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UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION his widow and his son, Howard W, Jr., whose birth had closely coincided with his parents' 1916 arrival in Moab. He would subsequently publish in both Gunnison and Salina for many years, serving as President of Utah Press Association in 1969 and honored with its Master Editor and Publisher Award two years later. For twenty one years a guiding hand was extended by his mother, who continued to be active well into her 80s, frequenting the Salina office and moving about the community visiting with longtime friends and gathering news. The News and Sun were of similar longevity. The Gunnison paper, as the Gazette, had been launched October 20, 1899; the Salina weekly had begun publication July 19,1901. The Sun, however, had a brief schedule interruption in 1918. For its first 17 years its publisher was Arthur E. Howard, a homespun humorist who on the masthead labelled himself, "Sun-Doctor." He asserted his paper was "read only by wide-awake people who have at least horse sense" and was "the only newspaper in Utah whose editor never lies." He added, "It circulates in Denmark, Sweden and the United States. It goes everywhere. Its publisher has to use common sense or it would go to hell." But it disappeared from the journalistic scene without notice or explanation. Later in 1918, J. L. Ewing of the Richfield Reaper re-established the Sun and by 1923, when Howard and Orsa Cherry purchased it, the paper was under the direction of its second publisher, Charles Richardson. During burial services for this veteran newspaperman, a noted Utah judge who was a close friend, asserted, "We cherish the character, the attainments and the ideals exemplified in the life of Howard Wesley Cherry and solicit for ourselves the possession of friends with comparable ideals and qualities." A true journalistic pioneer, Cherry reported on, editorially influenced and played a leadership role as the Mountain States developed into an important segment of the nation. He was part of both the "Old West" and the "New West" and his carefully crafted, descriptive writing reflected in detail his love for the portion of America he'd adopted and to which he dedicated nearly a quarter-century of his life. The proficiency he demonstrated in doing so is his passport to the Hall of Fame. 450 |
