History of Oregon Newspapers/Gilliam County
GILLIAM
Condon.—When moving into its new home, a stone building 25×66 feet, the Globe-Times, in a leading editorial March 22, 1930, observed that the newspaper was the town's oldest business institution.
The Globe, Condon's first paper, was launched in March 1891 by Sloan P. Shutt, who moved the plant of the Arlington Advocate over to the sister city. In February 1898 the paper passed to S. A. Pattison, who for four years had been the publisher of the Emmett (Idaho) Index and later was to publish the Heppner Herald. The paper was twice enlarged, finally, December 1, 1904, to a five-column quarto. The Globe in 1896 claimed a circulation of 975 at $1. Hartshorne & Meresse were publishers in 1909, by which time the paper had become independent Republican. H. A. Hartshorne was sole owner in 1910.
The Times was founded in 1900 as a Republican paper, issued Saturdays, by the Condon Publishing Company, with William Christie editor. Maurice Fitzmaurice acquired the paper in 1908 from Edward Curran, who had purchased it from Christie in December 1904.
The papers were consolidated in 1919. Announcing the merger under the ownership of George H. Flagg, Mr. Fitzmaurice wrote that "the burden of two papers was too much for the town." Mr. Flagg at once installed a linotype and made the Globe-Times a six-and eight-page paper; the competing publications had usually been four pages.
In the beginning both papers had been printed on the old-time hand press. In 1906 the Times added a power press, which was takern over by the Globe-Times.
Mr. Flagg sold the Globe-Times to N. C. Westcott and W. H Ortman in 1921. Mr. Westcott, becoming sole owner in 1925, sold two years later to Lawrence E. Spraker and Burt C. Halsey. In 1928 Mr. Spraker acquired Mr. Halsey's interest and continued the paper alone until 1937, when he moved to Stayton. Present publisher (1939) is Stewart Hardie, with Genevieve Dunlop, Oregon journalism graduate, managing editor.
Arlington.—In June 1884, when Arlington was still known as Alkali, the first paper published in Gilliam county was published there. It was named the Riverside Enterprise, and the publisher was M. C. Harris. It was continued under the name Enterprise after the town had become known as Arlington. The paper was a weekly, issued Fridays. Loss of files and records makes the history of Gilliam county papers sketchy and vague. (168).
The Inland Times was started in Arlington in 1886 by Orville Tucker as a Republican weekly, issued Fridays. It absorbed the Enterprise late that year. (169)
Another little paper, the Arlington Town Talk, appeared in February 1889 and lasted until May 24 of the same year. Harry Hawson was editor. "It was rather a spicy sheet," says the history already quoted.
Arlington now becomes tied in with the history of Condon journalism. The Arlington Advocate, a Friday weekly, was launched by Jayne & Shutt, Nov. 11, 1890. The next March Sloan P. Shutt bought out his partner, A. A. Jayne, who had been the Advocate's editor, and removed the plant to Condon, where he started the Globe.
The Advocate's place was taken by the Record, a weekly founded by John A. Brown in January 1892. January 6 of the next year James M. Johns acquired the paper. October 10, 1895, W. A. Max well purchased the paper, giving way to the Record Publishing Com pany, with S. A. D. Gurley editor, January 1, 1900. July 28 of the same year Johns again acquired the paper, which he conducted as a 7-col. four-page all-home-print publication. J. F. Norvell was editor and publisher in 1908.
In April 1898 Robinson & Pound began publication of the Arlington Review, a five-column folio, which ran for about a year, when Pound, having acquired R. H. Robinson's interest, sold to W. A. Maxwell, publisher of the Record, who suspended the paper.
Another paper now comes into the picture—a new Arlington Advocate, published as a Monday weekly by R. H. Robinson, who had just sold the Review. He started the paper in March, 1899, sold almost immediately to C. E. Hicks, who changed the name to the Independent. This now gave the town two papers, the Record and the Independent. In 1901 James M. Johns, now publisher of the Record, purchased the Independent and consolidated the papers as the Record. This paper now held the field undisputed except for the Appeal, a little 11×16 sheet, which ran for about a year after its founding by S. A. Thomas in 1903.
The Arlington Independent, started by H. W. Lang in 1913 as an independent Thursday weekly, absorbed the Record. Mr. Lang changed the name of the Independent in 1921 to the Bulletin, whiclh he later sold to H. J. Simmons, with J. M. Cummins as editor and manager. In 1924 George Huntington Currey and Olive M. Currey took hold. In 1926 the paper was purchased by Raymond Crowder, who associated with him W. H. Ortman. After a year or so Mr. Crowder bought out his partner and with the exception of a year's lease (1933-4) to William P. Dunton, has since conducted the paper. In the opinion of Mr. Dunton, the present Bulletin is the lineal descendant of the old Riverside Enterprise, through the various consolidations, since at least part of the old plant has been used by the Bulletin or its ancestors since the very beginning.
The Bulletin was consolidated with the Boardman Mirror September 18, 1935. The Mirror was discontinued.