Originally published in The Door County Magazine
Sidebar—Other Newspapers in Door County
It started with 106.
There are now 8,000.
Subscribers to the Door County Advocate.
The Advocate, one of the oldest business in the county, first
served a population of 3,000 fishermen and loggers and a small
but growing number of farmers. It now has a presence on the World
Wide Web, 8,000 subscribers and prints an additional 4,000 copies
for newsstand sales in a county of 26,000 residents.
Sturgeon Bay was a sawmill town of about 30 houses and 230 people
in 1862 when Joseph Harris, Sr. approached Myron McCord about
starting a weekly newspaper in Door County. According to an account
written by McCord, Harris "Was so completely wrapped up in
the idea of settling Door County and thought a newspaper the one
thing needful to accomplish that result." When McCord explained
that the population was too small, and the costs for "Help
and blank paper, rent and fuel could not be figured at less than
$1,000 a year he (Harris) was completely perplexed and did not
know what to say."
Harris was then working as the county treasurer with a salary
around $400 a year, and had no money. But Harris was also a visionary
(he later convinced the county, and Congress, to build the Ship
Canal linking Green Bay and Lake Michigan) and he convinced McCord
to enter into a partnership to publish the Advocate. McCord new
of a print shop for sale in Shawano, and most importantly, the
owner would sell on installments.
Harris rented the upper floor of Grahm’s store on the northwest
corner of Second and Michigan streets (where the abandoned Clark
station now sits) while McCord traveled to Shawano to obtain the
printing equipment. It took McCord four days on a two-horse sleigh
to make the return trip through a late February snowstorm.
The pair hired a printer, David Follett, who was described as
"faithful" but yet "Had a very perplexing habit
of taking a ‘lay off’ when his services were most needed.
One of these ‘spells’ came on about the time the first
number of the paper should have been issued, and it was by one
delay and another that the publication was postponed until March
22, 1862."
That first four-page issue took three hours to print 160 copies
on the hand-operated press. It was printed on 12" x17"
paper, two sheets, printed front and back with five columns per
sheet. It included a poem, a story called "The Lover’s
Prophecy," and except a for a brief note from the editor,
no local news. Weekly newspapers today are almost exclusively
local news, with little to no state and national news. Prior to
the invention of radio, national news was distributed by word
of mouth, old newspapers from larger cities and the local weekly
newspaper. There was "tolerably recent" news from the
war, and as there were many local boys fighting for the Union
Army, "Their families were more interested hearing of their
achievements on the battlefield than in learning in what their
next-door neighbors were doing." There were ads on the front
page consisting of little more than business-card type notices
of names, trades or occupations, and locations of businesses.
Shipping news was prominent, listing names of ships and lists
of cargo.
A metal replica of the front page of that issue is attached to
the outside wall of the current Advocate office, on Third Street
in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
McCord saw early that the paper could not support two owners,
and sold his interest to Harris, on time. McCord wrote that he
was "promptly paid at maturity," and noted that while
he made no money in the venture, "I have always been glad
I went into it, for it resulted in two things, at least…One
is that it laid the foundation for making one of the best local
papers in Wisconsin,…the other that it resulted in making
Joseph Harris a state senator."
Subsequent issues contained more local news, such as births, deaths
and marriages; local government news; gossip and commentary; and
more advertising, such as railroad schedules (in Green Bay), dry
goods stores; and ads for the sale of land. Newspapers at this
time were relatively expensive and rare, but they had extensive
penetration into the community.
In an attempt to fulfill the pledge that the Advocate made in
the first issue to "Be devoted entirely to the interest of
Door County , to inform readers about government and the prosperity
of the county," by the 1880’s a network of correspondents
was in place in nearly every community in the county. This network,
which continues today, reports on items of particular interest
to a specific community. This ranges from who had dinner at who’s
house, who is traveling to what city, what happened to someone’s
pet or livestock, or anything else that people might want to read
about their neighbors. This network was credited with an increase
in subscribers ($2.00 a year, payable in cordwood) and stable
readership.
The writing style was much different than today, with opinion,
name-calling and sarcasm being common. The Door county board of
Supervisors was once called the "Board of Asses," and
in the next issue an apology was offered—to any asses who
were offended! Headlines were also sensational. The multiple headlines
for a story on a draft riot in New York included (each in a different
type face): THE MOB IN NEW YORK; Resistance to the Draft–Rioting
and Bloodshed; BLOODY WORK; Cannister shot Fired Upon the Mob!;
Great Slaughter.
Advertisers sometimes paid in muskrat skins or other barter, and
real money (sometimes $1,000 a year) was made from running legal
notices placed by the county. There was no "front page"
in the modern sense, and stories were placed seemingly at random.
The November 2, 1863 issue had a letter to the editor, a pyramid
made of the states of the union, a notice from the War Department
to drafted men, and war news all on the front page.
Working conditions in the print shop were very basic. Type was
set by hand using the light emitted by small kerosene lamps. Heat
in the winter was supplied by a wood-burning stove, often fired
by wood supplied as payment for subscriptions. Later, coal was
used for heat, providing an increase in comfort during the winter
months.
In the late 1800s a Washington hand press was used to proof the
paper, and it was printed on an Acme two-revolution press, which
was turned by hand. Everyone, including the publisher (Frank Long
at that time), took turns in cranking the paper out on press day.
A mixture of glue and honey was melted in a double boiler on a
wood stove and poured into a brass form to make the rollers for
the press. A steam engine eventually replaced arm power, and a
gasoline engine was later used to turn the press. Early electric
lights were a great improvement over the kerosene lamps, but they
gave off a great deal of heat and the workers found themselves
with hot heads, but cold feet, in the winter.
As Harris went on to the state senate and later to Washington,
D.C., his sons, Joseph, Jr. And Henry ran the paper until it was
sold to Frank Long in 1875.
Long started his career with the first issue of the Advocate,
working as a ‘printers devil’ in the shop. In a column
headlined "A Glance Back over a Long Road" in the May
3, 1883 Advocate Long wrote about that first issue. "Twenty-one
years ago an excited group of people assembled around a printing
press in a room over Grahm’s store…On the bed of the
press was a type form which a small boy was inking with a small
roller, and as the lad was taking his first lesson in the typographic
art he had followed the example of all young disciples of Faust
by carelessly smearing his face and hands with the mixture of
lampblack and linseed oil until he looked as though he had slept
in a tar barrel. He laid a sheet of dampened paper on the ‘tympan,’
detached the ‘frisket’ from a hook in the ceiling, ran
the bed under the platen, pulled the impression lever, and a moment
later spread out upon a table for the inspection of the group
the first number of the Door County Advocate…
"From a rude settlement in the woods we have seen Sturgeon
Bay blossom into a thriving city of almost two thousand people,
and the trackless wilderness surrounding it become home of more
than fourteen thousand industrious inhabitants."
Long was a colorful publisher, and boosted the circulation to
some 3,000 copies by the time of his death in 1912. Long employed
a brilliant editor in the name of D. S. Crandall, who was known
as a caustic and clever writer, and a tireless worker. Crandall
penned a vicious obituary when a competing paper folded (see accompanying
story), but later went to work for another competing paper, where
he happily skewered his old employer, the Advocate.
The newspaper wars were sometimes heated. A feud between the Advocate
and the Expositor once led to a judge taking a shot at the Expositor
editor. On July 4, 1878, a gala celebration was presided over
by Judge Rufus M. Wright to dedicate the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.
Wright was aligned with the Advocate, which often printed his
poetry, and the very successful community party drew hundreds
of people from other cities. George Pinney, the Expositor publisher,
jeered the whole celebration, and Judge Wright in particular.
Several days after the affair, a drunk Judge Wright met Pinney
outside a saloon, pulled a revolver, yelled "Pinney, you
damned old four-eyes, I am going to shoot you!" and fired
a shot. The shot went wild over Pinney’s shoulder, and in
a subsequent lawsuit Judge Wright was acquitted.
The Advocate, with Crandall leading the charge, bitterly opposed
extending a rail line into Door County, and were successful in
helping defeat one bond issue after another. The Advocate was
closely aligned with shipping interests at the time, and the Advocate
was increasingly seen as obstructionist in economic development
of the county. Long eventually became a supporter of the railroad,
but Crandall would not support the change, and left the paper.
Long and the Advocate received national notice in 1883 when a
20-year-old printer established a world record for setting type.
Harry Dankoler, an Advocate typesetter for only four years, set
25,515 ems (a printing measurement) of type in 18 hours, 45 minutes,
shattering the old record by one hour and 43 minutes. Long ensured
that news of the feat was reported all over the country.
After Long died, his family, under the leadership of Dudley Long,
continued to publish until August, 1918, when it was purchased
by the Door County Democrat. The new publishers, among them Arthur
Harris, son of the Advocate founder, decided to retain the Advocate
name for the combined paper.
Arthur’s son, Sumner, started working at the paper in 1923
after completing his degree at the University of Wisconsin, and
is the only one of the four Harris editors to have formal training
in journalism. Sumner is credited with bring ‘modern’
newspaper techniques to the Advocate. Headlines were larger, multi-column
layouts and more photos improved the appearance and the writing
lost some of it’s sarcasm and personal opinion. The Advocate
started winning awards and looking more like a contemporary daily
newspaper.
Results of the national election in 1924 were delivered to the
Advocate via a special telegraph line, and The Door County Resorter
(now called The Resorter Reporter), a supplement during the summer
months, was also started that year.
Sumner and his brother-in-law gradually consolidated ownership
by buying the Advocate stock from the other owners, and from the
estate of his father when Arthur died. The last competing paper
was absorbed by the Advocate in 1940, and the Advocate started
publishing twice a week in 1948.
The staid life of the Advocate was shattered when Sumner Harris
and his wife, Grace, were murdered June 29, 1953 by a juvenile
who lived next door to their home. Sumner’s son Chan had
been at the Advocate for a year after graduating from college,
and was suddenly thrust into the editor position in a most brutal
fashion.
Jim Robertson, then an Advocate reporter, was in the office that
day. "Chan was on the phone, and had a funny look on his
face," he recalled. Chan said, "They said my dad’s
been murdered." Robertson said he didn’t know what to
think as he watched Harris walk out of the office. This was the
day the paper was printed, there was a huge amount of work to
do, but if there was a murder in town, he better get on it. He
went to the Harris house, and was horrified by the scene of the
double murder.
He walked into the house, and "There were people walking
everywhere. I’ll never forget it." The police seemed
stunned, people were handling the murder weapon, and the Advocate
photographer finally told the police to seal off the crime scene.
The crime was easily solved, as the juvenile left a note in his
home confessing to the crime before stealing a car and fleeing
the county.
Robertson returned to the Advocate office and got the paper out,
although much later than normal.
Chan Harris, then 24-years-old, soon returned to work as editor,
and the growth and stability of the Advocate continued. Doug Larson
was hired by Chan soon after he took over as editor, having to
spend $75.00 to break Larson’s teaching contract. Larson,
who still writes a column for the Advocate, has been compared
to D.S Crandall in writing ability, but Larson has none of Crandall’s
caustic qualities. Larson is often described as a wordsmith, and
his syndicated columns make points with style, language and tongue-in-cheek
humor, rather than Crandall’s sledgehammer method.
Chan Harris sold the Advocate to Frank Wood and the Brown County
Publishing Company in 1986, and stayed on as editor emeritus.
Chan died earlier this year, of a heart attack as he worked at
his desk in the Advocate office, ending the Harris family connection
with the Door County Advocate.
And today? The Advocate continues the tradition of Community Journalism,
concentrating almost exclusively on the community it serves, and
winning awards for their coverage. But not resting on their laurels,
the Advocate established a presence on the World Wide Web in 1986,
at a time when few daily newspaper had web sites, let alone weeklies.
(www.doorcountyadvocate.com)
While journalism is referred to as "The first draft of history,"
history is still being made, as well as drafted, at the Door County
Advocate.
The early days of the county were a raucous time for newspapers, and the lineage and ownership of the various newspapers that competed with the Advocate are sometimes complicated and confused. For instance, at one time there were four newspapers published in the county, and two newspapers with the same name were published at the same time. Other newspapers (all weeklies) include:
· The Expositor, started in October,
1873.
A small paper, it was four columns and eight pages, and was edited
by George Pinney. From the beginning, there was bad blood between
Pinney and Harry Harris (son of Joseph Harris), then editor of
the Advocate. The battle was carried out in the pages of the
newspapers, with insults and vicious sarcasm. For example, in
August, 1874 Harris printed that Pinney, was such an "inveterate
liar," he would claim to enjoy the climate in Hell, when
he eventually takes up residence. The feud was so intense that
it was even remarked on by other newspapers in the state. In
1877, the Expositor was sold to Charles I. Martin, who published
it until 1886. The Advocate printed a lengthy obituary, of sorts,
on March 11, 1886 which began: "Died—In this city,
Friday, February 26, 1886, of paralysis of the brain and pocket,
weakness of the spinal column, flatulence, swelled head, hard
times, universal contempt, mismanagement, stupidity, ignorance,
general debility and natural cussedness, the Weakly Expositor,
aged about twelve years and four months."
· The Independent, started in February,
1877.
A group of Sturgeon Bay businessmen, upset over the Advocate’s
stand opposing a railroad line into Door County, purchased the
assets of the Expositor and published the next week as the Expositor/Independent,
in an effort to promote the rail line as economic development.
The paper struggled for a year until, in an ironic twist, they
hired D.S. Crandall as editor. Crandall was a gifted writer,
but was sarcastic to the point of viciousness. Crandall was the
point man of the Advocate’s railroad opposition, but lost
his job at the Advocate when Frank Long relented in his opposition
to the railroad, Crandall would not. After being hired by the
Expositor/Independent, Crandall happily skewered the Advocate
and promoted the railroad. However, the Advocate now also supported
the railroad, and the Expositor/Independent had lost it’s
reason for being. In 1886, it was sold to Joseph Harris, Jr.
and renamed the Republican.
· The Republican, started in March,
1886.
Published by Joseph Harris, Jr., it was sold to his son, J.E.
Harris, in 1891. The Republican was published until 1893, when
the name was changed to The Democrat, in response to a new newspaper
called The Democrat. As a result, there were two newspapers in
Door County called The Democrat. Called the "Little Democrat"
by locals to avoid confusion with The Democrat published by J.J.
Pinney. Sold subscription list to Pinney and ceased publication
in 1895.
· The Democrat, started in January,
1983.
J.J. Pinney (son of George Pinney, publisher of The Expositor)
ran the Evergreen Nursery Co. and printed a trade publication
for the nursery industry. He branched into commercial printing
and advertising (which was actually printed on the Advocate’s
presses) and founded a democratic party-oriented newspaper to
compete with the two republican-oriented papers in Door County.
Pinney bought the subscription list of the other Democrat newspaper
in 1895 and enjoyed a successful publishing career until his death
in 1909. Employees, among them Arthur Harris (son of the Advocate
founder) purchased the paper, forming the Door County Publishing
Company, and was later absorbed by the Advocate. Ironically,
as the newspaper matured, The Democrat gradually became more republican
in political outlook.
· The Door County News, started
in July 1914.
A politically independent newspaper, it had stockholders in every
town in the county. Sold out to the Advocate in 1940.
· Door County Farmer and Fruit Grower,
started in 1926
Published by Bernard Hahn until 1927, when it was sold to G.L.
Wellemeyer & Son. Stopped publishing in 1928.
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