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THE TERRITORY'S EARLIEST NEWSPAPERS Richfield Reaper The largest weekly in a five-county area, the Reaper is a descendant of the Advocate, the community's third newspaper, begun November 11, 1887. It had been preceded by two publications. One was the Sevier Valley Echo, launched August 15, 1884 by James T. Jakeman and, like several of his publications, deceased within less than a year. The other was the Southern Censor, initiated by George H. Crosby, Jr. on April 25,1896 and able to survive nearly three years before closing its doors. Though there are no files, Early Utah Journalism notes that another publication preceded the Echo, the Advocate and the Southern Censor. It was, author J. Cecil Alter pens, "a small sheet chronicling the news of the day." Its publishers, Joseph and Albert Thompson, Alter adds, "also sold drugs, some of which were intoxicating and got them into trouble." Their press was sold to Agra Monte, described as "a soldier of fortune," in order to pay a hefty fine following conviction on the drug charge. Monte continued to publish the single-sheet news organ for a few months before departing Richfield with Mexico as his announced destination and the press included in his baggage. The Reaper, which started in March, 1899 under the guidance of A. B. Williams, was the Advocate with a change of name and publisher. George Hales had moved from Beaver to Richfield in 1887 and launched the Advocate. Though under its new name it managed to survive, it was owned by an astronomical number of newsmen before, on January 3, 1916, being merged with the competing Sevier Sun. That paper, originally published in neighboring Salina by witty columnist Arthur E. Howard, had simply moved to Richfield about 1908. One of Utah's most scholarly publishers joined the Reaper editorial staff in January, 1920. He was Dr. C. Max Markus, an Austrian with astounding command of foreign tongues. At one time after migrating from Europe to New York City, he'd 41 |
