| Show UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION ham Young University faculty member Quite cautiously the teacher agreed to becomenewsman part-time while completing the school year and then full-time through the summer By Fall hebeen fatally bitten by the newspaper bug and never did return to teaching The Post though the older of the citynewspapers occupiedsecondary position in the Provo market and was at best shaky venture After eleven months Gunnar had become its associate editor and had also demonstrated his mathematical skills by helping to rectify what he would later term slipshod bookkeeping But the paper fell on dismal economic times and incost cutting measure the owners eliminated him from the staff Thoughshock since heliterally burned his bridges as an educator it provedblessing in disguise Within 24 hours Rodgers publisher of the competing Provo Herald of fered himreporting job Gunnar accepted after arranging to simultaneously act as Provo area reporter for the Deseret News 50 per month position long held by Nephi Hicks but actually carried out by Gunnar while hebeen on the Post staff Rodgers first order to his new reporter was Learn to use the typewriter Which he did often practicing at night and on weekends to develop his skill His method involved two fingers of each hand not an unusual typing pose for the selftaught And like many other two-finger typists he became quite rapid on the machine The Herald established in 1909 was financially stable and progressive Gunnar had joined weekly todaily On April 17 1922 onlyfew days after the staff it was converted fromsemi Withinyear in order to expand its cover age the paper subscribed to International News Service then Gunnar had become City Editor By An 8-page Duplex press began accelerating production in 1924 and when it was replaced four years later bymuch faster 12 page rotary the masthead listed Gunnar Rasmuson as Editor and Manager 604 Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
