The Comanche Chief (Comanche, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, July 17, 1936 Page: 2 of 32
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JEWLSaH*™7** twnnr
RUSSELL GIVES HISTORY
OF COMANCHE NEWSPAPERS
man who swallowed his first raw
oyster—it came back a Half dozen
times before he could hold It
down' When I arrlver here the
business was conducted by Fields
day. xit February^
Mary's, And
years
for old St
During that seven years I am
(By L. B. Bussell)
Geraldo Alonzo Beemay. was
■he founder of the Chief and It
was the Chat newspaper ever pub-
lished in Comanche. He was also
the founder of the first, paper
succeeded In gat-ting a subsidy In
1877. I traded myself ..into* the
the form of advertising contracts; “nSnsat^apd fto^charge^ £di-
before he bought .Jhla outfit. It' tor and roustabout printelr. As I
was quite successful, for no news- had paid for the Interest and
paper had even been even
owed
at old-at. Miry's on Ihe Bay.
aow known es Bayside The name
•f that paper was the Vaqirfro.
Spanish for "Cpw Boy." It was
there that I learned to set type,
which resulted In my ultimately
I>ro* i thoroughly Infected and
up In smoke, files and all.
However, before this. In June,
1888. 1 started a weekly paper
n« ,u«, Informed of the •£*?
but aa I understand u. shortly 'manche (October. 1885); but I
after my departure Armstrong sold out to McDonald alid 8wtt-
sold The, half Interest acquired *er, along toward The close of
from me to Joe Hill, making the the year 1888. and Sam Vernon
sole owner* for a while. But Joe.'i also sold the Chief to them He
who had his brother, the present went to Farmersville and bought
Dr. Robert T. Hill, with him. at- , the Times, and McDonald and
tracted by greener flajda and pas-' John Switzer conducted the Chief
tureS how. decided To mdve to until about the fa{l of 1887 wher:
not related to 8am, but had been ^manage it. Tom" got a Job under
on It. I wa# pretty Colorado (Mitchell county. Ten.) they threw up the sponge, and
TT, . , ’ ’ * . ) K i , . . / ., - • inorougiuy miecieu ano li Deg an
*wr published in Refugio county, rioted In the countyi aijd it Is to look like I might have to call
In a dozen doctors to get it out
quite prob.'Jjle that lots'of the!... __________
younger clement had never seen ; of' my system! But in February.
Wr inside of a printing office., 187g i reoelv^d a telegram from
and had a curiosity to know what mv doWn ln soUth TexM
sqrt of an animal a O-Wash that my father was in a serious
fPress looked like > I am Judging; rondition, and needed my assls-
swning one-fourth of the prpflta I them by myself, for I was about Tance so ln five days time I trad-
«f the business, which, when we! grown before I knew the hell-box tHe half interest to the late
! R O Armstrong for 320 acres of
began as the Texas Pacific railroad had 8am came over to see what .could j now remember, except for
It, tfc£.two outfits ’
dissolved
amounted
the co-partnership,
to nine i dollars per
from
Well,
an Italic shooting stick),
the subsidy was secured
month and I boarded at my i and Borman says he employed
father's '^without expense Mr 'old Tom Esti.s With teu yoke ol
land, a pair of horses and about
»25 in money, settled up, my
grocery bills and. pulled out from
Beeman’s profits were three times ! oxen to go to Georgetown find Comanche, on Saturday, (he 23rd
that, so he was thoroughly pre-
pared to make money but of the
Chief with (his prosperous ex-
perience
JMh\ Beenian had lived down in
■hat section long enough for me
to court .and marry his sister,
when he found It necessary to
move to a higher altitude on ac-
count of the failing health of his
wife. They had, Just lost their
becond child there also, which
made it somewhat dlpcouraging
to remain therejio he pulled up
all stakes. and moved. About all
that either of us had could eas-
ily be put Into a bushel basket,
so all we had to do to move was
lb put out the fire and call the
dog.
But Mr. Beeman utilized his
well-earned experience in the
aewgpaper business to a little ad-
vantage When he left St Mary s
he came up to Bell county, where
he had grown up. from a bov of
eight years, and visited around
among his klns-folk. and to finish
the visit he had to come from old
Moffat in Bell county to Coman-
che county, to see his sister. Mrs
AU«». and his brother-ln-aw.
.femes .1 Franklin, who had mov-
ed to Comanche On arriving here
he found the field wide-open for
a newspaper if he could, run one
here as successful^- as the St
Mary's venture proved to be.
haul the outfit, he had contiact-
ed for to Comanche I :cn In-
clined to think that was h typo-
graphical error, for I don't be-
lieve ten yokes of—oxen could
I have Navigated the roods between"
her? and Georgetown The ten
was probably a misprint for two.
Any way. that is irrelevant, for
the outfit was brought to Co-
manche, and I pulled the lever of'! I
the old press nearly a year my-
self. after I came to Comanche.
The first issue of the Chief
was gotten out and dated August
21, 1873. That was on a Thursday.
I was then living in Rockport in
charge of the Western * Union1
Telegraph ofltce. and, two days'
after the paper was issued, to-
wit. on August ti., 1873. on a j
Saturday, my own first child was
born, the Jate Captain Ch'arles,
Ernest Jtussell. graduate of West ;l
Point m IBM, who died in the [
Philippine Islands May 26, 1902. ||
of Asiatic cholera. Beeman sent
me a ropy of the'first issue which
arrived only a day or so after
the boy was born.’and I at oncej
wrote him about the new boy and |
used a number of tropes borrqw-
ed (rom the printing fraternity. '
including "Sheet", "impressions/' J
beds" and I don’t know*what
else, all meant for a private let- j
ter. and Beeman printed the whole j
letter In full in the next issue of
Just reached that place as its be done about
terminus, about 1880, and he left having bjpen consolidated by the
the paper ln charge of Robert, purchasers. 8am and I Agreed to
a local correspondent from 81pe
Springs ~
per for a while in the name of
Vernon & Vernon, but I think
Bam bought Frank's Interest, ahd (°
It was about thli time or shortty-
after that Sidney Thomas bought
in as I have stated above.
I do not know Just when Sid-
ney Thomas bought the other
half Interest, but It waa before
1900 and after ‘the big fire that
destroyed the plant, Thomka con-
tinued ,to be the sole owner as I
one
year, until about 1911. The tx-
ceptlonal year was some time be-
fore that when E, E. Anthony
bought the plant, but sold it back
to Thomas at the end of a year.
When. Colquitt was elected go-
up Id
T 1
I tor
and I think, a man named Year-1 take over the plant as full part-
gin. I do not know how Robert: hers with equal Interest; and I
and Joe disposed of it finally, assumed the editorship of the
but Sam Vernon bought it in Chief, while Sam continued
1883 and continued to run it un-. Farmersville; but in 1889 or
til about December 1. 1898 when he sold the Farmersville Times
he sold a half Interest to the late and moved back’ to Comanche the Cunninghams I do not know
Sidney Thomas Just six days and assumed the management of I how many of them were interest-
after Thomas bought in. a des- the Chief. Shortly after this I ed. but they incorporated the con-
tructive fire occurred December sold my half interestJ to Frank | rern and employed Tom Bell a
6 1896 and the whole plant went Vernon of 8ipe Sprlngr^who,was peripatetic newspaper.-man ’to
_ Ptrguson of assistant purchasing
They continued the pa- I agent for the State and was suc-
ceeded by two or three editors
at different times, Oeorge Boyn-
ton. formerly of the Hamiltojk.
eipld. serving for* a time, ana
war Callaway 'also was
c-.a time; probably J. R.
Eanes was Its editor for a time:
I haven't got the accurate data
for all this and only mention
them from memory. - *
In 1913*. I had the audacity to
break into the hewspaper busts
ness once more, and started "
weekly paper tailed the Van-
guard. .the first’.Issue being Junr
28. 1913 and continued it until
November; T918, when I sold It
to 8. C. Findley, who very mis-
takenly changed Its name at
1 in j vemor. i Thomas was appointed °*?,ce the Enterprise. He con-
1890. | superintendent of the Deaf and ™!l£ted !l un.der l.h*( name until
Dumb Asylum, and he sold to
1925. when he sold the'plant to
J C Wllkerson. who at the saourn
time bought a controlling inter-
est ln the corporate stock of the
(Continued On Page 3
This Section) /
Or hAdj>ecome inspired with the
feme Kmd of audacity that Oli-
vet’ Twist displayed and which
to shocked the old beadle nearly
into insensibility, when Oliver
asked for “More!" Beeman want-
more and more profits repeal-
ed over and over, than the bonan-
za he had realized out of the
Vaquero; so he canvassed around
but 1 the paper, somewhat to my sur-
prise Unfortunately the vicissi-41
turica of time- and place have lost i]
that Issue and T know of not
copy in existence. ||
It Was a little over three years ,
later that I saw Corrtanche for)
the first time, which was on the
night of October JO 1876 about]
11 p m During that three years.
Mr JJeeman had sold a half in- 1
among the merchants and other | tdfeaY in the paper about a half
business men of Comanche, and dozen times, but It v^as like the
OR AN ADEQUATE
Recovery program
VERY --1—1.
(ay of this campaign
AYE WILL
LWAYS SPEAK AND FIGHT FOR
OUR INTEREST
—farmers, stockmen, merchants, business men.
relief clients, traveling men and the aged people
will sec Jaye
IE VER READY to Represent Your
Cause on the Floor of Congress.
VOTE FOR JAYE FOR CONGRESS
L Refinancing of lall farm mortgages by
issuance of new currency.
2. A change of our monetary system that
will destroy the monopoly enjoyed by
the .Federal Reserve Board.
pt The Townsend Ptui, <
. . . - 0 .
OPPOSED . ..
J* Vo any fonp of chain banking.
2. To all monopolies and trusts in re-
L straint of trade.. .
RED . JATE
Candidate For *?•'
FOR THE 17* DISTRICT.
'
Bring New Comforts
Your
Home
Use Complete
Natural Gas
Service”
■ i-j ■
NATURAL GAS IS THE PERFECT FUEL FOR MAKING YOUR HOME
A BETTER PLACE IN WHICH TO LIVE. IT’S FOUR-SERV1CE COMBINA-
TION: COOKING, WATER HEATING, REFRIGERATING AND HOUSE-
HEATING GIVES YOU MORE LEISURE, REDUCES WORK, AND SAVES
TIME AND MONEY — - - '—' , .
,1
etc# . ' . V T-- —-------r._
Ga* heating banishes work and worry from winter house-heating.
quick, dean heat at the lighting of a’match.
MAKE YOUR HOME MODERN AND MORE COM-
FORTABLE BY USING COMPLETE NATURAL GAS
SERVICE. IT’S SO ECONOMICAL EVERY HOME
CAN EASILY AFFORD IT.
Southwest Gas Co.
gives
COMANCHE, TEXAS
v ajtf Contin|
Chief, and
Without rti
■net manaj
xhat in.nj>
ing a«fiFsl
out of It,
it lias bee n|
As 1 he
Clphtry
'darted ini
1887. a thif
to 1886 th|
Comanche
ell orgar
fin 1876 (hd
element ofl
county, ar
■strong enol
•a ticket; bl
twm bulte [
^Individuals!
|hold on
•Charles EJ
County
terms; J«
County
to.1886;
District Cl
long; thef
more comi
all Democl
I lance beef
tor An poll
it (Bsclair
zation ws
their meet|
the rect
tunlty for
CUZS pollt|
t unities
fe’ tO|
rwetlng
this meet!
spell-bindf
time a lit!
mg convef
At the
m.lJuly,
iield. or
things dol
fer every[
nominatic
course,
Democrat
only a
tion. this I
unauthorlf
sentativesl
olficci i
nation t
gave the
to .nominal
they did I
tember til
from the l
and n alii
a strong
In opposl
partyt ail
lize u'liaf
cam<- of(|
:u w Lick|
from topi
ti04* wasf
constabief
Tiiotna!
ojTnnerf
an|
in.1
s
State me
cutive c<
party. I
followup
dent ,wi
the new
named t
parent ly
|u Chi*
i’cr at
[-new etu
.tile Plot
[tie item
H>**h>re >
and marl
lit Itnrl
Iptlier
intd j
Idi< tl
[Chancel
lit was
paper,
Iremem
I bo 11 it lit
He font
i>er for
made g
would
make
came
specula
him a
the. Cb
started
few ye
indeper
bition
he und
Alia a:
kind o
Jn Fra;
*i.The
.ffelly ci
Some
show
tion. t
randu
Varl
ed Ih
only
not t
furatel
Alert
Shi
dler.
of Rp
Marti
8c he;
Anoi
Vial tori
or th:
by Fr
the P;
An
and
the p
to thi
condu
have
it. bu
ed wi
dA, Sli
^lium
Adam
of th
(the
and
conso
. As
currei
tencel
01 u
•f
■mwiii i.
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Wilkerson, J. C. The Comanche Chief (Comanche, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, July 17, 1936, newspaper, July 17, 1936; Comanche, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth888889/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Comanche Public Library.