? It comes into bat by the next issue, released on January 17, 1936. On that issue, the newspaper sported a brand-new name: The Foghorn, or The Fog Horn, if the article announcing the name change is to be believed.
This decades-old name was submitted by a man named E.B. Barwis, for no specific reason. The writer speculated that it may be because he is “always groping in the dark.” If you understand what that means, you’re a better reader than I am. The Foghorn name was selected by the student body in a poll, and Barwis received “ a pound of luscious chocolates for his brain-racking efforts.”
But another name was considered and made it to second place in the vote. That name was The Port Hole, though it ultimately stayed as the name of the aforementioned column. Even then, the writer is a liar, because the column’s name was changed to Thru the Porthole, and displayed possibly humorous answers to the last issue’s questions.
While The Foghorn was ultimately chosen as the name of Del Mar College, or Corpus Christi Junior College’s newspaper, The Port Hole is the newspaper we could have been. Now, we are bringing it back as the column it was. Tune in next issue when I (barely) disprove a piece of Del Mar College history!
