Happy birthday — to us!

Today marks the 150th milestone in the rich history of the Altoona Mirror, one of the most iconic institutions in Central Pennsylvania and one of the state’s respected news organizations.

Newspapers don’t typically cheer for themselves — we want to report the news, not make it — but we’re asking for an exception today.

Founded on June 13, 1874, by Harry E. Slep and George J. Akers as the Evening Mirror, like any business that has survived and thrived this long, we have persevered through many changes.

You can read all about them in today’s 56-page tabloid that commemorates this special milestone.

We think it’s a keepsake that links generations of readers and employees who have made the Mirror part of their daily lives.

Only a few businesses in Blair County history have reached 150 years, and we’re honored to be one of them.

Reader Doug Madden said he reads the Mirror from cover to cover each day and added, “It goes hand and hand with my morning coffee.”

We appreciate that sentiment and see it that way, too.

Newspapers hold a unique place in society, an invited guest who shows up day after day on kitchen tables around the world.

Similar to a family member, there are times when we make you proud of us, but other times you question a coverage decision, or a viewpoint. And, of course, we’ve made unintentional mistakes that we offer to correct.

Hopefully, though, the good has far outweighed the not-so-good as we have chronicled the region’s history, from

elections to local government to the highs and lows of sports.

One of our former publishers, Ed Kruger, had a saying, “Newspapers make everything better,” and we’ve subscribed to that.

If there was an explosive city council meeting, the coverage the next day provided the context of the disagreement.

If there was an act of heroism from a fire, the coverage provided the emotion of fear and gratitude.

When there are everyday community supporters, their contributions are made better by our ability to humanize them and share their motivation for involvement.

And, of course, when sports teams experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, we’ve been there to capture the moment and help preserve its historical significance.

Newspapers and news organizations don’t rest on their laurels because they can’t afford to — there’s another edition to get out the next day.

In that regard, no matter the responsibility a newspaper worker has — and especially so for our carriers — it’s a relentless and exhilarating, daily mindset.

Just like the grass keeps growing, the clock keeps ticking toward another deadline.

It adds up, at least to us, to be one of the great American values, and if this sounds like a house ad, indulge us on this day: For an average of 78 cents per day — six days a week, 313 editions per year — your newspaper can be delivered.

That’s less than most vending machines charge for a bottle of water or soda, which don’t go as well with the paper as your coffee.

When the Slep family sat down in 1874 and decided to start printing a newspaper called the Mirror to cover Altoona, Blair County and Central Pennsylvania, we wonder if they thought it would still be around in 150 years.

And how they’d feel to know that it is and that their great-great-grandson, Dan Slep, is the Mirror’s publisher.

We can only guess our founders would be pretty darned proud.

Because that’s how we feel today.