| Description |
UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION better advertise and publicize his store and other activities. The entire development of Kirkham's newspaper career came in a step-by-step progression by which each action brought a result prompting another action. While he was interested in the improvement of his weekly newspapers, though, his primary focus was soon in another direction. J.M.K. had no experience whatever in printing and publishing but that wasn't an insurrmountable obstacle to him. Nor were the others he encountered. One of his first discoveries, now that he had a weekly newspaper and a printing plant in his possession, was that typesetting was done by the tediously slow hand-set process. So he bought Lehi's first Linotype. And though the press could be manually turned, he soon motorized it. As he bought additional equipment, he suddenly needed more room, so he built a sizeable addition on the James Kirkham Building. A new press soon came to town, along with a folder, power cutter, stitchers and all the other machinery needed in an up-to-date printing plant. And he then found himself with a comparatively modern facility, far more than was needed to produce the Banner and its commercial work, and nothing for it to do. In looking around he came across an agriculturally-oriented magazine, the "Deseret Farmer," which had been established in 1904 and was owned and published by Dr. John A. Widstoe, J. E. Taylor, L. A. Merrill, Franklin S. Harris and others. He bought an interest in the firm. Soon, with the consent of his fellow owners, publishing and printing of the Farmer was moved to the Lehi plant. Things quickly began to boom ~ especially on the Farmer. One by one he bought out his partners and became owner, publisher, editor and manager. Circulation at the time of the original purchase was less than 3,000. Later on, at its peak, the Farmer was mailed to more than 27,000 subscribers. This big circulation gain came about through strenuous mail campaigns directed to prospective subscribers, for at first no circulation solicitors were placed on the road. The State Fair and all County Fairs were covered and all agricultural meet- 574 |
