Samuel F. Blythe sold the paper in May, 1904, to Arthur D. Moe, who installed a Simplex typesetting machine. This was afterward displaced by the linotype. Mr. Moe's editor through most of his ownership was Joe D. Thomison, Stanford law graduate, who preferred journalism to law. He was highly successful in making the Glacier a popular home paper.
The paper was sold by Mr. Moe's sons in 1933 to the News, a younger contemporary.
The Hood River News, which bought out its competition, was started as the News Letter, a Saturday weekly, in 1905, by E. R. Bradley, who from 1899 to 1901 had conducted the weekly Sun, listed as a Republican paper. After four years the name was shortened to News. W. H. Walton, later of Baker, edited the paper for several years, up to 1912. E. L. Boardman, once a partner of Col. W. W. Robertson on the Yakima Republic, was editor and manager of the News in 1917 for R. B. and L. S. Bennett, later of The Dalles Optimist, who owned the paper for several years, prior to the Ball-Sonnichsen ownership. Hugh G. Ball was city editor and C. P. Sonnichsen mechanical superintendent. In 1920, after the withdrawal of Mr. Boardman, Mr. Ball became editor, with C. P. Sonnichsen manager. This association lasted until the death of Mr. Sonnichsen in 1937. His son E. A. (Si) Sonnichsen succeeded to his position on the News.
Under the guidance of Mr. Ball, editor, and C. P. Sonnichsen, manager, the News was awarded second place in the National Community Newspaper contest for weeklies published in cities of from 2,500 to 50,000 in March 1935. The contest was under the sponsorship of the University of Illinois school of journalism. The award was made for community service and general newspaper excellence. First place in the contest, in which more than 100 newspapers, from almost every state, participated, was won by the Worthington (Minn.) Globe. In 1939 the News, edited by Mr. Ball, won the past-president's trophy of the National Editorial Association for the best editorial page in an open nation-wide contest.
Among other awards won by the News were the Sigma Delta Chi cup for the best Oregon weekly, in 1932 and 1934, and the Paul R. Kelty cup for the best editorial page, won three times and retained in permanent possession. Mr. Ball was elected (1939) to the board of directors of the National Editorial Association.
Construction of the great Bonneville dam in the Columbia river near Cascade Locks was the inspiration for newspapers on both sides of the river. On the Oregon side J. M. Cummins, veteran Oregon publisher, and Mark Shields, formerly private secretary to Governor Hartley of Washington and later a member of the Oregonian news staff, called their paper devoted to the interests of the 1300 men employed on the dam project the Dam Chronicle. Published at Cascade
