USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 51
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and was mailed to every voter in the county-about seventy-five in number. It con- tained the delinquent tax lists of Kossuth and Palo Alto counties. No copies of that paper are known to be in existence. After the lists had been published there remained on hand the old press, the type, a scanty stock of paper and the printer. These being too good to throw away, the junior proprietor decided to utilize them in the publication of a more permanent and beneficial paper to the citizens of the county.
ALGONA PIONEER PRESS
Ambrose A. Call, having purchased his brother's interest in the outfit during the winter, began the publication of the Algona Pioneer Press in the spring fol- lowing. The first issue appeared April 13, 1861. This was the first real news- paper ever printed in the county. It was a six-column folio and began its career soon after the rebellion had become a serious fact. Items concerning the war appeared in every issue. The very first number gave an account of the bombard- ment of Fort Sumter and Major Anderson's surrender. As nearly all the news from the outside world came through the Dubuque papers, it was several days old before it reached this place. The mail was brought up from Fort Dodge three times each week by Frank Rist, the pioneer hack driver of that period. Saturday was the publication day as well as one of the days on which the mail arrived. The hack arriving about four or five o'clock brought the Dubuque Daily Times which always contained the latest news from the battle front. In order to get the latest and most startling news in the Press, Lewis H. Smith and others who had learned from Summers how to stick type, helped to put the mat- ter in type whenever the hour was late and the news very important. In this way the paper managed to get to press before dark, though often not proof read after the type had been placed in the galleys.
It is doubtful if any paper since that time was read with greater interest. It many times gave sorrowful information from the battlefields before the details reached this county by letters from the boys in blue who personally knew about the circumstances. It noted the various local war meetings, the enlistments, the names of the soldiers from this county that were wounded or killed on the field and all events in which the citizens were most interested.
In maintaining a paper so far out on the frontier many obstacles of a per- plexing nature had to be overcome. Cedar Falls, the nearest railroad and tele- graph point, was 150 miles away. No one living nearer than Fort Dodge could be found to repair the press when it got out of order. There was on other office from which could be borrowed type when the supply was exhausted or ads already set up, as is the practice now at the county seat. Whenever John was taken sick with his weekly colic the publication had to be suspended until he was able to straighten up and do service again. The rollers gave him more trouble thani any other part of the equipment. The mice persisted in taking their daily meals from the sweetened composition until it was full of holes. This made it neces- sary to make new rollers or repair the old ones every few weeks. A mixture of glue and sorghum molasses was necessary to keep the rollers in good repair. The office was in the old Eggers store building which stood on the corner now occupied by the office of the Quinn Lumber Co. Speaking of the trials the printer
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had to encounter, Ambrose A. Call has said : "At one time John complained bitterly that a drove of colts crowding against the building to get away from the flies, had switched their tails through the cracks and pied his type." He had a hard time making the ink do good work. Sometimes the papers would come from the press so blurred that they could hardly be read. Amid all these difficulties twenty-six numbers were published in 1861, with skips between them, but no papers were issued during that winter. May 3, 1862, it again made its appearance and continued until twenty-two numbers that year had been issued. It went to sleep again during the winter of 1862-3, but in the spring it awoke and was conducted by George Ingersoll of Fort Dodge, who had rented the outfit. He sent up William Feigler as local manager and he ran it through the summer of 1863, and then Col. N. M. Page took charge of the paper during the summer of 1864. The Pioneer Press then passed out of existence.
The press was one that had been brought from Cincinnati in 1849 by General Sherman's brother, L. P., who used it in printing the Gazette, the first Whig paper at Des Moines. That publication going to pieces in 1852, Will Porter bought the outfit and started a democrat Journal. In 1860 he sold the press to Stilson Hutchins, who in turn, during the summer sold it to the Calls. The files during the years it was rented appear to have been lost or never preserved. Those during the years in which Mr. Call was the editor are bound in one volume which is being preserved at the State Historical Building. The contents of this volume refresh the memory of the old settlers concerning events of the war period whenever the recorded events are read by them. John Summers, the first printer in the county, was with Captain Ingham in the Border Brigade, but since his removal from the state, nothing has been heard from him for many years.
The residence of his sister, Sis Summers, who assisted him in setting type, is also unknown. The editor and proprietor, Ambrose A. Call, passed away in the fall of 1908. He was a forceful writer and said just what he meant. When he felt justified in making an attack on any proposition he did not hesitate to do so. Neither was he afraid to advocate a measure which did not conform to the views of his neighbors. When the paper was suspended the old settlers lamented the loss, for it had been a welcome visitor at the homes in those days when reading matter was very difficult to obtain.
THE UPPER DES MOINES
At the peace celebration July 4, 1865, held a few rods north of where the Danson residence stands, Hon. M. F. Shuey of Elkhart, Ind., and Rev. S. H. Taft of Humboldt were the orators. In the audience were two strangers who had arrived that day from Indiana to take charge of the printing outfit of the Pioneer Press and start a new paper. These were Dr. S. G. A. Read and his wife, Lizzie B., who had come up from Fort Dodge in Frank Rist's hack. The printing equipment was moved to John Heckhart's residence on the site where the W. C. Steele family is living. This Heckhart house now stands as a land- mark up in the third ward. In that building, with Mrs. Lizzie B. Read as editor and Miss Cassie Davis as compositor, the new paper was launched. After much consideration Mrs. Read decided to call her paper the Upper Des Moines, since
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that name suggested the territory from which she hoped to get the tax lists and legal notices to publish, and from which she expected to secure a large number of subscribers. Although she was an able writer and an estimable lady, her hopes were far from being realized. The mental strain impaired her health; for she was a diligent worker. Miss Davis, whom a few yet in the county still remember, did good service, but she, too, was in frail health as a result of being too closely confined. In the fall of 1866 Mrs. Read found an opportunity to sell to good advantage ; so she stepped aside and turned the outfit and business over to the new proprietor.
The period covered by Mrs. Read's paper was an important one in the history of the county. It was then when great streams of people were coming here to settle on homesteads. Then prairie settlements began forming and the cattle ranges became broken up by little farms in every part of the county. If Mrs. Read kept any files while running the paper she did not turn them over to the new proprietor. Not a copy of the thirty-seven numbers she issued is known to be in existence. The State street fire in 1895, which consumed her office building, destroyed many manuscripts which she had been preserving. It may be that the files were reduced to ashes at that time; but the general understanding is that she, for some reason, never kept the files of her publication. She, too, has crossed to the other side, as has also her husband who preceded her.
On the 29th day of November, 1866, the first issue of the Upper Des Moines under the proprietorship of J. H. Warren rolled from the press. He was not only the owner of the plant but the editor as well. It was Judge Call, who by correspondence, induced him to come from Wisconsin to make his home in Kossuth. The name of the paper was good enough for him, so he retained it and began his publication with number thirty-eight, where Mrs. Read had left off. He came to the county in June by floating down the Mississippi in a flat- boat with his family and household goods to Dubuque, then coming on the cars to Iowa Falls, and from there to this place by team. He made his abode first in Cresco township in that historic log house which stood near the farm residence of LeRoy Bowen. In a few weeks the family moved to town and the son, Robt. B., found employment in setting type for Mrs. Read. It is very probable that the purchase was made as the result.
J. H. Warren was bold and fearless and a man of force and natural ability. though his schooling had been very limited. He had learned to do several lines of work and do them well. For some time after purchasing the U. D. M., he plastered buildings and did mason work by day and wrote copy by night for Robert to set on the day following. He gradually left off the outside work and devoted his entire attention to the editorial management with untiring energy. He was blunt and crusty at times, but had a tender spot in his heart which one could easily reach if approached in the right way. Sometimes he could be coaxed, but never was known to be driven. He had the appearance and disposition of a typical pioneer. He was an ardent supporter of a friend and a bitter antagonist of a foe. Having strong convictions, he waged exciting warfare for the causes he espoused. It depended entirely upon what people were advocating whether they received his support or not. Because he worked for the support of certain citizens on some issue, was no sign that he would assist them in the next cause they espoused. In that regard he was consistent and deserving of more praise
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than he has ever received. When he had something to say, the readers of his paper knew what he meant. Frequently those who wrote communications to be published in his paper, criticizing him for some of his deeds or sayings, got a dose of his opinion they didn't soon forget. He was liable to say almost any- thing and say it as he pleased. He got into several newspaper controversies and waged red-hot battles all along the line. His fight with O. C. Bates, of the Estherville Vindicator, was run with a hot firing-line of cannonading and bombard- ing for many weeks. He and B. J. Castle, of the Algona Times, had their rounds and in doing so furnished their readers with some startling information. J. B. Jones, of the Republican, made a sarcastic comment about Warren's ability, but the latter asked him in the next issue: "What does a bull know about a ruffled shirt?" Warren and Rev. J. H. Todd, the M. E. pastor, were warm friends, and both were active workers in the Good Templars Lodge; but Todd persisting in smoking, Warren charged him through the paper with being inconsistent in the matter of temperance. Todd replied and a heated quarrel ensued which almost caused them to become engaged in a fistic encounter. The matter was soon adjusted and after their anger had cooled Warren began as usual giving the eloquent preacher the most flattering notices in his paper.
The Upper Des Moines office was then in Lamb's old Ark which stood on Thorington street near where F. S. Norton's new building stands in the old lumber yard. The same old Washington hand press which the Calls had brought here in 1860 to print the Kossuth County Press was used by Warren until 1872, when a Potter cylinder press was installed. It was the first press of the kind used in this section between Mason City and Sioux City. It became necessary to procure such a press because at that time the office was printing two papers for Emmetsburg and two for Spencer besides its own paper. This press con- tinued to be used until the paper was combined with the Republican some thirty years later. The old Ruggles job press that Warren had bought in 1868 was a poor excuse and made his son Eddie "kick for many a weary hour both physi- cally and mentally." E. H. Warren's account of the hardships that were endured in publishing the paper is very truthfully told as follows: "The nearest railroad was eighty miles away, the stage coach was a slow and uncertain conveyance during certain seasons of the year, the era of patent insides was unknown, there were no telegraph lines nearer than the railroad and telephone lines were unknown. The region north and west of Algona was raw prairie, the nearest settler on the west being on the west fork of the Des Moines river, and on the north it was a sea of waving grass for miles and miles. The field for local news was necessarily confined to Algona and vicinity, but the old files of the Upper Des Moines will convince any reasonable person that the field was faithfully covered each week. The paper was six columns to the page and to fill the four pages it was not an uncommon thing to double up on some of the ads. The plain white paper cost anywhere from $8 to $12 per bundle. The same quality of paper can be purchased today at $2 per bundle or less. A keg of printing ink cost three or four times as much as it does today. A sharp knife, with a stick for a clamp, was substituted for a paper cutter. The imposing stone for the type forms were planed boards, which constant wetting and drying had a tend- ency to warp into hills and hollows which made it an extremely delicate matter to lock up a form and lift it from the "stone" to the press without pieing it.
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Wooden quoins, with shooting stick, mallet and crow's foot were among the necessary and useful adjuncts. Among the other mechanical features of the office was an assortment of wooden furniture manufactured out of cigar boxes. They necessarily had the same failing as the wooden "imposing stone"-it would swell and shrink and keep the printer, metaphorically speaking, in hot water all the time and occasionally get in its deadly work when least expected by scattering the form on the floor." The office was moved from the Ark to the new building on Call street which stood just east of Mayor Wadsworth's present residence. Through the grasshopper scourge and hard times J. H. Warren held the helm and guided the journalistic craft. He disposed of the plant when the dawn of better days for newspapers was appearing.
Pitt Cravath became editor and part owner September 20, 1875, the other part- ners being local capitalists who were interested in the maintenance of the paper. He was a lawyer of considerable experience and had a great abundance of nervous energy. He was active in all his movements, a good social mixer, a fluent speaker and a graceful writer. As an editor he was the very opposite of his predecessor. What he intended for sledge-hammer blows fell like a cotton maul. He was too friendly and sociable to make the people believe that he was going to enforce some measure that they did not want. His editorials generally read as though they had been written by some lady. His locals were well worded and his more lengthy articles so constructed that a pleasing rythm was observed while being read. Desiring to return to his law practice he sold his interest in the paper and gave way for the entry of the new editor.
A. L. Hudson issued the first number under his administration Feb. 20, 1879. He had purchased the interest of Mr. Cravath and the company had chosen him editor. One year later R. B. Warren joined him under the firm name of Hud- son & Warren. They then owned the whole equipment and business. Under this union the Upper Des Moines began to prosper. Mr. Hudson was a bright lawyer and a brilliant orator. Many of his editorials showed rhetorical construction and displayed his literary talent to advantage. His locals were bright and sparkling and effervescing with life. Notwithstanding his literary attainments he sometimes indulged in attacks that marred his reputation as a journalist of high order. When he dipped his pen in caustic ink he would forget the dignity of his position. After being editor for nearly four years he sold his interest in the business and retired from that profession. He is now preaching for the Unitarians in Boston.
When Harvey Ingham purchased Hudson's interest and issued his first num- ber November 20, 1882, the Upper Des Moines took on a new lease of life. The firm of Ingham & Warren made the paper take a high rank among the journals of the state. It was placed on a firm footing and made to yield a satisfactory profit, and to become known throughout the entire state. Its popularity and business pat- ronage became far greater than ever before. The old established editors, who had long been in the service, took notice of what Editor Ingham had to say, and made such favorable comments about the success he was making of the Upper Des Moines that it seemed to leap into a popularity hitherto unknown. It was this growing reputation for excelling in newspaper work that procured for him the position of editor of the Register and Leader, a position he is still hold- ing.
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Early in February, 1902, R. B. Warren sold his interest to his partner and then Mr. Ingham ran it alone until July 1, 1902, when he disposed of the plant and business to Starr & Haggard, who then combined it with the Republican. Since that time the Upper Des Moines, as a separate paper, has not been in exist- ence. The paper changed in size and form many times during its career. J. H. Warren started it as a six-column folio and it was in turn increased. to seven. eight and nine-column folios. Hudson made it a six-column quarto and later it became a seven-column quarto. Ingham and Warren first made it a nine- column folio, but later changed it to a six-column quarto, in which shape it was when the paper was sold to be combined with the Republican.
The excellence of the make-up of the paper and its general appearance for a long term of years was due to the skill and good judgment of R. B. Warren. He had received good training while working with the Chicago Times force, and as a result orderly arrangement was the uppermost thought in his mind He had worked a little in a printing office before coming here. He began with his father in the fall of 1866, worked nearly two years at the business in Chicago, became foreman under Editor Cravath and was from that time boss of the printery until 1902. He was a crank on order and ruled his help with an iron hand. System was enforced in every detail. His supervision over his help took the form of a stern teacher presiding over a class of students. Nothing of a slouchy nature could be countenanced for a single moment. He had his schedule of prices which no man could coax him to deviate from under any circumstances. He received good prices for his work and his customers were willing to pay him the same because of the superior quality of the work. He is now at the head of a large jobbing printery in Spokane.
THE ALGONA TIMES
The Algona Times, a seven column folio, was the next paper to be launched in the county, and the first one to advocate the principles of the democratic party. Its editor was Bryan J. Castle, who had come from Chickasaw county where he had been practicing law and also editing the Lawler Times. He estab- lished his office and issued the first number of his paper September 15. 1871. Milton Starr who had recently graduated from Cornell College took charge of the composing department. The editor announced the founding of the new paper with a trumpet blast, telling what he intended to do and how he was going to do it. He found it hard work getting subscribers and harder to make his office yield a revenue above expenses. He hung on during the winter and then sold his outfit and business to others who were willing to take their chance in making the paper a successful rival of the old Upper Des Moines
THE ALGONA REPUBLICAN AND THE U. D. M .- REPUBLICAN
A. M. Horton, J. B. Jones and Milton Starr were the purchasers of the Times. They changed the policy of the paper and made it advocate the prin- ciples of the republican party, and published the initial number under their ad- ministration March 13. 1872. The firm was a strong one and well intended to put the paper on a good paying basis. In fact it is doubtful if any other trio of citizens in the county at that time could have been chosen as proprietors who would have given the enterprise a greater boom. Mr. Starr, who had been with
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the former proprietor, was a good printer and a competent foreman of the mechanical features of the work. Mr. Jones was an active real estate dealer and quite popular with all classes of people. While he was not a part of the office working force, he was instrumental in inducing many to patronize the job department and to become subscribers. A. M. Horton, the head of the firm, was intended by nature for an editor. He possessed every quality necessary for him to make a success of the position he occupied. His educational attain- ments were ample; his faculty for producing compositions that were smooth and flowing, without any rhetorical effort, was remarkable; his sentiments lofty and inspiring ; and his desire to have the county a prosperous one was intensely strong. He was in sympathy with every movement to better the conditions of the people. Being easy to approach, he gathered around him a wide circle of friends. He was such an inveterate worker, for any cause that he espoused. that in the heat of a political campaign he became so absorbed in the strife that he carried the burden on his own shoulders. Rest he found nowhere. Sleep failed to come at his bidding and his health was impaired as a result. Having no patience with the violators of the law he held them up to public view and lashed them with but little mercy.
After a couple of months Horton, Jones and Starr changed the name of the paper and began publishing it as the Algona Republican. On May 16, 1872, the change in name occurred. The size was also changed to an eight column folio. April 12, 1875, Jones selling his interest to Starr, the firm became Horton & Starr. The firm name was again changed February 22, 1881, when Mr. Starr by purchasing his partner's interest became the sole proprietor of the Republican. Failing health, caused by the constant mental strain and an old army wound. was the reason for the withdrawal of Mr. Horton from the firm. He sought relief on the Pacific Coast, but bowed to the inevitable when he passed away at Santa Paula, California, March 13, 1889.
Milton Starr began immediately to increase the plant equipment and to pro- vide a commodious home for his paper. He erected a year later the present building. 22x72 feet and 24 feet in height, and then put in a power press. The change was in striking contrast with the cramped quarters and limited appli- ances at the former quarters, which were upstairs in the building in front of the courthouse now occupied by E. G. Bowyer's family. There the old hand press had been used to slowly run off the editions with fatiguing labor. Mr. Starr continued as editor for about twenty-seven years after going into the new build- ing. but had in the meantime several partners who owned a part interest. Gardner Cowles becoming a member August 1. 1883. assisted in the manuscript work until August 20. 1884. when he sold his interest back to his partner. The firm of Starr & Hallock began October 20. 1886, when Willis Hallock took charge of the composing rooms. J. W. Hays, renting Mr. Starr's interest and purchas- ing Hallock's, issued his first number August 5, 1891. Hays sold his right, title and interest to 1 .. H. Mayne of Emmetsburg, who published his first number January 4, 1893. When Starr's term as postmaster had ceased, he purchased Mayne's interest February 28. 1894, and found himself again the sole owner.
Hays and Mayne had been editors during the period when Mr. Starr was the postmaster under Harrison's administration. Neither performed the task
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long enough to become very much identified with Kossuth county prosperity or to win any particular journalistic honors. Both had good common sense ideas and wrote vigorous English. They made friends who still remember their good qualities.
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