SLO County newspaper publisher, Special Olympics advocate dies: 'He was always there'

Tribune - 2/1/2023

Feb. 1—Friends and family members remembered late journalist Richard "Dick" Blankenburg as a loving and supportive man who filled a gap in South County news coverage, advocated for special needs education and helped bring the Special Olympics to San Luis Obispo County.

Blankenburg, former editor and publisher of the Five Cities Times Press-Recorder, died Jan. 28 at age 86 after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease, daughter Cindy Blankenburg said.

Cindy Blankenburg, part of the third and final generation of the Blankenburg family to work at the Times Press-Recorder, said her father and grandfather used their work at the Arroyo Grande-based publication to "highlight the good things about the community."

"The philosophy was that (people) should appear in the newspaper three times: when they get married, when they die and (when) something good in their life happens to them," Cindy Blankenburg said.

Jim Gregory, a South County author and historian, called the Times Press-Recorder a "nursery for really, really good reporters" during the 1970s and 80s that produced high-quality journalism.

When Gregory was attending Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo in the 1970s, Dick Blankenburg and his brother, Kent, helped produce and print the community college's newspaper, The Cuestonian.

Dick Blankenburg was "endlessly patient" while training student journalists, Gregory recalled.

"There's nothing to me that smells better than fresh newsprint," Gregory said. "Getting a stack of newspapers from camp the next day for distribution to Cuesta College was always a big deal — it was a little bit like Christmas morning."

The Blankenburg family purchased the Times Press-Recorder in 1959, Cindy Blankenburg said, and ran the newspaper until its sale to the ownership of the Santa Maria Times in 1998.

The Times Press-Recorder published its final issue in 2016, after 129 years in operation.

According to his daughter, Dick Blankenburg was involved in several community programs, including the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande Valley Harvest Festival and the Special Olympics.

Blankenburg's son, Rick, has Down syndrome, and empowerment of special needs programs was a priority for the Blankenburgs, Cindy Blankenburg said.

"Dick and wife Maxine Blankenburg established the first support group for parents of children with special needs and they helped bring Special Olympics to San Luis Obispo County in 1969, one year after the organization was started," Cindy Blankenburg told The Tribune, adding that her brother competed in the local Special Olympics.

According to Gregory, the Blankenburgs also served as the de facto resource in South County for families of special needs children and advocated for the introduction of special education in local schools.

"The Blankenburgs were an ad hoc advisory to the parents with kids like Rick," Gregory said.

Dick Blankenburg received several awards and commendations throughout his life, his daughter said.

Blankenburg was named Citizen of the Year in 1991 by the Arroyo Grande Chamber of Commerce and received the Golden Apple Award from the Lucia Mar Unified School District for his support of education, Cindy Blankenburg said.

Dick Blankenburg and his son Rick were also honored by a 2019 proclamation by Arroyo Grande Mayor Caren Ray Russom for their 50 years of involvement in Special Olympics, Cindy Blankenburg said.

Despite his busy work and personal life, Blankenburg said her father made every effort to make time for his children.

"He was always there, and my mom too, to make sure that we felt loved and felt supported and encouraged to do the best we could," Cindy Blankenburg said. "He would tell us, 'You don't have to be a superstar, but just go out there and do your best.'"

Since her father died, Blankenburg said, local journalists, Special Olympics athletes and others have been reaching out to say "what an impact (he) made, whether it was through journalism" or another field.

"He gave them their first job, or he just coached (them on) .... how to become a better writer, a better newspaper person or a better person in general," Cindy Blankenburg said.

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