[5] The Carmel Pine Cone was founded in 1915 by William L. Overstreet who proclaimed in the first four-page edition of 300 copies, "we are here to stay!

Two months later Easton entered a joint venture with Allen Griffin, owner of the Peninsula Daily Herald.

[9] After four months, Easton sold his business shares to Griffin and Perry Newberry was brought on as the paper's editor and co-publisher.

Under him, the Pacific Grove Tribune wrote the Pine Cone "reflected the personality of the artists' colony as portrayed by Newberry, one of the old guard."

The Santa Ana Register at the time described the paper as "a high class news and literary weekly in the northern art colony.

Editorial content was described by one Los Angeles Times reporter as a "blend of hokey local features and aggressive news coverage and advocacy.

"[2] The TV show 60 Minutes did a piece on the Pine Cone after the paper successfully registered a fake person to vote.