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Welcome to D.R. Dodrill's Website |
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Pictures from Grade School/High School Days in Richwood (Black and White) Fred Dodrill Photos (Black and White) Reflections on pinball machines In
Memoriam Tom Murphy Pictures from the RHS Class of 1957 Reunion Ginny Smith shares some great pictures from the early 1950s and late 1940s
Updated December 4, 2008 |
I'm glad you stopped by. This website features pictures and stories about people who grew up in Richwood, West Virginia, in the late 1940s and 1950s. In particular, it focuses on members of the 1957 graduating class of Richwood High School. The links at the left will take you to some pictures of people you might know. History of the Nicholas Republican We read two Richwood newspapers when we were growing up in the 50s: the News Leader and the Nicholas Republican. Of the two, the News Leader was more popular with us teens because it carried a weekly column written by a secret reporter about the ever-changing saga of our high school romances. In today's parlance, we'd say the reporter was imbedded with the troops. In a much-anticipated event, the reporter's name was revealed at the end of the school year. Aside from the Locker Snooper, the News Leader carried many stories that touched the hearts and souls of readers, thanks to the enterprise and writing talent of its editor, Jim Comstock, and his business partner, Bronson McClung. The Nicholas Republican reported the news more than four decades before the News Leader came along in 1946. Even so, several other newspapers came and went in the early days of Richwood. Thankfully, L.A. Thomas, editor of the Nicholas Republican until 1912, captured the history of early newspapers in Richwood in a column in the Clarksburg Telegram. The Nicholas Republican reprinted the column on September 28, 1922. For those of you interested in Richwood's rich history, his column is printed here, in its original style of paragraphing, for your modern day enjoyment. Newspaper History The Nicholas Republican, Richwood's only newspaper, is now entering the twentieth year of its existence, the issue this week being Volume 20, No.1. In looking back over a period of nineteen years, we find that the paper has a varied and interesting history. The first newspaper to be published here was started by a man named Dana McGlaughlin and was styled the Richwood News. The paper was started in the basement of the old Central Hotel, on the lower side of Main street away back in 1902, when the town was in its infancy. McGlauglin [sic.] only ran the paper for a short time when he sold out to Jake Stewart, who continued to publish it moving the plant down to some rooms in the rear of the Frazer building at corner of Main street and Oakford avenue, where the Odd Fellows building now stands. Later he moved over to what is now the Baber building in the room now occupied by Findley Taylor as a photographers studio. About the year 1904, or 1905*, Stewart sold the paper to S.C. Dotson who changed the name of the paper to The Nicholas Republican, and again it was moved to a building on lower Main street, now occupied by Sylvia Francesco as a grocery store. Along about the year 1908 or 1909, John Landacre and Vol Odell got an idea that they would like to engage in the newspaper business, and so started the Mountain State News, an independent Democratic paper, and secured the services of Bill Starbuck to operate it. This new venture was housed in the DeVaughn building and started off with flattering prospects for success. Mr. Landacre being of very temperance [sic.] ideas had given orders that no whiskey advertisements should be carried in the paper and one night he chanced to drop into the office when the boys were running off the regular weekly issue and saw that a large whiskey advertisement from a whiskey house at Clarksburg was being run in the paper. He at once stopped the press and had them take the offending advertisement out, and bundling up the papers already printed, he shouldered up the bunch and carried the whole business up to the big mill and dumped the bundle into the furnace. That was the end of the liquor ads so far as the Mountain State News as concerned. Shortly after this, SC Dotson, editor and owner of the Republican, and Landacre and Odell combined their papers to the extent that the News home and the two papers were printed on the same press, the News being made a biweekly sheet. This arrangement was continued for some time probably until the year 1910 when Dr. James McClung became the owner of both papers, and the publication of the Mountain State News was suspended. It is said that a delegate district convention held some time in June that year in the old skating rink was largely responsible for the sale and merger of the papers. At that memorable convention Dr. McClung and J.M. Wolverton were rival candidates for the Republican nomination for State senate and George Malcomb of Cross Lanes, was also a candidate for the same office and those who participated in that highly interesting convention will recall the very intense interest manifested by the candidates and their respective friends. After it was over there were criminations and recriminations, charges and inter charges of fraud, etc. It will be remembered that Dr. McClung and his friends were successful and named the delegates to the senatorial convention at which by the way, a dark horse from Greenbrier county was nominated. Smarting under defeat and feeling that they had not been dealt with fairly, a friend of Mr. Wolverton wrote up a very scathing and vindicative [sic.] account of the skating rink convention, and Starbuck, who by the way was a nephew of Mr. Malcomb, had charge of the paper, The Republican, kept the matter of communication a secret from Dotson, and the issue was pretty well off the press before it became known that the objectionable article, which embraced almost the entire first page of the paper was being run. Dotson was appealed to and the entire issue was suppressed, not however until a copy or two was spirited away and it is brought to light now and then to serve as a gentle reminder of the strenuous political says of old. After Dr. McClung became the owner of the two papers and they were merged, as before stated Col. W.E. Swan, a very talented newspaper man was employed and had charge of the paper for some time. He finally yielded the editorial pen to L.A. Thomas who continued as editor of the paper until the present owner took charge of the paper in 1912. Other newspaper ventures in Richwood that must not be forgotten was the establishment of the Richwood Review by George V. Finster, now a justice of the peace of Weston, assisted by Walter Bell. The little old Review only about ten by twelve inches was a typical local paper, and many there are yet who say it was a mighty good sheet. Later, the owners purchased the Gauley Record a small sheet published at Summersville, and the two papers were also merged into one under the name of the Review-Record, and the little paper was deservedly popular. The other venture was the establishment of the Yew Pine Independent promoted by a number of the business people of the town but it was rather short lived and was never the financial success its promoters had hoped. Thus it will be seen that Richwood has had a variety of newspapers, and has today a real live up to date weekly newspaper and a well equipped office, one that will compare favorably with the best of its kind to be found anywhere. - L. A. Thomas, in Clarksburg Exponent. * A microfilm of the newspaper shows the first issue of the Nicholas Republican to be July 3, 1903. -- Page posted Aug. 28, 2008 Correction and Addendum: The newspaper's first issue was on Thursday, July 9, 1903. The box containing the microfilm at the West Virginia Cultural Center displayed the incorrect July 3 date. For more than a year, the Nicholas Republican carried a Summersville dateline, meaning the newspaper was printed there. The first issue with a Richwood dateline was October 14, 1904. A possible reason for the change is that a press capable of printing a sheet the size of the Nicholas Republican did not arrive in Richwood until then. --Correction and Addendum Posted Sept. 12, 2008 If you have comments on any of these items, you can reach me by e-mail by clicking here. |