Merrick County, Nebraska - Chapter 14: Merrick County Journalism - 1872-1875, 1898

Chapter 14: Merrick County Journalism - 1872-1875

mERRICK County's first newspaper appeared at Lone Tree on the 2 1st day of March, 1872, and was called "The Merrick County News." It was edited by Henry Kelsey, now the editor of the Renville Times, of Olivia, Minn. The paper was what is technically known as a six-column folio with "patent" outside. Mr. Kelsey was a comparative stranger to Lone Tree life, and the first issue of his paper was devoted almost exclusively to advertisements and locals referring thereto. Yet much that is now of interest appeared in the new paper, and we shall devote the larger portion of this chapter to an inventory of its contents, believing that therein we shall enable our readers to find much unwritten history, and a clearer impression of what Lone Tree in 1872 consisted.

The list of jurors drawn for the March term of court reveals a good many names familiar to the old settlers, and more or less well-known to the present generation. The list was as follows:

Omaha Market

The subscription price of this first paper was $2 per year, and its advertising rates $100 per column per year, and as much for the same space for six months as is now asked for one year. Of course the smalluess of the field and the scant patronage necessitated these com- paratively high prices, but, aside from "legal" psironage, there was little more profit in the newspaper business of those days than in the present.

We turn from the perusal of this pioneer paper with a clearer knowledge of the days in which our fathers lived and of the people who composed the early population of our county.

Less than one year after the establishment of the News, political complications (the usual cause!) produced a second aspirant for jour¬ nalistic honors, in the "Lone Tree Sentinel,"* with Col. W. H. Webster and George A. Percival as editors. From a previously published letter of Mr. Percival's we gain the following information concerning the new enterprise:

Powell, Wm. A. Perry, G. P. Purvis, Edward Porter, J. A. Persons, F. D. Parkhurst, E. N. Persinger, J. M. Peters, Ezra Page, Adolphus Porter, W. A. Persinger, N. R. Reynolds, John Root, D. T.

*An interesting evidence of the trials of early newspaper life in our county is found in the following note, which appears just after the delinquent tax-list in the Sentinal of August 13, 1873:

The Sentinel was started as a "railroad paper," to advocate the carrying of the Midland Pacific Railroad bonds, and in opposition to the News, which, after advocating the bonds for a time, suddenly flopped to the other side.

Newspaper changes were as frequent, however, in those early days as in these latter years, and after five months' occupation of the editor¬ ial chair Messrs. Webster & Percival yielded it to Mr. L. Waters, who managed to stay in it for about a month, making way then for Mr. Ira Prouty. The latter got out one issue, and then, concluding that it had done enough for the world, let it die a peaceful death the following week, after a little over six months' existence.

In the early part of 1874 Geo. A. Percival and L- Waters bought out the Merrick County News, and on the 9th day of April, 1874, issued the first number of the Lone Tree Courier. But by August a new management, Hutchings & Bowerman (M. C. Hutchings and S. R. Bowerman), had stepped in, with Hon. Ed Parker as editor. The next change, whereby "Dick" Steele came into possession of Mr, Hutchings' interest, brings us into the history of Central City. So we will leave the subject for the present, and speak of the further changes in their proper places.

Note. - From the Merrick County News we extract the following evidence that the way of the politican even in the early days was not one of luxurious ease. The matter occupied about one-third of a single column and was heavily displayed: