The history of news: Part VI

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
With Leonard Cash
 
To start the sixth installment of his series on the News Letter Journal (which at this point was a daily paper), historian Leonard Cash pulled out his records from the 1930s, which reported on the resignation of J.M. Barker, a former member of the News Letter staff.
According to an article from Aug. 6, 1935, Barker purchased a weekly newspaper in Eureka, Mont., so the experienced Frank Roberts from Deadwood, South Dakota, came to fill the void, but that wasn’t the only addition. 
“The Daily News Letter-Journal received an addition to its carrier staff last Saturday evening in the person of an 8½-pound boy born to Mr. and Mrs. William Baldwin,” the article said, and his name was Junior. 
Around the week of Oct. 15, 1935, the News Letter received some interesting news. Former editor Ora G. Franzine, who also served as mayor in Newcastle from 1926 to 1930, was tried for manslaughter on Oct. 4. Franzine was involved in a car crash in which a person died, but the jury found him innocent within six minutes. During the time of that publication, the Franzines published a weekly newspaper in Blaine, Wash.
The Oct. 13, 1936, edition of the paper announced the marriage of the Franzines’ daughter, June Wheeler, to Maruis A. Karason in Seattle on Aug. 21. Her first husband was Lee Wheeler, who was working as a radio announcer in Lincoln, Neb.
A few weeks later, the News Letter was moving out of its current building (the Nichols building) into what is now Patrick Crow’s law office (behind the post office), as reported in the Oct 29, 1935, issue. At that time, it was called the Durkee building. Two years later, according to Cash’s records from Jan. 7, 1937, the county commissioners declared the News Letter as the official paper of Weston County for the next two years. 
Shortly after, the June 15, 1937, issue reported that J. Ray Parrish of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., became the new editor and publisher of the News Letter. Former publisher D.G. Richardson was leaving to become the new manager of the Rock Springs Daily Rocket, “the largest newspaper in southwestern Wyoming,” where he was filling in after the resignation of Harry C. Duntsch. 
Cash said Richardson’s mother-in-law was Mrs. Dow, wife of the frequently mentioned “Contractor Dow” and whom Dow Park is named after.
The paper reported on July 2, 1937, that Richardson came to Newcastle to help his family finalize their move to Rock Springs, which took place the following week, according to the July 6 issue. They had “made a vast number of friends” in Newcastle, who would miss them. 
After running a daily paper (five times a week) for three years, the Aug 27, 1938, issue said that after careful consideration, the News Letter staff was switching back to a weekly paper due to the inability to support a daily publication. They were “proud” of the work they did and would continue with their “complete news coverage” of the local area in the weekly editions. The paper had been in business for 49 years.
Around Oct 31, 1940, William Titus filed a $10,000 lawsuit against the News Letter, but Judge Harry P. Ilsley dismissed the case. 
On Feb. 26, 1948, the office staff received a letter that sent them on a journey through memory lane. 
“Last weekend the News Letter received an ‘Old Opera’ house bill which was used in Newcastle in 1895 to advertise a show which was put on with local talent,” the article said.
A few months later, the Journal received another blast from the past. On July 8, 1948, the former “Printers Devil” for the Newcastle-News Journal in 1907, C. F. Rhine, also known as “Frank,” came back after an odd number of years to pay a visit to his old friends before heading to Sheridan to visit his siblings. 
“Frank had a pretty hard time locating his friends as he left in the spring of 1913 and many changes have taken place both in the town itself and its personnel,” the article said. Rhine, along with his wife and daughter, was moving to Hawaii to live with his son, Clarence, who was in the U.S. Navy and the “Chief Mine Man” at Pearl Harbor. 
The Aug. 4, 1949, edition of the paper announced that the News Letter was relocating again as soon as construction was finished on its new building, which is the one where the paper is currently located. Parrish bought the land from the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization and contractor V.C. Thompson said the project would take an estimated two more months. The building was to be 120 feet by 25 feet and constructed of brick and tile, with the front composed of “plate and brick glass.” 
In an article from May 5, 1932, it was reported that this lot was originally a tennis court. During the time that article was written, the tennis court was in the process of being built but was not yet completed. According to Cash, it was finished. Mrs. Fred Horton and C.W. Dow owned it at the time, and the city was “cooperating in the enterprise that this much needed recreational facility (could) be made available to the many tennis enthusiasts here.”
News reports of Oct. 20, 1949, said that the building’s completion was expected at the end of the month and was “somewhat larger” than the previous building. The front wasn’t finished yet, and “a number of misfortunes” occurred that week for the News Letter staff because the machinery had already been moved to the new location, but the office was still operating in the old building. However, they were hoping for everything to be back to normal by Oct. 31.
The former office of the News Letter (now Crow’s law office) was being used for George Butler Photographer Studios, according to an article from Feb. 23, 1950.
Three years later, the May 14, 1953, issue reported that the paper had bought a new model 33 linotype machine, which was the “latest type setting machine on the market.” It was hoped to make a “big improvement in the appearance of the News Letter.” 
This machine now resides at the Anna Miller Museum, Cash said, for people to see. 
On Aug. 19, 1954, both the city of Newcastle and the News Letter Journal celebrated their 65th anniversaries. To commemorate the event, the paper gave a brief recap of its history and included much of what has been covered in the past five installments of “History on Main.” 
Newcastle received a visit from Franzine, reported the July 28, 1955, paper, because he was “renewing acquaintances.” The article gave a brief update on his life since moving away from town. 
“He presently owns the Valley Independent at Fabens, Texas which he leased April 1 and since that time he and his wife traveled in 16 states,” the article said. 
 
Next week, Cash plans on wrapping up his seventh and final installment on the history of the News Letter Journal.