| Show YOUNG PAPERS THAT ACTUALLY ARE OLD ment rather unique in journalistic annals the paper was purchased by two Kanab High School students Spencer and Will Dobson The ambitious young men soon became victims of their own editorial assertiveness and were forced to sell when adver tising dwindled topittance The buyers local group chose not to continue the paper but simply stored the equipment Six years later in 1910 Dobson securedsmall job press some type and created The Lone Cedar It didndo well and the following year Charles Townsend bought it changed its name to the Kane County News and soon developedprosperous publication His error in judgement was adoption of strong anti-Mormon editorial policy which was squelched when William Seegmiller bothStake President andState Senator organizedcompany which bought Townsend property There was evidently no non-compete clause in the purchase agreement for Townsend began the Kane County Independent only four months later on March 14 1912 Two years of bitter competition ensued with the Independent final 1y being sold at auction to satisfyjudgement granted Western Newspaper Union the principal creditor The News was high bidder and thus the survivor It was thereafter edited by Rust Jack Borlase tinderbox editorialist and beginning in May 1916 by the still-ambitious Will Dobson He presided at its burialyear later leaving the town without newspaper The Kane County Standard which later became the Southern Utah News began June 28 1929 with Arthur Francis the publisher and Rose Hamblin Kanab house wife the editor The publication may well hold the Utah record for number of publishers -no less than 23 over64-year period Three months after its founding Will Peters acquired the paper Mrs Hamblin continuing as its editor Peters owned the Garfield County News at Panguitch and produced the Kanab paper in that plant After his death November 11 1929 his widow Elnora Mae became the publisher finally selling on April 16 1937 to George Swain who returned 87 Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
