USA > California > Los Angeles County > Pasadena > History of Pasadena, comprising an account of the native Indian, the early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the colony, and the incorporated city, occupancies of the Rancho San Pasqual, and its adjacent mountains, canyons, waterfalls and other objects of interest: being a complete and comprehensive histo-cyclopedia of all matters pertaining to this region > Part 28
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* Mr. H. C. O'Bleness set the type and printed the Pasadena Chronicle from its first number until February, 1884, when types and press were first brought to Pasadena, The same man is now with the Kingsley-Barnes & Neuner Co., and was assistant foreman on the work of printing this History.
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full charge and ran it in his own name as editor, with Frank and Walter Ward as associate editors.
In November, 1883, H. W. Magee and J. W. Wood bought the paper and tried their 'prentice hand as editorial helmsmen. In January, 1884, Magee sold his interest to J. E. Clarke ; and the only copy of the Chronicle that I have been able to find, bore date " Thursday, January 24, 1884. Vol. I, No. 24. J. E. Clarke and J. W. Wood, editors and proprietors." It contained a report of a meeting of about forty persons, just held at the Sierra Madre Villa hotel, to talk up a College project for Pasadena. It mentioned that the Public Library was open only on Wednesdays and Sat- urdays from 2 till 4:30 p. m .; Wm. Doyle, acting librarian. It gave only four churches-the Methodist, then meeting in Williams Hall; the Presby- terian, in their own house down on California street; the Episcopal and the Baptist societies met in Library Hall. It gave as a local item of note, that on Monday, January 21, 1884, 517 letters were received at the Pasa- dena postoffice, and two sacks of papers. Its printing was still done at Los Angeles. But in February, a practical printer named E. N. Sullivan was added to the firm ; a stock of type and a hand press were bought; the paper was enlarged to eight columns per page, it having had only six be- fore ; and the name was changed to
PASADENA AND VALLEY UNION. -- The first issue was on Saturday, February 16, 1884, by the three-headed firm of Clarke, Wood & Sullivan. And as an historic incident of this time, Mr. Wood writes me :
"J. W. Hugus kindly lent his assistance to put 'in case' the first supply of type ever brought to Pasadena. He worked a week gratis, 'just to get his hand in,' as he expressed it then, for he was an old printer."
Sullivan soon dropped out, leaving the firm as Clarke & Wood again. Then on November 22, 1884, Mr. Clarke, on account of continued illness, sold his interest to Mr. Wood and retired, and the plucky J. W. W. carried it alone till about Christmas week, when he met with an accident by which a leg was broken and his back severely injured, so that he had to give up all business for the time. And on January 10, 1885, he sold the establish- ment to Charles A. Gardner, an old experienced editor, who at once took hold of the concern with vim and enterprise.
April 10, 1885, J. E. Clarke comes on deck again, having bought from Gardner a half interest in the paper; and from this date the firm was Gardner & Clarke. In April, 1886, during Citrus Fair week, a small daily called Union Junior was issued, and the Los Angeles Times of April 15, said :
" The latest addition to the family of Southern California journalism is the Pasadena Union Junior. The "Gem's" little, but a lively daily. Mother and child are doing well, and "the old man "-Br'er Gardner-is likely to pull through."
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This was the first daily ever published in Pasadena; * but after Fair week the Union Junior dropped down to a semi-weekly instead of a daily issue.
June 25, 1886, a practical printer named Athel B. Bennett became a partner, and the paper once more had a three-headed firm to devour its revenues. On August 6, they issued a great commercial and industrial edition of eight pages -a sort of "boom " sheet.
September 1, 1886, J. E. Clarke bought Gardner out, so the firm was now Clarke & Bennett. They suspended the Union Junior, but on Sep- tember 26 they enlarged the weekly, making it nine columns instead of eight to the page. Bennett soon retired, and Clarke became sole proprietor.
The next move was to form a stock company, which was accomplished, and the " Union Publishing Co." was incorporated June 16, 1887, the in- corporators being P. M. Green, J. E. Clarke, J. E. Howard, R. M. Furlong, W. U. Masters, J. W. Wood, and Bayard T. Smith. The business flourished and went on well until the real estate boom collapsed ; then every kind of business fell into a sort of sickly decline. Clarke and Howard sold their stock to Dr. John McCoy ; and in April, 1887, he became its editor. Its decline was now more rapid, and bankruptcy both in business and prestige soon followed. The Publishing Company made assignment to J. W. Wood, who became manager and editor.} Mr. Wood is a man of grit and pluck; and he held his grip and kept the paper going for nearly a year longer, in spite of very embarrassing adverse conditions. The owners of the plant were now J. W. Wood, W. U. Masters and R. M. Furlong, the two latter being leading democrats, while Mr. Wood, the editor, was a republican. The Union's business and good will were finally sold August 31, 1888, to the Daily Star ; but the plant, which was leased to the weekly Journal during its short struggle for existence without survival as the fittest, was at last sold off in detached lots as opportunity offered. And Mr. Wood writes pathetically : "The poor Union died of too much 'management ; ' but it was on an expense-paying basis when I sold it to the Star."
THE PASADENA STAR .- This paper was first issued on Wednesday, Feb- ruary 9, 1887, as a weekly, 8-column folio, edited and published by H. J. Vail. Mr. Vail had formerly published a paper called the Star at New Sharon, Iowa, and thus brought the name here. Ou August 18 of the same year it was en- larged to 9-column folio. Next, in October it was changed to octavo form, and has retained that form ever since. The paper was professedly Republican in politics, but it was also pro-liquor,-for the editor in a lengthy editorial
*" The Pasadena Star says it was the first daily of Pasadena. Not so : The Union was the first, as the writer hereof has painful occasion to remember, having beeu ass enough to start it himself."-East Los Angeles Exponent (Chas. A. Gardner then its editor .- September 18, 1889.
"Correct ; and the writer hereof did some pencil pushing for that first Daily Union, but kept at a safe distance from the heels of the ' ass !"-Pasadena Standard, September 21, 1889.
+J. W. Wood, the druggist, is now editor of the Daily Union. Don't know if there is fire enough in that Wood to give more light than the evening Star .- Pasadena Standard, February 2, 1889.
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condemned and opposed the unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court that the brewers and distillers of Kansas were not entitled to payment for their liquor factories, etc., by the State when it enacted pro- hibition. The entire eight judges of the highest court in our country con- curred on this point, December 5, 1887 ; but the Pasadena Star's editor said they were all wrong (Daily Star, December 17, 1887), and boasted that he had maintained the same brewery " compensation " doctrine while he was an editor in Iowa. This "compensation " theory was the doctrine of almost the entire democratic party and press, as well as of all the liquor organizations in the country, the latter having spent over $50,000 in their great contest against the State of Kansas on this issue. [So much of ex- planation was necessary, to show what sort of a Republican paper the Star was, under its first administration, and to throw an important sidelight on sundry matters of evil import in Pasadena's history, up to April 7, 1890].
The Star was first issued as a daily paper on Wednesday, February 9, 1887, in 7-column folio form. On Saturday, June 25, same year, it was en- larged to a 9-column folio. Then on Monday, November 7, it was changed to 7-column octavo form-and has retained that form ever since, though eventually reduced to a 6-column page.
August 3, 1889, the Star purchased the business and good will of the Union ; and on the next Monday, September 2, the paper carried the double head of Daily Star and Daily Union-this being necessary to make valid the completion of some advertising contracts belonging to the Union. In an editorial on the long struggle of both papers for bare existence, the Star said :
"Both papers remained in the field ; both fought for existence ; each preferred that the other should die. * * Thus the life-and-death struggle continued until more than $25,000 had been lost in the newspaper business in Pasadena."«
Pasadena was always strongly republican in its political character, but the Star was never a satisfactory representative of the better element of its party ; and when financial embarrassments thickened around it they would not come to its rescue without an entire change of administration - it must sell out to better men, or go down. And that is how it happened that the paper appeared on Saturday, April 5, 1890, bearing at its head the old names, H. J. Vail, editor ; W. L. Vail, manager : then on the ensuing Monday bore the names, "Star Publishing Co., Geo. F. Kernaghan, manager." The new company was represented by Hon. P. M. Green, B. F. Ball, Geo. F. Kernaghan, Prof. T. S. C. Lowe and T. P. Lukens, as a board of directors, Mr. Kernaghan being in charge of the property, under full warrant of power
*Among the books, papers and documents turned over to the Star office when the Union sold out to it were the unbound files of the latter, after January, 1887, rolled and tied in bundles. And when I was trying to find these files for my history research I was told that they had been thrown into a heap with old exchanges and sold off for waste paper-hence destroyed beyond recovery.
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to oversee and direct the editorial conduct of the paper, as well as the mechanical and business affairs connected with it. Messrs. Green, Ball and Kernaghan were each signers of $100 notes for the prohibitory Enforcement Fund ; and Mr. Lukens had made a similar note for the original enactment or "Indemnity Pledge " fund ; hence, it will be seen, the conduct and course of the paper would be very different, both in its general political quality and in its local bearings.
On May 27, 1890, the Star first appeared with this formula at its head : "Geo. F. Kernaghan, president and manager ; J. S. Glasscock, secretary ; First National Bank, treasurer."
On May 19, 1891, Charles A. Gardner* bought out Mr. Kernaghan's interest, and became manager and editor in his stead. Mr. Gardner then gradually boughit out the other shareholders until he became sole proprietor ; and that was the situation on January 1, 1895, when the business had been worked up by diligent, patient and perservering effort through the years of business depression to a good paying basis-and a great 16-page New Year edition was issued in good heart.
Theodore Coleman became city editor of the Star in June, 1886, and has held the place ever since. His natural aptitude for the work, and his uniform courtesy and fairness as a reporter, have given him a prestige and a staying hold which few men can reach in that field.
THE PASADENA STANDARD .- This paper was started in 1888, to sus- tain Pasadena's anti-saloon ordinance and policy, for an account of which see Chapter 13. The first number appeared on Saturday, December 22, 1888, with Dr. H. A. Reid as principal editor, and H. N. Farey as business mana- ger. The editorial salutatory was only two lines, thus : "Folks, we're here ; and hereof you'll hear more herein and hereafter."
Heading the first column on its first page was the following original poem :
"NO SALOON IN THE VALLEY." 1
Rise, Pasadena ! march and drill To this your bugle's rally- "A church or school on every hill, And NO SALOON IN THE VALLEY."
Stand firm in rank, but do not boast Too soon your victory's tally ; You "hold the fort" for all the coast For NO SALOON IN THE VALLEY.
The seige is on, the bombs aflight ! Let no true soldier dally : For truth and right, for HOME we fight, And NO SALOON IN THE VALLEY.
Then let your STANDARD, full unfurled On every street and alley, Pledge Pasadena round world For NO SALOON IN THE VALLEY.
*Mr. Gardner was editor of the Anaheim Gazette in 1871-72 ; of the daily and weekly Napa Register, 1873 to 1875 ; of the Helena Star, 1875 to 1884 ; of the Pasadena Union, 1885-86 ; of the Rural Californian, Los Angeles, 1886 to 1888.
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The paper was issued in six-column quarto form five weeks, and then for want of financial support was suspended ; but every dollar of its indebt- edness was paid. Next, after conference with friends of the cause, Dr. Reid and wife decided to reduce the size, reduce its cost as much as possible, and continue it themselves, purely as a missionary work. Accordingly, on January 26, 1889, their first number was issued, in size of page that could be printed on a job press -and the presswork was contributed by H. N. Farey & Co., job printers, for more than a year, as their part in aid of the good work. Mrs. Reid, although over sixty years old, did canvassing, col- lecting, type-setting, folding, mailing -anything to help. Another woman over sixty-six years old, who had never touched a type before, learned to set type, and gave her time occasionally for several months to help get out the paper. Two men who were carpenters by trade did the same thing. Three different boys did the same thing. And six different practical printers [type-setters], both men and women, sometimes lent a hand. The Standard of November 9, 1889, said :
"Last Saturday Mrs. Reid was absent, and four ladies came and helped us about our mailing-day work -pasting, folding and wrapping The Stand- ard. Three of them were past sixty years old-and 'the old lady' being away, we 'young folks ' just had a picnic."
On August 24, 1889, in reply to a correspondent who wanted the paper enlarged, the editor said :
"The suggestion is very clever, but is not practicable. Small as The Standard is, we are issuing every week a better paper than the income pays for. In fact, we could not issue it at all but for the mechanical help which has been donated more or less every week thus far since about February I."
An Anti-Saloon Republican city convention was held March 29, 1890, to nominate candidates for the city offices. [For an account of this, see Chapter 13.] Then arrangements were made to issue The Standard as a daily during the campaign ; and the first number of its "Daily Edition" bears date April 3, 1890; and eight numbers were issued, or until Saturday, April 12, the election occurring on Monday, the 14th. The paper was finally suspended, its debts all paid, and its printing outfit offered for sale, on May 3, 1890, being Vol. III, No. 19. Among his closing statements the editor said :
"The recent change in the management and control of the Daily Star makes the special work of The Standard no longer necessary. The new City Trustees have given their pledge of honor not to permit any sort of liquor saloon business within the city limits. The NEW Daily Star will co-operate with them in this and every other good work that is right and proper for the city's general welfare. * * We gladly retire to private life again, feeling that OUR FLAG IS STILL THERE."
ALL-SAINTS RECORD .- In February, 1889, Rev. G. A. Ottman, rector of All-Saints Episcopal church, started a monthly paper in three-column
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octavo form, with above name. It was devoted entirely to the local inter- ests of the Episcopal parish and denomination. Mr. Ottman resigned his rectorship here and returned east in April, 1891 ; the paper was then sus- pended five months, or until October, 1891, when its publication was resumed by the new rector, Rev. Wyllys Hall, D. D., and has been con- tinued regularly since. It is sustained by business men using it as an advertising medium.
THE CRITIC .- In February, 1888, J. M. Shawhan started a paper under this name, devoted to "society gossip, criticism, literature, music, the drama," etc. Shawhan was a drinking fellow, and in a few months his paper became a special organ of the liquor interest in Pasadena, and then rapidly declined. By December 8 it ceased to be a Pasadena publication, but was dated at Los Angeles. Then Shawhan couldn't pay his printing bills, and gave it up to a firm who changed its name to Life, and continued it a while. Mr. Shawhan had some dramatic talent, and went touring as a member of a traveling theater company.
WEEKLY PASADENIAN .- In October, 1885, Major J. D. Gilchrist, brother-in-law to Gov. H. H. Markham, started a paper here; and the Union of October 23, said :
"The Weekly Pasadenian made its appearance on Thursday, and we now have a contemporary in very truth. Mr. Gilchrist, the editor and publisher, extends to us the courtesies of the fraternity in a spirit of good will. We are pleased to return the compliment, and shall aim to prove that with its success the Union is not selfish."
I could not learn of any but the one number of this paper ever being issued. It was printed at Los Angeles, where Major Gilchrist owned a large printing establishment himself.
DAILY AND WEEKLY BULLETIN .- In August, 1887, the Pasadena Real Estate Exchange was organized with a purported capital stock of $100,000, and opened its doors for business on September 1, in the Eldridge block in rooms fronting on Raymond Avenue. One of its rules was, that all transactions "shall be recorded, bulletined and PUBLISHED, for the information of members." This of course made necessity for a daily paper of some sort to be issued to its mem- bers ; and accordingly the real estate BULLETIN commenced its regular issue on September 4, 1887. I found with Dr. Lyman Allen one copy of the Daily and one of the Weekly Bulletin, preserved as historic relics of the "boom" time. This copy of the Weekly is dated February 20, 1888, is marked Vol. I, No. 25, and contains 64 pages of printed matter 278x718 inches in form. In it is a list of 142 Real Estate firms, 61 of which are only one man, 47 have two members, and 34 have three or more members of the firm or company. All but the first two pages are filled with classified list-
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ings of lots for sale, each one being listed by number, and the highest num- ber in this edition is 2,171. The copy of the Daily which I found is also dated February 20, 1888, and is marked Vol. I, No. 128. It says, "Office hours 8:30 a. m. to 5 p. m." Listing of property for the day closes at 2 p. m. Notice of change of price or of sale made closes at 4:30 p. m. E. D. Hough was the Exchange "manager," and editor of the Bulletin. The Association had its own type and press there in the office, and these were its principal assets when the "boom " bursted. The expenses of the Exchange office, including the printing of the paper, were met by quarterly dues from the members, and this number of the Daily contains an urgent call for the members to "pay up" their quarterage which fell due in Jan- uary. The boom was already feeling a little sick.
THE WHITE RIBBON .- The Pasadena Standard of February 2, 1889, contained the following item :
" The White Ribbon is the name of a new paper just issued by the State Womans Christian Temperance Union, from the press of H. N. Farey & Co. Mrs. M. C. Lord edits it. The new paper is our little twin sister, being the same size of page as the "little" STANDARD. It goes to every member of the W. C. T. U. in South California, and 3,000 copies were printed. It is monthly, and it is sprightly, at 25 cents a year."
The "Ribbon" was continued till 1894 with the same editor and printers ; then it was removed to Los Angeles and edited and printed there.
THE PASADENA WEEKLY JOURNAL made its first issue on October 5, 1889. By the suspension of the Daily Union, and other newspaper failures, a number of Pasadena printers found themselves out of work - stranded on the desert beach of a "busted boom," with no bread-and-butter croppage in sight ; to meet this emergency, three of them, C. W. Jackson, F. S. Hearn and W. H. Korstian, leased the material of the defunct Union and started the JOURNAL, hoping that, as they would do the work themseves it would yield them at least a living. It was a neat paper, 7 columns to the page, devoted to general news and the local interests of Pasadena. They issued 23 numbers, the last one bearing date of March 8, 1890. And the Pasadena Standard of March 15, said :
" The Pasadena Journal suspended publication last Saturday. The young men who started it made a good paper ; but the field was too full already. They held on remarkably well, as it was, and retired with honor and respect to their good intentions."
THE CROWN VISTA .- Sometime in 1888 H. E. Lawrence started a paper at the village of Sierra Madre, called The Vista. But about Novem- ber 1, 1891, he moved his printing office to Pasadena, and on November 14 issued the first number of the Crown Vista, in pasted journal form, 12x 18 inch page. It gave much attention to local matters of Sierra Madre and Lamanda Park, as well as Pasadena ; and varied in size -being 8, 10 or 12
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pages, as occasion required. Suspended about May 1, 1895, for want of support. Then the office was sold to Ralph W. Strong of Monrovia (form- erly Chicago) who revived the paper, making his first issue of it on May 25, 1895. June 22, 1895, he changed the name to Current Topics.
RAYMOND CHIT-CHAT .- This paper seems to have been started in 1893, or perhaps earlier-but no particulars were furnished me. The Daily Star of December 30, 1894, said :
"The first number for the season of Chit-Chat, the Raymond hotel organ, is to appear next Sunday morning under Mr. Cooper's editorial management. The little paper was a decided success last year."
THE MOUNT LOWE ECHO .- On March 11, 1894, was issued the first number of the Daily Mount Lowe Echo, with Prof. G. Wharton James as editor. Its opening announcement said :
"Let the birth-bells ring ! Another child is born to the family of California newspapers. As its name implies, the Mount Lowe Echo will be an echo of the doings on and about Mount Lowe."
Its form is that of a wide 2-column folio, printed on heavy, calendered book paper, in highest style of job printing art, and illustrated about twice a week with full page and first-class photogravure plates. It is devoted to the interests of the Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe region, with all its connected enterprises, and people who visit or sojourn there. On March 17, the first weekly edition was issued. Subscription price, $2.50 per year ; and on sale at news stands at 10 cents per copy. The Mount Lowe R. R. Co. has a complete printing office of its own in the Rubio pavilion, with presses run by water power, and its printing is all done here. [See Chapter 23.] On April 27, 1895, the Echo suspended publication till January I, 1896, when the tourist season should be open again.
THE DAILY EVENING NEWS .- Early in October, 1894, W. S. Gilmore, who had served long as the Pasadena local reporter of the Los Angeles Times, conceived the project of starting a new daily paper in Pasadena. His scheme matured rapidly, so that the "News Publishing Company " was incorporated October 12, by W. S. Gilmore, W. C. Stuart, Isabel Bates Winslow, C. Ornbaum, L. P. Hansen, J. W. Wood. The first board of directors consisted of Gilmore, Stuart, Hansen, Wood, and F. C. Bolt, and its officers were-Gilmore, president ; Stuart, vice-president ; Mrs. I. B. Winslow, secretary ; San Gabriel Valley Bank, treasurer. The amount of capital was $15,000. A complete newspaper and job printing outfit was purchased; the entire first floor of the Hopkins block, formerly occupied by city officers, corner Fair Oaks avenue and Union street, was leased ; and the Pasadena Daily Evening News, 7-column quarto form, made its first issue on November 1, 1894. In politics, Republican. Number of em- ployes, twelve. The day before Christmas it was issued as a special
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"charity edition," edited by thirty-four of Pasadena's well known citizens and literary people, and resulted in furnishing $107.95 to the Charity Organization Society funds, as special income from this day's edition.
THE NEW EDUCATION .- This paper was first issued December 1, 1894. It is an 8-page folio, published monthly in the interest of the Williams Business College; and edited by Prof. J. T. Williams, the founder and managing principal of this institution.
PASADENA'S LITERARY PEOPLE.
HON. DELOS ARNOLD : public addresses, published articles, etc., on Paleontology and kindred sciences. Has himself collected and classified more original specimens than any other man in Southern California.
LYMAN ALLEN, M. D. : Author of "Political Problems "-1892 ; and other writings on national economics.
ARTURO BANDINI : Magazine articles ; stories of the chase, etc.
MRS. HELEN ELLIOTT BANDINI : Local correspondence ; stories, poems ; varied contributions to periodical literature.
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