Officials Honor Late Publisher Fred Zehnder
One year following the tragic death of our publisher, Fred Zehnder, government officials are honoring him with proclamations, and potentially the renaming of a street in his honor.
On June 21, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the San Leandro City Council both issued statements proclaiming June 27 as Fred Zehnder Day and commending his family, friends, business partners, and the newspaper staff for providing an invaluable service that keeps the community connected.
“The San Leandro Times is what keeps this community together,” said San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter. "I always look forward to Thursdays when the Times comes out because I could tell if I was going to have a good day or a bad day. But Fred’s work and the work at the Times was always something we paid attention to because it has that community cohesiveness.”
Following the Alameda County Supervisor’s presentation, District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley commented that he would instruct his staff and the Castro Valley MAC (Municipal Advisory Committee) to seek potential sites in town where the county could rename a street in Fred’s honor.
“I will be working with the MAC and Public Works to see where we could make this happen,” Miley said.
A representative with US Congressman Eric Swalwell's office said an official proclamation honoring Zehnder in the Congressional Record is also being prepared.
Zehnder was born March 5, 1934, in Lakeport, California where he grew up on a dairy farm with his three surviving brothers. In 1944, he established the Scotts Valley News at the age of 10 and delivered 50 copies of his one-page weekly, which he reported, wrote, edited, and printed by himself.
He attended Humboldt State College in 1952, where he majored in journalism and later worked part-time at a radio station in Eureka, California. After graduation, Fred was drafted into the Army at age 22. Posted to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he worked at an Army public information office.
In 1988, Fred became the news director for KTVU-TV FOX 2 in Oakland where he hired notable on-air talents such as Dennis Richmond, Barbara Simpson, Elaine Corral, Leslie Griffith, Julie Haener, weatherman Bill Martin, and sports anchor Mark Ibanez. Fred retired from KTVU in 1999.
Never one to slow down, Fred founded the San Leandro Times and later purchased the Castro Valley Forum in 1991.
Fred was never married and never had children. He lived a quiet life doing what he loved most. He loved panning for gold in the 60s and 70s in the Sierra foothills on weekends. Fred loved gardening. He also loved English sports cars and drove a Triumph TR4 and a Rover in the 60s and 70s. He also drove a Plymouth Valiant in the early 60s that had a push-button transmission.
“Fred was living his dream,” said Fred’s sister-in-law Isabelle Zehnder. “We all know he wasn’t done. He was healthy and vibrant and had much life left to live. He was taken in such a tragic and abrupt way that it has left his family, the Morrison’s, and his extended media family in shock and disbelief. He will be greatly missed.”
Fred died on June 27 at the age of 87 after being hit by a car in his Alameda neighborhood. Michael Alexander Williams, 31, was charged by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.