who came to Tillamook soon after its start, was composed of a few cases of type, a small jobber, and a Washington hand-press, on which the seven-column folio was run off. His uncle, R. M. Watson, sold Rollie W. a half interest, and the partners put up the building which was to be occupied by the paper for the next quarter of a century. New type and machinery were constantly added, including a power cylinder press and a linotype. The original size of the paper, seven-column folio, was changed, first to a four-column quarto and later to a seven-column quarto.
Among the Herald's compositors as recalled by R. W. Watson were a number of young women who were later to be among Tilla mook's most prominent matrons. In the early 1900's Bell and Maude Wertz (later Mrs. C. T. McKinley), Kate Plank (later Mrs. Joe Franklin), Maude Nolan (later Mrs. R. L. Wade), Annie Price (later Mrs. Jack Robison) and her sister Lottie, Dora Donaldson, and several others were among the typos.
Dolan & Murphy, two journeymen printers, purchased the Herald in 1907, and in 1908 it was turned back to Rollie W. Watson, who carried on the paper for a few months. The next publisher was N. T. Pentreath, promoter and "wireless" salesman, who gave up in a few months. Watson recovered possession and sold in 1908 to C. E. Trombley. Trombley published the paper for fifteen years, selling in August 1923 to Allan McComb and Fred T. Mellinger. In 1924 Arne Rae, formerly of Eugene and Oregon City, purchased the McComb interest, and the new firm conducted the paper until the spring of 1929, when Mr. Rae retired to become field manager of the Oregon State Editorial Association and member of the faculty of the University of Oregon School of Journalism.
The Headlight and the Herald were merged as the Headlight-Herald in 1934, with Thomas Walpole and D. M. DeCook as publishers. Fred T. Mellinger, mechanical foreman, has been connected, in one capacity or another, with the paper for 16 years.
The early publishers of the Tillamook papers had their share of peculiar journalistic trials. For instance, as Rollie Watson recalled, it was to cost $50 a ton to pack newsprint paper over the mountain from North Yamhill when the steamer Sue Elmore was held up, several times, at the Tillamook bar with a supply of print while the last scraps were being used up on the newspaper.
The first presses on the Herald were one old Washington handpress and one jobber. The whole old equipment was long ago junked for a modern outfit.
Another Tillamook paper was the Independent, started late in November 1902. The Woods Ocean Wave of December 4, 1902, hailed the newcomer thus: "The Independent, Vol. 1, No. 1, came to us by today's mail. It is published at Tillamook, Oregon, by Mr. R. M. Watson, is a four-column eight-page newspaper all home print.
