WAVELAND INDEPENDENT - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

You may have noticed "vol. 50" on the heading of The Independent. That indicates the paper is in its 50th year of continuous publication. We present in this issue a sketch of the early days of the paper by the original publisher, Charles Scott, now a resident of Haines City, Fla. But before The Independent there were other Journalist ventures in Waveland. The first that we have any knowledge of was The Temperance Messenger of Oct 1, 1874. As this was Vol. 2, No. 21. It must have lasted two years at least. This was the time when the Good Templars, a temperance society was sweeping the country like the Townsend clubs. The first number of the Waveland Cricket was put out by EE Foley, and FF Shanks, March 8, 1879 and the next week appeared the first number of the Waveland Chronicle "issued by Edward Foley." must have been hot times in Waveland. The first number of the Waveland Call, published by CF Crowder and Z. Tracy, was issued Feb 12, 1881. About that time the late John Quincy Russell was printing a paper but we have no copies of it. The interesting letter of Mr. Scott follows: Haines City, Florida -- "I suppose you will soon be observing the "Golden Jubilee" of the Independent. The first number of the paper was issued April 24, 1886. I have a copy of that number before me, and how vividly it recalls the incidents of a half century ago. There had been other newspapers in Waveland, The Call, published by Charles F. Crowder and Florizel Tracy; and at this time John Q. Russell's News was still dragging out a precarious existence. But Charles Talburt and I decided that the town needed another paper and that we were the fair headed boys to put it over. Of course we knew nothing of the newspaper business, but we could set type (in those days all type setting was done by hand) and we had the courage of ignorance. We had no capital, and in that day there was no benevolent government handing out money to the unemployed or for questionable projects - it was strictly the day of "rugged" individualism. However we wrangled enough from confiding relatives to make an initial payment on a printing outfit and plumped on the adventure. That outfit consisted of a second hand "Washington" press, an assortment of type - and a mortgage. We set up shop in a room over Glover & Sons's store. In the years that followed the shop was moved to a number of locations - upstairs, downstairs and once in a basement - under the Fisher & Kritz Furniture Store. On the historic 24th of April we had quite a "gallery" as we golfers say, to watch the printing of the first number of the new paper - and then the press wouldn't work. Now that press was almost as simple as a wheelbarrow; nevertheless we had succeeded in assembling it wrong. When the gloom was thickest, Albert Kleiser stepped forward and said, "Don't be discouraged boys you'll come out all right. Here is the first dollar on subscription." That helped and we soon got the old press going. Then we found that the people who had made our electrotyped heading had spelled it 'The Weakly Independent." That was corrected and the new enterprise was finally launched. I could blush for many of the silly things we printed in those amateurish days, but on the whole I think the Independent has made a good record and justified its existence. Charley Talburt withdrew from the partnership at the end of the first year, but I carried on until 1900, when because of an attack of wanderlust, I sold the plant to the present proprietor. Those of your readers who knew Waveland "away back then," may be interested in some of the things that appeared in that copy 50 years ago. J Pinckney Durham was postmaster; John Spruhan RR agent; JH Sammis was pastor of the Presbyterian Church, whose officers were Robert Fullenwider, SM McNutt & SW Fullenwider, deacons, and SJ Milligan; Samuel Stebbins and Thomas Mann, elders. "McCormick & Seybold received another car load of the celebrated Studebaker wagons this week. Miss Ella Steele is rearranging her music class. CW Woolsey and wife were in jail in Crawfordsville. Work was begun on Robert Oldshoe's new residence at Cross & Main Street. William Bridges was assessor. Dr. Dunlavy has moved his office to the room recently vacated by WT Rad, north of Alspaugh's. JD Fisher has the fastest trotter in town. The picnic season at the Shades opened Wed. Milligan Bros (EM & John) have a new electric chandelier. A brick pavement adorns the front of Mahorney & Fisher's store. Tom Canine will be able to supply the public with fresh meat now - he had received a new refrigerator. John Dietrich will soon begin the erection of a blacksmith shop at Cross & Howard Sts. George E. Hanna is a candidate for auditor of Parke Co. Market prices include Eggs 8 cents; butter 15; potatoes 40 bushel; bacon 7 ½ cents; hams 9. Prof HS Kritz came down from Crawfordsville Thursday to spend Sunday with home folks. RJ Glover is in Cincinnating buying stock of spring clothing. Penn Hanna was in Ladoga Tuesday. Woolsey's mill was burglarized Saturday night and a quantity of whiskey .. stolen. Candidates in the coming election were for trustee JM Ghormely; for clerk, Herbert S. Kritz; Wilbur Milligan and WH Bridges; for Marshall James W. Doolin and Archelaus Scott. Cuppys advertised the "best line of boots & shoes in town." HA Rhoads had 40 stands of bees for sale. Joseph Hendrickson makes the best plow shoes. Firms advertising were Mahorney & Fisher, groceries /furniture; John W. Shanks, paints and paper hanger; Mrs. HE Rhoads, flowers and plants; John H. Rice, carriage works; Clara Shaw, millinery; John l. Dietrich, carriage paint shop; JT Scott, merchant tailor; Chris Alspaugh, groceries; MF Foley & Son, carriage makers, Paris, Ill; Dooley, photographer; McCormick & Seybold, hardware; Milligan Bros, general store; JW Robertson, groceries; Hanna & Byerly, dry goods; Hanna & McNutt, cash groceries, Ben Bilbo, maker of $3.50 shoes. Many other names appear in the yellow old paper, of friends and acquaintances, a very large proportion of whom are no longer there but whose memory remains dear to the old editor. Charles Scott.

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